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Title: Phenomenography in the 21st Century: A Methodology for Investigating Human Experience of the World

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dc:title Phenomenography in the 21st Century: A Methodology for Investigating Human Experience of the World
dc:creator Gerlese S. Åkerlind
dc:rights ©2025 Gerlese S. Åkerlind, CC BY-NC 4.0
dc:identifier calibre:164 | uuid:ff2a2dc5-0021-4082-968f-b6ff8deb77a9 | urn:uuid:54642469-38be-4028-924d-eba4d307b9d4
dc:language en-GB
dc:date 2025-02-03T11:40:27+00:00
dc:description Phenomenography offers a distinctive approach to studying human experience of the world, by highlighting different ways in which the same phenomena (concepts, objects, events) are experienced within any group of people. Phenomenography focuses on the relationship between meaning—people’s holistic understanding of phenomena—and structure, that is the part-whole structure of people’s awareness of phenomena. This structure of awareness then forms the basis for identifying differences in the experienced meaning of phenomena, and how awareness needs to change to allow new meanings to emerge—whether educationally, historically, culturally or socially. 
 
Over its 50-year history, there have been substantial advancements in the methods and theoretical assumptions underlying phenomenographic research, but these developments are not always recognised. This book details how the 21st-century practice of phenomenography differs from its earlier iterations, emphasising that earlier works can be misleading when used to justify current research practices. 
 
Phenomenography is a developing, not static, approach to social science research, and this book introduces further methodological and theoretical extensions to the research. Although most commonly used in educational research, the potential of phenomenography to contribute to research in other social science disciplines is increasingly being recognised and is further emphasised in this book. In this way, this book is not only essential reading for doctoral students, but will also be of interest to those already experienced in phenomenography, and to social science researchers within and outside the field of education.
dc:subject Phenomenography;Human experience;EpistemologyResearch methodology;Social sciences;Educational research
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Outlines

Go to: TOC Outline | Headings Outline | HTML Outline

TOC Outline

  1. Cover
  2. Title page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Contents
  6. List of Illustrations
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. Author’s Biography
  9. Foreword
  10. Preface
  11. 1. Introduction to phenomenography and the aims of this book
    1. Why phenomenography?
    2. The purpose of this book
    3. My personal involvement in phenomenography
    4. Structure of the book
    5. Chapter summary
  12. 2. Developments in phenomenography over time: From a research ‘approach’ to a ‘methodology’
    1. The focus on human experience
    2. Variation and structure in human experience
    3. Research examples illustrating the shift from early to 21st-century phenomenography
    4. Chapter summary
  13. 3. Variation in understandings of phenomenography
    1. Study methods
    2. Outcomes—variation in ways of understanding phenomenography
    3. Implications of the study for phenomenographic research
    4. Chapter summary
  14. 4. Variation in understandings of structural relationships in phenomenography
    1. Study methods
    2. Outcomes—variation in ways of understanding structural relationships
    3. Implications of the study for phenomenographic research
    4. Chapter summary
  15. 5. Epistemological assumptions in phenomenography: Implications for methods
    1. The dialectical relationship between meaning and structure in human experience
    2. Awareness as inevitably partial and variable
    3. Partial and varying awareness creates a figure-ground structure to experience
    4. How awareness of parts combine to create a holistic experience
    5. Human experience of the world as non-dualistic
    6. Summary of epistemological claims and associated analytic strategies
    7. Chapter summary
  16. 6. Study design, data gathering and the phenomenographic interview
    1. Determining the object of study
    2. Gathering data
    3. Chapter summary
  17. 7. Analysing data and reporting research outcomes
    1. A ten-step guideline for the analytic process
    2. Concrete descriptions of practice
    3. Research rigour
    4. Transferability of outcomes
    5. Chapter summary
  18. 8. Adding further structure to the outcome space: Structural relationships between dimensions of variation
    1. How the notion of ‘themes of expanding awareness’ developed
    2. The traditional approach—independently constituted dimensions of variation
    3. The themes of expanding awareness approach—relationally constituted dimensions of variation
    4. How to constitute themes of expanding awareness
    5. Not just variation in values along a dimension, but also variation in dimensions along a theme
    6. Chapter summary
  19. 9. Phenomenography and variation theory: The development of complementary traditions
    1. Three components to the variation theory tradition
    2. Development of the variation theory tradition from its phenomenographic roots
    3. The relationship between the phenomenography and variation theory traditions
    4. The relationship in summary—complementary theoretical, applied, empirical and educational relationships
    5. Chapter summary
  20. 10. Phenomenography and collective awareness: The potential of phenomenography to contribute to the broader social sciences
    1. Phenomenography and collective awareness
    2. Phenomenography and sociocultural perspectives on human experience
    3. Potential applications of phenomenography in the broader social sciences
    4. A final point
    5. Chapter summary
  21. References
  22. Index
  23. About the Team
  24. This book need not end here…
  25. You may also be interested in:
  26. Back cover

Headings Outline

  • Dedication
  • Contents
  • List of Illustrations
    • Figures
    • Tables
  • Acknowledgments
  • Author’s Biography
  • Foreword
  • Preface
  • 1. Introduction to phenomenography and the aims of this book
    • Why phenomenography?
    • The purpose of this book
    • My personal involvement in phenomenography
    • Structure of the book
      • 1. Introduction to phenomenography and the aims of this book
      • 2. Developments in phenomenography over time: From an ‘approach’ to a ‘methodology’
      • 3. Variation in understandings of phenomenography
      • 4. Variation in understandings of structural relationships in phenomenography
      • 5. Epistemological assumptions in phenomenography: Implications for methods
      • 6. Study design, data gathering and the phenomenographic interview
      • 7. Analysing data and reporting research outcomes
      • 8. Adding further structure to the outcome space: Structural relationships between dimensions of variation
      • 9. Phenomenography and variation theory: The development of complementary traditions
      • 10. Phenomenography and collective awareness: The potential of phenomenography to contribute to the broader social sciences
    • Chapter summary
  • 2. Developments in phenomenography over time: From a research ‘approach’ to a ‘methodology’
    • The focus on human experience
    • Variation and structure in human experience
    • Research examples illustrating the shift from early to 21st-century phenomenography
      • Example of research outcomes illustrating early phenomenography (1970s–1990s)
      • Category 1: Legal reasoning seen as a formulaic process of following a specific framework for predicting a legal outcome
      • Category 2: Legal reasoning seen as an interpretive process of arguing for an outcome that benefits your client
      • Category 3: Legal reasoning seen as a responsive and innovative process for developing the Law to reflect changing society
      • Example of research outcomes illustrating 21st-century phenomenography
    • Chapter summary
  • 3. Variation in understandings of phenomenography
    • Study methods
      • Survey design
      • Sample recruitment
      • Data analysis
    • Outcomes—variation in ways of understanding phenomenography
      • Category 1: Phenomenography experienced as a part of the field of educational research
      • Category 2: Phenomenography experienced as a distinctive research method in educational research
      • Category 3: Phenomenography experienced as a research method that elucidates variation in ways of understanding
      • Category 4: Phenomenography experienced as a research method that elucidates structural relationships amongst variation in ways of understanding
      • Category 5: Phenomenography experienced as a powerful pedagogical tool for improving educational outcomes
      • Category 6: Phenomenography experienced as a way of thinking and operating in the world
      • Structural relationships between the different ways of understanding phenomenography
    • Implications of the study for phenomenographic research
    • Chapter summary
  • 4. Variation in understandings of structural relationships in phenomenography
    • Study methods
    • Outcomes—variation in ways of understanding structural relationships
      • Category 1: Structural relationships as hierarchical relationships
      • Category 2: Structural relationships as hierarchically-inclusive relationships
      • Category 3: Structural relationships as meaning-structure relationships
      • Category 4: Structural relationships as part-whole relationships
      • Category 5: Structural relationships as multi-faceted
      • Structural relationships between the different ways of understanding
    • Implications of the study for phenomenographic research
    • Chapter summary
  • 5. Epistemological assumptions in phenomenography: Implications for methods
    • The dialectical relationship between meaning and structure in human experience
    • Awareness as inevitably partial and variable
    • Partial and varying awareness creates a figure-ground structure to experience
    • How awareness of parts combine to create a holistic experience
    • Human experience of the world as non-dualistic
    • Summary of epistemological claims and associated analytic strategies
    • Chapter summary
  • 6. Study design, data gathering and the phenomenographic interview
    • Determining the object of study
      • What is a phenomenon?
      • What is meant by ‘experience’?
      • Clarifying the research questions
    • Gathering data
      • Selecting participants
      • Designing interview questions
        • Introductory questions
        • Open questions
        • Concrete examples
        • Follow-up questions
      • Conducting interviews
      • Transcription of interviews
    • Chapter summary
  • 7. Analysing data and reporting research outcomes
    • A ten-step guideline for the analytic process
    • Concrete descriptions of practice
      • Familiarising
      • Condensing
      • Comparing, Grouping and Delimiting
      • Discerning
      • Articulating
      • Checking
      • Relating
      • Labelling
      • Bringing all the steps together
    • Research rigour
      • Trustworthiness of the research process
      • Credibility of the research outcomes
      • Common challenges to the trustworthiness and credibility of phenomenographic research
    • Transferability of outcomes
    • Chapter summary
  • 8. Adding further structure to the outcome space: Structural relationships between dimensions of variation
    • How the notion of ‘themes of expanding awareness’ developed
    • The traditional approach—independently constituted dimensions of variation
      • Different ways of showing the relationship between dimensions of variation and ways of experiencing
    • The themes of expanding awareness approach—relationally constituted dimensions of variation
      • The number of critical aspects discerned in each category
      • Examples of themes of expanding awareness constituted by other authors
    • How to constitute themes of expanding awareness
    • Not just variation in values along a dimension, but also variation in dimensions along a theme
    • Chapter summary
  • 9. Phenomenography and variation theory: The development of complementary traditions
    • Three components to the variation theory tradition
      • Theoretical assumptions
      • Empirical research
      • Pedagogical applications
    • Development of the variation theory tradition from its phenomenographic roots
      • From pedagogical observations to pedagogical interventions
      • Development of particular patterns of variance and invariance of critical aspects during pedagogical interventions
      • Development of the model of ‘learning study’ for pedagogical interventions
      • Contributing to the professional knowledge of teachers
      • Identifying critical aspects of the object of learning in learning studies
      • Variation theory in higher education
    • The relationship between the phenomenography and variation theory traditions
      • Views from the research community
      • Views from the literature
    • The relationship in summary—complementary theoretical, applied, empirical and educational relationships
    • Chapter summary
  • 10. Phenomenography and collective awareness: The potential of phenomenography to contribute to the broader social sciences
    • Phenomenography and collective awareness
    • Phenomenography and sociocultural perspectives on human experience
    • Potential applications of phenomenography in the broader social sciences
    • A final point
    • Chapter summary
  • References
  • Index
  • About the Team
  • This book need not end here…
    • Share
    • Donate
    • We invite you to connect with us on our socials!
    • Read more at the Open Book Publishers Blog
  • You may also be interested in:
  • Contents
    • Landmarks

HTML Outline

    1. Untitled BODY
    1. Untitled BODY
    1. Untitled BODY
    1. Untitled BODY
      1. Untitled SECTION
    1. Untitled BODY
      1. Dedication
    1. Contents
    1. Untitled BODY
      1. List of Illustrations
        1. Figures
        2. Tables
    1. Acknowledgments
    1. Author’s Biography
    1. Untitled BODY
      1. Foreword
        1. Untitled SECTION
    1. Untitled BODY
      1. Preface
    1. Untitled BODY
      1. 1. Introduction to phenomenography and the aims of this book
        1. Why phenomenography?
        2. The purpose of this book
        3. My personal involvement in phenomenography
        4. Structure of the book
          1. 1. Introduction to phenomenography and the aims of this book
          2. 2. Developments in phenomenography over time: From an ‘approach’ to a ‘methodology’
          3. 3. Variation in understandings of phenomenography
          4. 4. Variation in understandings of structural relationships in phenomenography
          5. 5. Epistemological assumptions in phenomenography: Implications for methods
          6. 6. Study design, data gathering and the phenomenographic interview
          7. 7. Analysing data and reporting research outcomes
          8. 8. Adding further structure to the outcome space: Structural relationships between dimensions of variation
          9. 9. Phenomenography and variation theory: The development of complementary traditions
          10. 10. Phenomenography and collective awareness: The potential of phenomenography to contribute to the broader social sciences
        5. Chapter summary
        6. Untitled SECTION
    1. 2. Developments in phenomenography over time: From a research ‘approach’ to a ‘methodology’
      1. The focus on human experience
      2. Variation and structure in human experience
      3. Research examples illustrating the shift from early to 21st-century phenomenography
        1. Example of research outcomes illustrating early phenomenography (1970s–1990s)
        2. Category 1: Legal reasoning seen as a formulaic process of following a specific framework for predicting a legal outcome
        3. Category 2: Legal reasoning seen as an interpretive process of arguing for an outcome that benefits your client
        4. Category 3: Legal reasoning seen as a responsive and innovative process for developing the Law to reflect changing society
        5. Example of research outcomes illustrating 21st-century phenomenography
      4. Chapter summary
      5. Untitled SECTION
    1. Untitled BODY
      1. 3. Variation in understandings of phenomenography
        1. Study methods
          1. Survey design
          2. Sample recruitment
          3. Data analysis
        2. Outcomes—variation in ways of understanding phenomenography
          1. Category 1: Phenomenography experienced as a part of the field of educational research
          2. Category 2: Phenomenography experienced as a distinctive research method in educational research
          3. Category 3: Phenomenography experienced as a research method that elucidates variation in ways of understanding
          4. Category 4: Phenomenography experienced as a research method that elucidates structural relationships amongst variation in ways of understanding
          5. Category 5: Phenomenography experienced as a powerful pedagogical tool for improving educational outcomes
          6. Category 6: Phenomenography experienced as a way of thinking and operating in the world
          7. Structural relationships between the different ways of understanding phenomenography
        3. Implications of the study for phenomenographic research
        4. Chapter summary
        5. Untitled SECTION
    1. Untitled BODY
      1. 4. Variation in understandings of structural relationships in phenomenography
        1. Study methods
        2. Outcomes—variation in ways of understanding structural relationships
          1. Category 1: Structural relationships as hierarchical relationships
          2. Category 2: Structural relationships as hierarchically-inclusive relationships
          3. Category 3: Structural relationships as meaning-structure relationships
          4. Category 4: Structural relationships as part-whole relationships
          5. Category 5: Structural relationships as multi-faceted
          6. Structural relationships between the different ways of understanding
        3. Implications of the study for phenomenographic research
        4. Chapter summary
        5. Untitled SECTION
    1. Untitled BODY
      1. 5. Epistemological assumptions in phenomenography: Implications for methods
        1. The dialectical relationship between meaning and structure in human experience
        2. Awareness as inevitably partial and variable
        3. Partial and varying awareness creates a figure-ground structure to experience
        4. How awareness of parts combine to create a holistic experience
        5. Human experience of the world as non-dualistic
        6. Summary of epistemological claims and associated analytic strategies
        7. Chapter summary
        8. Untitled SECTION
    1. Untitled BODY
      1. 6. Study design, data gathering and the phenomenographic interview
        1. Determining the object of study
          1. What is a phenomenon?
          2. What is meant by ‘experience’?
          3. Clarifying the research questions
        2. Gathering data
          1. Selecting participants
          2. Designing interview questions
            1. Introductory questions
            2. Open questions
            3. Concrete examples
            4. Follow-up questions
          3. Conducting interviews
          4. Transcription of interviews
        3. Chapter summary
        4. Untitled SECTION
    1. Untitled BODY
      1. 7. Analysing data and reporting research outcomes
        1. A ten-step guideline for the analytic process
        2. Concrete descriptions of practice
          1. Familiarising
          2. Condensing
          3. Comparing, Grouping and Delimiting
          4. Discerning
          5. Articulating
          6. Checking
          7. Relating
          8. Labelling
          9. Bringing all the steps together
        3. Research rigour
          1. Trustworthiness of the research process
          2. Credibility of the research outcomes
          3. Common challenges to the trustworthiness and credibility of phenomenographic research
        4. Transferability of outcomes
        5. Chapter summary
        6. Untitled SECTION
    1. Untitled BODY
      1. 8. Adding further structure to the outcome space: Structural relationships between dimensions of variation
        1. How the notion of ‘themes of expanding awareness’ developed
        2. The traditional approach—independently constituted dimensions of variation
          1. Different ways of showing the relationship between dimensions of variation and ways of experiencing
        3. The themes of expanding awareness approach—relationally constituted dimensions of variation
          1. The number of critical aspects discerned in each category
          2. Examples of themes of expanding awareness constituted by other authors
        4. How to constitute themes of expanding awareness
        5. Not just variation in values along a dimension, but also variation in dimensions along a theme
        6. Chapter summary
        7. Untitled SECTION
    1. Untitled BODY
      1. 9. Phenomenography and variation theory: The development of complementary traditions
        1. Three components to the variation theory tradition
          1. Theoretical assumptions
          2. Empirical research
          3. Pedagogical applications
        2. Development of the variation theory tradition from its phenomenographic roots
          1. From pedagogical observations to pedagogical interventions
          2. Development of particular patterns of variance and invariance of critical aspects during pedagogical interventions
          3. Development of the model of ‘learning study’ for pedagogical interventions
          4. Contributing to the professional knowledge of teachers
          5. Identifying critical aspects of the object of learning in learning studies
          6. Variation theory in higher education
        3. The relationship between the phenomenography and variation theory traditions
          1. Views from the research community
          2. Views from the literature
        4. The relationship in summary—complementary theoretical, applied, empirical and educational relationships
        5. Chapter summary
        6. Untitled SECTION
    1. Untitled BODY
      1. 10. Phenomenography and collective awareness: The potential of phenomenography to contribute to the broader social sciences
        1. Phenomenography and collective awareness
        2. Phenomenography and sociocultural perspectives on human experience
        3. Potential applications of phenomenography in the broader social sciences
        4. A final point
        5. Chapter summary
        6. Untitled SECTION
    1. Untitled BODY
      1. References
    1. Untitled BODY
      1. Index
    1. Untitled BODY
      1. About the Team
    1. Untitled BODY
      1. This book need not end here…
        1. Share
        2. Donate
      2. We invite you to connect with us on our socials!
      3. Read more at the Open Book Publishers Blog
    1. You may also be interested in:
    1. Untitled BODY
    1. Untitled BODY
      1. Contents
      2. Landmarks

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