Phenomenology / is the fourth title in the Qualitative Research Methods series.

Phenomenology is the fourth title in the Qualitative Research Methods series.

Contemporary philosophers such as Jacques Derrida describe phenomenology as providing a profound lesson for all inquiry, in the sense that it recognises the irreducible difference of the other. If we want to understand that which goes beyond what we know already, then we need to be receptive to that difference. But how is this possible? How is it that understanding can transcend individual, social, cultural and historical bounds? Or, can it? These are the kinds of philosophical problems that underpin phenomenological research.

The contributors to this monograph have all come to and practiced phenomenology in distinctive and manifold ways. It is hoped that the reader will find affinities in the work presented here and that the question of what it is like to do phenomenology is opened up as a set of ideas for further questioning and investigation. The authors intend to stimulate questions rather than answer them, while also providing the reader with a taste for the diversity of interpretations and applications of phenomenological research.

The Qualitative Research Methods series is intended primarily to assist postgraduate research students in understanding the different qualitative research methods and to enable students to choose the most appropriate method for their particular research. Each monograph will also provide guidance on conducting research throughout candidature. These monographs will be a valuable aid and support to supervisors and examiners of postgraduate research students using qualitative research.