Preface i

Chapter 1: The Usefulness of Hermeneutic Phenomenological Analysis 1

Chapter 2: Understanding Research Methodology 7

1 Current Problems and New Methodologies in Social Sciences 7
2 Theoretical Understanding of IPA 15
1) Phenomenology 21
2) Hermeneutics 28
3) Idiography 32
3 The Van Manen and J Smith Debate on IPA 35

Chapter 3: The Research Process of Hermeneutic Phenomenological Analysis 43

1 IPA Research Design Overview 43
2 IPA Research Design Core 49
1) Selecting a topic and research question 49
2) Decide on the type of data to collect 53
3) Sampling and recruitment of research participants 54
4) Practical and Ethical Considerations 59
3 Data Collection 62
1) Data collection design 62
2) The Need for Interview Guidelines 63
3) How to Establish Interview Guidelines 64
4) Interview Process 69
5) Interview Record 77
4 IPA Analysis Process 80
1) IPA's Classical Analysis Process 80
2) Core of the IPA Analysis Process 93
(1) Starting from the first case 93
① Step 1: Reading and Exploratory Notes 95
② STEP 2: Generating Empirical Statements 105
③ STEP 3: Finding Connections and Clustering Empirical Statements 112
④ STEP 4: Organizing Personal Experience Topics 117
(2) Case-by-case analysis 119

Chapter 4: The Writing Process of Hermeneutic Phenomenological Analysis 129

1 Writing the results 129
2 Writing other sections 139
3 Methodological Integrity 144

Chapter 5: The Practice of Hermeneutic Phenomenological Analysis 149

1 Overview of IPA's Real Case Studies 149
2 Design phase of IPA study 149
3 Data Collection Steps for IPA Studies 151
4 Data Analysis Steps in IPA Research 159
5 Writing in Practice with IPA 169
1) Writing the results 169
2) Utilization of 'Summary' 172

Chapter 6 Summary and Conclusion 175

Reference 181
Index 185
About the Author 191