Reflecting on the Use of IPA with Focus Groups: Pitfalls and Potentials

Abstract

Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) is a phenomenological, hermeneutic method for analysing semi-structured interview data, supported by a robust theoretical foundation and detailed practical procedures. The use of IPA with focus group data does not yet have the same status, and it should not be assumed that either theory or practice can remain unchanged when applied to focus groups. Two core features of IPA are discussed and problematized in the context of focus group work: the negotiation of part-whole relationships and the management of the interplay between real-time discursive and post-hoc thematic sense-making. With both these issues, practical solutions are offered from our own research on care. Although it is possible to adjust the IPA method for group data, there remain some profound theoretical and epistemological questions about whether the resultant focus on the group-individual dynamic and the discursive construction of experience represents too fundamental a shift from the idiographic and the psychological to be considered “true IPA.” However, working through these issues and attempting to move from either/ors to both/ands are seen as being true to the spirit of phenomenological enquiry.

Keywords:

• epistemology
• focus groups
• hermeneutics
• idiography
• interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA)
• part-whole relationships
• thematic induction

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Leah Tomkins

Leah Tomkins is a doctoral student at Birkbeck, University of London. Her research is concerned with different facets of organisational psychology and employee experience, and in particular, the experience of balancing a career with informal caring responsibilities – the challenge of the CARE(E)R. She has a strong interest in issues of epistemology and in using phenomenology's rich philosophical heritage to explore different ways of conceptualising the self and open up new methodological possibilities. Prior to moving into academia, she held leadership positions in the management consulting sector, specializing in organisational strategy, change management and human performance. She can be e-mailed at [email protected].

Virginia Eatough

Virginia Eatough is a lecturer in Psychology at Birkbeck, University of London, where she teaches social psychology and qualitative research methods. Her main research interests are in phenomenological and social psychology, in particular, emotions and emotional experience, and in using qualitative methodologies to access and understand complex cognitive, emotional and experiential phenomena. Her research draws on a range of qualitative approaches, such as narrative analysis, life story research and discourse analysis; however, most of her work uses Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), an approach grounded in the traditions of phenomenology, hermeneutics and idiography. She can be e-mailed at [email protected].