Phenomenological Research Design
The purpose of this study is to investigate the lived experiences of Missionary Baptist
Church senior pastors and explore their views, behaviors, attitudes, and experiences as
Pentecostalization occurred organically in the worship, liturgy, and congregational life of
their churches. A qualitative phenomenological study will be adopted to achieve this goal. In
the following section, the phenomenological research design is discussed in close reference to
its defining characteristics, purpose, and use, the data collection and analysis approaches, and
how the design will be implemented in the current study.
Description of the Research Design
Shorey and Ng (2022) defined phenomenological design as a qualitative approach that
seeks to describe and understand the universal essence of a phenomenon. According to
Sundler et al. (2019), the phenomenological design focuses on collecting data from the
participants who have lived or experienced the phenomenon under research. When adopting
this research design, the researcher’s preconceived assumptions regarding a phenomenon are
disregarded to investigate the everyday experience of the population of interest. Prosek and
Gibson (2021) noted that a phenomenon in this research design is perceived as a state of
being, a particular relationship, or a critical event. When using this research design, the
researchers desire to gain an understanding of the structure or meaning of the lived
experiences from the perspectives of the participants experiencing the phenomena. Cypress
(2018) noted that the phenomenological design can be controversial since the data obtained
from the participants can be misinterpreted.
Characteristics of the Phenomenological Research
The phenomenological research design has four main defining characteristics. Nigar,
2020) affirmed that this research is descriptive and the researcher focuses on providing more
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insights regarding the structure of the phenomenon. The second defining characteristic of the
phenomenological design is that the researcher is interested in uncovering what a certain
phenomenon means to the participants and how they experience the issue (Larkin et al.,
2019). According to Prosek and Gibson (2021), this research design requires the researcher to
put aside any preconceived assumptions about the issue under study and focus on the
immediate experiences of the participants when interacting with the phenomena. Lastly, the
phenomenological research design requires the researcher to first focus on providing an
objective description of the lived experiences and then link the phenomenon to the existing
theories.
Types of Phenomenological Design
Existential phenomenology
Hermeneutic phenomenology
Transcendental phenomenology
Limitations of Phenomenological Design
Researcher induced bias
Maintaining bracketing is challenging for the researcher
Challenges establishing trustworthiness
Purpose and Use of the Method in Research
The phenomenological research design is usually adopted when there is a need to gain
insights into the feelings and experiences of the participants regarding the phenomenon of
interest. This research design is usually adopted in sociology, education, medicine, and
psychology (Larkin et al., 2019). Cypress (2018) acknowledged that this research design is
used when there is a need to obtain the lived experiences of the participants and to obtain
insights into their motivations and actions. The phenomenological research design is also
used to broaden the knowledge of the participant regarding a phenomenon of interest.
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According to Shorey and Ng (2022), this research design can also be adopted to clarify the
nature of the relationships between the theories that can be used to explain the phenomena
and the phenomena itself. The phenomenological research design can also be used to create
awareness regarding a phenomenon and contribute to the development of new models and
theories (Larkin et al., 2019).
Data Collection Processes and Methods
Focus groups
Interviewing participants
Observations
Data Analysis Process
Van Manen’s (2016) seven stages of hermeneutic phenomenology analysis.
- Immersion
- Understanding
- Abstraction
- Synthesis and theme development
- Illumination and illustration of phenomena
- Integration and critique of findings
- Development of themes and stories
Examples of the Method
Paras et al. (2021)
Williams et al. (2021)
McCall (2022).
Implementing the Method
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References
Cypress, B. (2018). Qualitative research methods: A phenomenological focus. Dimensions of
Critical Care Nursing, 37(6), 302-309.
https://doi.org/10.1097/DCC.0000000000000322
Larkin, M., Shaw, R., & Flowers, P. (2019). Multiperspectival designs and processes in
interpretative phenomenological analysis research. Qualitative Research in
Psychology, 16(2), 182-198. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2018.1540655
McCall, J. K. D. (2022). The Lived Experience of African American Pastors: A
Phenomenological Study. The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
https://www.proquest.com/openview/dff05481d0a3561ea4460ca5b2a8d33f/1?pq-
origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
Nigar, N. (2020). Hermeneutic phenomenological narrative enquiry: A qualitative study
design. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 10(1), 10-18.
https://www.academia.edu/download/66001387/A_Qualitative_Study_Design_NN_0
1_2020.pdf
Paras, N., Sy, R., & Tus, J. (2021). The Lived Experiences of Filipino pastors in online
ministry amidst COVID-19 pandemic: A phenomenological study. International
Journal Of Advance Research And Innovative Ideas In Education, 7(1), 2-23.
Prosek, E. A., & Gibson, D. M. (2021). Promoting rigorous research by examining lived
experiences: A review of four qualitative traditions. Journal of Counseling &
Development, 99(2), 167-177. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcad.12364
Shorey, S., & Ng, E. D. (2022). Examining characteristics of descriptive phenomenological
nursing studies: A scoping review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 78(7), 1968-1979.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.15244
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Sundler, A. J., Lindberg, E., Nilsson, C., & Palmér, L. (2019). Qualitative thematic analysis
based on descriptive phenomenology. Nursing Open, 6(3), 733-739.
https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.275
Van Manen, M. (2016). Researching lived experience: Human science for an action sensitive
pedagogy. Routledge.
Williams, L. F., & Cousin, L. (2021). “A charge to keep i have”: Black pastors’ perceptions
of their influence on health behaviors and outcomes in their churches and
Communities. Journal of Religion and Health, 60, 1069-1082.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-021-01190-0
