Narrative and Phenomenological Design Comparison

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Table of Contents

Comparison Chart
Summary
References

Comparison Chart

Element	Narrative Method	Phenomenological Method
Philosophical roots	The ideas can be traces in the philosophies of post-modernism, social constructionism, and feminism. Humanities, including anthropology, history, and sociology, are the major subjects	Constructivism (Edmund Husserl who was influenced by Kant, Hegel, and Descartes was a founder of the philosophy). Humanities, including philosophy, psychology, and education, are the major subjects
Basic Assumptions	Inter-human relations in different contexts, people’s narratives (stories), and emphasis on characters	Universal awareness, shared experience, and explanation of meaning
Terminology differences	Storytelling, chronology, and individual experience	Essence, meaning, and collective experience
Means by which data is collected and material is gathered	Interviews with direct participants and the use of primary documents (not obligatory)	Interviews with individuals supported by observations, documents, and art works (if possible)
Purposes	To explore the life of one personal or a group of people through gathering their stories, reporting experiences, and creating a chronological order of events that contribute to an understanding of a case	To understand the essence of life experiences and reduce human worries through describing common experiences, identifying phenomena, and discussing the universal essence
Specific challenges unique to each methodology	Extensive information, a clear understanding of the life context, active collaboration with participants, and multiple issues for additional analysis	A deep understanding of a phenomenon and broad philosophical assumptions, awareness of common experiences, and interpretation of signs
Ethical differences in the client-participant relationship	Interviews with participants should be organized individually with anonymity and confidentiality to be discussed (personal information plays a crucial role in developing narrative studies because of the necessity to identify unique features and personal qualities of participants)	Interviews with participants may be organized individually or in groups with anonymity and confidentiality to be kept (personal information does not play a crucial role in developing phenomenological studies because of the necessity to focus on common sense and universal qualities)

Summary

Essential Features of Methodologies

Narrative and phenomenological studies are the types of qualitative research the aim of which is to gain a deep understanding of an issue, event, or a population and derive meaning from surroundings and experiences. Despite the common intentions to disclose meaning of something through interviewing people, a narrative design and a phenomenological design have a number of distinctive features that should be identified by a researcher who performs the role of a primary research instrument (Mohajan, 2018). Narrative research focuses on storytelling where participants share narrations about themselves or events that happen to them (Creswell, 2014). Its peculiar feature is a chronology of events and people’s experience, but not recognition of common themes. Phenomenological researchers, in their turn, concentrate on gathering the material in order to identify one common meaning using as many opinions as possible (Mohajan, 2018). In other words, narrative research is based on people and their experiences, whilst phenomenological research focuses on people’s experiences and a phenomenon.

In both types of research, communication plays a vital role. However, in narrations, it is important to pay attention to every individual and underline the distinctive features of personal experience for the study. In phenomenology, interviews in groups are allowed because the purpose is to find out some common themes and opinions. Finally, a concluding format of both studies varies: narrative research is to explore human actions and patterns of meaning, and phenomenology should describe the essence (meaning) of human experiences (Creswell, 2014). In many cases, novice researchers cannot identify the line between the outcomes that they should achieve in their narrative and phenomenological studies. Therefore, thorough analysis and evaluations are usually required.

Method to Discuss Research on Mental Problems of Homeless Youth

Taking into consideration the peculiarities of narrative research and phenomenology, the discussion of the topic about mental problems of homeless youth can be properly developed from both perspectives. On the one hand, narrative studies are effective to gather opinions and understand human behaviors under specific conditions. People’s decisions, personal characteristics, and the environment play an important role in understanding the chosen research topic, and a narrative method can be used to answer a number of questions. On the other hand, a phenomenological method may contribute to the analysis of the topic due to the possibility to use one particular concept – homelessness – and identify what different people think of it in relation to young people and the development of mental problems.

In both cases, the investigation should begin with direct communication with participants. Interview questions must be planned beforehand to make sure they suit the chosen research field. However, in case of narrative studies, it is expected to cooperate with homeless youth and gather their opinions and knowledge of mental problems. In phenomenology, cooperation with healthcare workers and nurses and their stories can help to understand a situation and discover the essence of mental health problems in a particular population. Therefore, focusing on mental health problems among homeless young people, such qualitative designs as narrations or phenomenology would be appropriate, but a phenomenological study seems to be more effective due to the possibility to understand the meaning of mental health and apply it to homeless people of a particular age. Still, a final decision about the design depends on a research question and access to potential participants for the study.

References

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Mohajan, H. K. (2018). Qualitative research methodology in social sciences and related subjects. Journal of Economic Development, Environment and People, 7(1), 23-48.

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Narrative and Phenomenological Design Comparison

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