Open AccessThe Accordion and the Deep Bowl of Spaghetti: Eight Researchers' Experiences of Using IPA as a Methodology
Author(s) -
Christopher Wagstaff,
Hyeseung Jeong,
Maeve Nolan,
Tony Wilson,
Julie Tweedlie,
Elly Phillips,
Halia Senu,
Fiona G. Holland
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the qualitative report
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2160-3715
DOI - 10.46743/2160-3715/2014.1216
Subject(s) - interpretative phenomenological analysis , mental health , context (archaeology) , psychology , pedagogy , strengths and weaknesses , sociology , medical education , public relations , nursing , qualitative research , social psychology , medicine , social science , political science , psychotherapist , paleontology , biology
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.