Data Analysis

This chapter focuses on data analysis and how to present your data. The first thing you have to remember is to remove yourself from the data. The analysis part is one of the main differences between the two approaches -- transcendental and hermeneutic. It begins with the traditional means of analyzing data, the modified van Kaam and the Stevik-Colaizzi-Keen methods. The hermeneutic circle is the method of choice for analyzing a hermeneutic phenomenology study. These are presented in depth with diagrams and key features identified. The latter half of the chapter deals with how to present your data. When it comes to the presentation of your data, after you/ve done your data, you want to do so as clearly as possible, such that the reader can almost feel as if he/she was actually experiencing the stories that your participants told you. There are examples of how to present this data, all the way from coding, categorizing, and thematic or essence presentation. The clearer you are with your presentation, the more quickly you will get through the multiple reviews at the end.