The brief, practical texts in the Essentials of Qualitative Methods series introduce social science and psychology researchers to key approaches to to qualitative methods, offering exciting opportunities to gather in-depth qualitative data and to develop rich and useful findings.
Essentials of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis is a step-by-step guide to a research method that investigates how people make sense of their lived experience in the context of their personal and social worlds. It is especially well-suited to exploring experiences perceived as highly significant, such as major life and relationship changes, health challenges, and other emotion-laden events. IPA studies highlight convergence and divergence across participants, showing both the experiential themes that the participants share and the unique way each theme is manifested for the individual.
About the Essentials of Qualitative Methods book series: Even for experienced researchers, selecting and correctly applying the right method can be challenging. In this groundbreaking series, leading experts in qualitative methods provide clear, crisp, and comprehensive descriptions of their approach, including its methodological integrity, and its benefits and limitations. Each book includes numerous examples to enable readers to quickly and thoroughly grasp how to leverage these valuable methods.
About the Authors
Jonathan A. Smith, DPhil, is Professor of Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London. Dr. Smith's research has involved the development of interpretative phenomenological analysis, or IPA, as a particular experiential qualitative approach in psychology and its application to a range of areas in health, social, and clinical psychology. The main themes in his research have been life transitions and identity, psycho-social aspects of genetics, and family and health. Dr. Smith runs the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis Research Group (IPARG) comprised of staff, postdocs and Ph.D. students that hold research meetings to exchange ideas, read papers, and analyze data.
Isabella Nizza, PhD candidate, used to work as a project manager in IT and design training courses, but is now building her academic career in health psychology as one of Birkbeck's Anniversary Scholarship students. Her undergraduate studies involved working with Professor Jonathan Smith, and she was the first author of an academic paper co-written with him about the experience of women who have not signed up to be organ donors. Following an MSc in Health Psychology at King's College London, she applied for an Anniversary Scholarship from Birkbeck for further studies, and she now conducts her PhD Psychology research as a fully funded full-time student. Her PhD is about chronic pain and the experience of patients attending self-management programs and she plans to work in academia once she completes her PhD.
Industry Reviews
This is an excellent guide to the theory and practice of interpretative phenomenological analysis; it is well written, carefully organized, engaging, and accessible. The authors have a remarkable knack for anticipating and effectively answering the questions that are typically raised by novice researchers as well as guiding them through the intricacies of qualitative research. -- Steen Halling, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychology, Seattle University, Seattle, WA, United States
From setting the background context to interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) through to offering exemplar studies, this book gives a thorough introduction to the steps a novice researcher will need to follow to conduct their first study using this method. The clear and concise summary also serves as an excellent refresher for anyone returning to IPA as an analytic method after some time away. An excellent addition to qualitative methodology bookshelves. -- Jane Montague, PhD, School of Psychology, University of Derby, Derby, United Kingdom
