Phenomenology, at its core, is a philosophical endeavor that seeks to understand the “essence” of phenomena. As the text “Introduction to Phenomenology: Focus on Methodology” explains, “Essence is what makes a phenomenon what it is, and without it, it would not be that phenomenon”. It’s about moving beyond what the text calls the “natural attitude,” which is “a naïve approach to viewing the world where persons take for granted the world as they perceive it”. Instead, phenomenology urges us to engage in “critically reflect[ing] on his or her experiences and no longer take them for granted”.

To achieve this critical reflection, phenomenologists employ specific techniques. “Epoché,” a Greek word meaning abstention, is a central concept. Husserl used this term to capture the actions required to “suspend the natural attitude of taken-for-granted beliefs”. Another key technique is “bracketing,” which, as the text notes, provides “the image of putting parentheses around our various presuppositions and assumptions that can hinder our being open to the meaning of phenomena”.
Phenomenology isn’t merely abstract theorizing; it’s a dynamic and relevant approach to understanding human existence. As the text highlights, “What makes human beings different from other beings is their ability to be concerned about their very own being, which Heidegger termed ‘Dasein’”. Ultimately, “The primary work of phenomenology is to lay open a phenomenon and let it be seen”.
IPA: A Method for Exploring Personal Meaning
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) is a qualitative research method that draws heavily from phenomenological principles. As Smith, Flowers, and Larkin explain in “Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis: Theory, Method and Research,” IPA researchers are “especially interested in what happens when the everyday flow of lived experience takes on a particular significance for people”. This often occurs “when something important has happened in our lives”, and IPA is concerned with Dilthey’s more ‘comprehensive unit’, where the experience has larger significance in the person’s life”. For instance, “an IPA researcher might be interested in looking in detail at how someone makes sense of a major transition in their life”.
While phenomenology provides the philosophical foundation, IPA also integrates hermeneutics and idiography. “IPA’s second major theoretical axis” is hermeneutics, which is “the theory of interpretation”. IPA shares the view that “human beings are sense-making creatures, and therefore the accounts which participants provide will reflect their attempts to make sense of their experience”. This leads to what’s known as the “double hermeneutic,” where “the IPA researcher is engaged in a double hermeneutic because the researcher is trying to make sense of the participant trying to make sense of what is happening to them”.
The third axis, idiography, means that “IPA is committed to the detailed examination of the particular case”. It “wants to know in detail what the experience for this person is like, what sense this particular person is making of what is happening to them”. As Smith, Flowers, and Larkin emphasize, “This is what we mean when we say IPA is idiographic”.
Phenomenology in Practice: Key Considerations
Both phenomenology and IPA, therefore, emphasize key concepts:

• Essence: Phenomenology is fundamentally concerned with identifying the “essence” of a phenomenon, “what makes a phenomenon what it is”.
• Perspective: Phenomenology, and by extension IPA, acknowledges the crucial role of individual perspective. As Ahmed (2006) notes, “meanings arise, and become clear for us, when we understand our orientation towards an object”. In IPA, this is understood as “the meaning which something has for someone”.
• Experience: Both approaches prioritize the concept of “lived experience.” As the “Introduction to Phenomenology” text states, “The phenomenologist explains life as we live it; the lived experience”.
• Interpretation: Both texts highlight the inherently interpretative nature of this work. Smith et al. (2009) state that in IPA, “the researcher is trying to make sense of the participant, who is trying to make sense of x”.
  Ethical Considerations
  Researchers employing phenomenological approaches like IPA must adhere to rigorous ethical standards.
• Informed Consent: Researchers must ensure that “informed consent must be gained not only for participation in data collection… but also for the likely outcomes of data analysis (and particularly, the inclusion of verbatim extracts in published reports)”.
• Anonymity: Protecting participant confidentiality is paramount: “Raw, unedited data transcripts should only be seen by the immediate research team: any data for wider use must be edited for anonymity”.
  In conclusion, phenomenology and IPA provide valuable frameworks for exploring the depths of human experience. By prioritizing detailed description, interpretative rigor, and ethical awareness, these approaches offer rich insights into the ways individuals navigate and make sense of their world.