Interpretative Phenomenological Approach - Research Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages A scale of this type consists of a series of bipolar adjective pairs (e.g. good-bad, beneficial-harmful) listed on opposite sides of a page, with seven spaces in between. The attitude object is identified at the top of the scale and maybe a word, statement, or picture. The respondent is instructed to evaluate the attitude object by placing a mark in one of the seven spaces between each adjective pair. The development of semantic differential scales stems from the use of theory of reasoned action to investigate science-related attitudes. This is particularly important in the field of Psychology education where behavior is a clear objective. In their theory, suggest that attitude measures should focus on a person's attitude toward behavior rather than on the person's attitude toward particular objects. That is, instead of asking about students' attitudes towards the r researchers should assess their attitudes toward learning about the experience. This method is called the Interpretative Phenomenological Method, which is the approach used in this study in analyzing the experience of Zoe, a teenager who has been adopted by a family.
Interpretative Phenomenological Approach is a method that is considered as consonant with the picture presented above is introduced. The interpretative phenomenological analysis is a method that attempts to tap into a natural propensity for self-reflection on the part of participants (Abraham and Sheeran, 2001). Obviously the degree to which individuals are used to expressing such reflections, orally or in writing, can vary and some people need more encouragement and facilitating than others. But a central premise of the method is allowing participants to tell their own story, in their own words, about the topic under investigation.
However, research is not a simple, singular process and the original account from the participant in the form of an interview transcript or diary entry, for example, then needs to be analyzed closely by the investigator. The interpretative phenomenological analysis is about attempting to discover meanings, not eliciting facts, but trying to find out what a person's health condition means to them requires considerable interpretative work on the part of the researcher (Abramson et al., 2003). The resultant analytic account can, therefore, be said to be the joint product of the reflection by both participant and researcher.
It is worth pointing out that this approach aims to have a dialogue with and to help enlarge, the discipline of psychology not to attack or stand outside it. As will become apparent, interpretative phenomenological analysis can make a valuable contribution in enriching the way mainstream psychology conceives of the individual's experience of adoption.
The interpretative phenomenological analysis applied to social psychology as an application to the study on the experience of the subject Zoe as an adopted in a family. The first example is from a study examining how Zoe feels about him being adopted. The project involves the analysis of long semi-structured interviews with Zoe. Because the study is based on a case-study design, looking at each patient in their own terms, an example from a single case is provided here. A particular theme, ‘the importance of control’, emerges from this case analysis and is in turn related to existing work on this construct.  ...Download file to see next pagesRead More