Balancing the research context by considering the parts and the whole

In quantitative studies, data analysis is generally undertaken once all data has been collected. However, qualitative studies differ, in that to some extent, researchers may begin to analyse or interpret their data once the gathering process begins, even though this may be unintentional. If, as Merleau-Ponty posits, we are continually making sense of the world (Carman, 2008), this will inevitably apply within an interview situation, as we listen intently to another person describing their own experience within the world. Once again, this emphasises the need for reflexivity during the early stages of any study. In order to make sense of the data, I was guided by the work of Gadamer (1962) and van Manen (1990). During the process, I also sought guidance by reading the work of other

phenomenological health researchers (Benner, 1994; Holloway, 2005; Finlay, 2011; Wright & Hacking, 2012). Finlay (2011) acknowledges that any approach to analysis is neither linear nor clear-cut. Hence, she considers “dwelling, wonder, evidencing, and ambivalence” to be essential for “engaging in analysis” to ensure that “analysis is engaging” (p. 242).

Van Manen (1990; 2014) offers three methods of reading textual data as a way of capturing themes and insights which may point to phenomenological meaning. These include: the

wholistic reading approach; the selective reading approach and the detailed reading approach. I chose to use a combination of these methods. Hence, I will now present a step

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undertaken. I also highlight where Gadamer’s influence was drawn upon during the process.

4.11.1 Application to the study: Detailed reading, selective reading and

wholistic reading

During this approach, the researcher is advised to do a line by line reading of each sentence within an anecdote or passage and ask “what does this sentence say about…[the

experience of gay men with prostate cancer]” (van Manen, 2014, p. 322). On the very first reading of the transcript, I preferred to read it on paper as opposed to a computer screen. I am not sure why this made such a difference yet I felt more connected with the men when reading their words on paper. I highlighted key words or text parts and made reflective notes within the margins of the pages. As the software programme, MAXQDA also offers a highlighting and noting function which meant that I could transfer notes over and they would be stored electronically. During this approach, I initially found it difficult to not automatically be drawn towards ‘themes’ of a superficial nature. For example,

‘communication issues’ were frequently mentioned across several interviews. However, this clearly does not provide any meaning or lived thoroughness in terms of what it meant to the men, in a certain context, at a certain time. It took some practice to look beyond what initially appears to jump out from the text and look at what lies beneath. I held onto van Manen’s warning that as phenomenological researchers, we must not separate real life from theory (van Manen, 2014). Gadamer’s concepts of prejudice and tradition also come into play during this process. Although Gadamer views both concepts as both inherent and necessary, since we can never really view anything from a tradition-free stance (Gadamer, 1975), I had to remind myself that both concepts risked labelling things I did not fully understand at this point. To continue without this acknowledgement may have led to looking for data that would then fit those labels, as opposed seeing meaning driven by the epoche and the reduction (van Manen, 1990).

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After a detailed read through of each transcript and after listening back through the participant’s interviews whilst doing so, I began to engage in the process of selective reading. During this approach, it is recommended researchers ask ‘what statement(s) or

phrase(s) seem particularly essential or revealing about the phenomenon or experience being described?’ (van Manen, 1990; 2014). This type of reading often led to snap-shot

stories being highlighted within the text. These stood out as poignant experiences, captured in full detail and then retold in their entirety. Van Manen (1990; 2014) perceives these powerful passages as anecdotes and advocates their use to convey meaning in phenomenological writing.

The word anecdote has Greek origins and means ‘things unpublished’ (Eilifsen, 2011). Therefore, anecdotes reveal things that are known but not explicit. Hence, Eilifsen suggests that anecdotes are functional in that they reveal things that are not yet published to the self; things that slip our consciousness or reflections. They have the capacity to stir a sense of recognition about an experience, even if the reader may not have directly experienced it for his or her self. Within the context of phenomenological writing, an anecdote is used as a device which evokes a sense of meaning within the reader. One of its hallmarks is the ‘Punctum’, this being the final few words or line at the end of an anecdote which brings the story to a poignant and often bitter end.

Some researchers advocate the changing of wording within an anecdote, as a way of better illuminating the sense of recognition and meaning it conveys (Eilifsen, 2011; van Manen, 2014, p. 321). Van Manen even goes so far as to suggest that once an experience is shared, it ceases to belong to the narrator (van Manen, 2014); which to some extent, gives the researcher a licence to enhance it as he or she sees fit. However, whilst some editing was necessary in order to remove repetition, and to ensure the experiences conveyed through the use of quotes, had a logical flow of ease, I did not deem it necessary to embellish the

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men’s experiences in any way. Those I have included, in my opinion, fulfil the role of an anecdote and present a true lived-through experience.

As the word ‘wholistic’ suggests, this method involves reading the text as a whole rather than viewing it in separate parts. This involved asking ‘How can the eidetic, originary3_{, or}

phenomenological meaning or main significance of the text as a whole be captured?’ (van

Manen, 2014, p. 320). Gadamer’s concept of the hermeneutic circle came in to sharp focus during this approach as I had to constantly incorporate the thoughts and themes drawn through selective and detailed reading and place them in light of the bigger picture.

Sometimes, this meant having to try and bracket out what I knew about the individual parts of the text I had already picked apart, in order to try and gain some separation, and to find the overall meaning as opposed to a sum of its parts. Thus, this entailed recognising that a ‘fusion of horizons’ (Gadamer, 2004) must occur as a way of bridging what was “known

previously”, to what was “known now”, examining the data.

When undertaking phenomenological research, the researcher is required to continually question how meaning within individual parts of texts, fits with what is being reflected from the texts as a whole. This can be likened to the hermeneutic circle, as described earlier, in which the researcher goes back and forth between texts in an iterative fashion, to determine how initial themes or concepts contribute to the emerging phenomenon. However, this process needs structure. Hence, van Manen (1990) offers several ways of applying structure to this back and forth process in order to produce a written

phenomenological account which is textually organised and exemplifies that which has been explored, for example, the four existentials provide a way of describing the participant’s lived experience and enable meaning to be applied to the participant’s

3 _{Van Manen’s term which means tracing the meaning of a phenomena to its originary character or}

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experiences in relation to lived time, body, space and their relationships with others. It is also useful to question how concepts and meanings that differed from the text as a whole were understood and how these also contributed to the phenomenon. As the hermeneutic circle is never ending, it is difficult to completely know when to stop engaging with the data. The word saturation, which is frequently applied to qualitative research, is one that does not easily lend itself to phenomenological texts. The more one looks, the more one can find, as reinterpretation is an inevitable consequence of a probing and inquisitive mind.