Applying Phenomenological Method of Research in Clinical Sciences

Abstract

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Method of research is one of the important source of acquiring knowledge which is classified into different methods including qualitative and quantitative ones. Qualitative methods have many variations, but this article only addresses the phenomenological method of research and its application in clinical sciences. Phenomenological method is a descriptive-deductive method originating from the philosophy of phenomenology. To explain this issue, this article, first, reviews the history of phenomenological philosophy and its adaptation as a qualitative research method in medical sciences. Attention paid by clinical sciences and professional nursing to holistic care has prepared the scene for conducting phenomenological research. This holistic view combines with the lived experience to form a basis for phenomenological research. The researcher should ask himself whether research on the lived experience is the most appropriate method for gathering data? Primary data are achieved by considering the experience of the phenomenon, therefore, the researcher should bear in mind that this is the product of rich and descriptive data. Phenomenological research is goal-oriented, because, contrary to quantitative research, it does not intend to generalize findings to the society where sampling has been conducted, rather it aims to understand the envisioned phenomenon and as said before, researchers should chose those people who enjoy enough experience about the studied phenomenon. This article studies the methods of data gathering and data analysis in phenomenology and discusses issues such as validity and verification;

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