The accordion and the deep bowl of spaghetti : Eight researchers' experiences of using IPA as a methodology

• Since 1996 Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) has grown rapidly and been applied in areas outside its initial “home” of health psychology. However, explorations of its application from a researcher's perspective are scarce. This paper provides reflections on the experiences of eight individual researchers using IPA in diverse disciplinary fields and cultures. The research studies were conducted in the USA, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and the UK by researchers with backgrounds in business management, consumer behaviour, mental health nursing, nurse education, applied linguistics, clinical psychology, health and education. They variously explored media awareness, employee commitment, disengagement from mental health services, in-vitro fertilisation treatment, student nurses' experience of child protection, second language acquisition in a university context, the male experience of spinal cord injury and academics experience of working in higher education and women’s experiences of body size and health practices. By bringing together intercultural, interdisciplinary experiences of using IPA, the paper discusses perceived strengths and weaknesses of IPA.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Statsvetenskap -- Freds- och konfliktforskning (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Political Science -- Peace and Conflict Studies (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Annan samhällsvetenskap -- Övrig annan samhällsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Other Social Sciences -- Other Social Sciences not elsewhere specified (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Annan humaniora och konst -- Övrig annan humaniora (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Other Humanities -- Other Humanities not elsewhere specified (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Utbildningsvetenskap (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Educational Sciences (hsv//eng)

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Psykologi -- Tillämpad psykologi (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Psychology -- Applied Psychology (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Språk och litteratur -- Studier av enskilda språk (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Languages and Literature -- Studies of Specific Languages (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Qualitative research

researcher’s experience

traditional boundaries

research methodology

Arbetsintegrerat lärande

Work Integrated Learning

Utbildningsvetenskap

Educational science

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