Phenomenography is a research approach developed from an empirical research tradition, rather than from a clear set of ontological and epistemological assumptions. Marton (1988) explained how it was the critical review of their work by others that led to a clearer
articulation of these assumptions. However, Svenson (1997) stressed that although these assumptions were inspired by several traditions, such as hermeneutic and phenomenological traditions, none were embraced in their entirety. Because of this he argued that
phenomenography takes no metaphysical position and that views in relation to the nature of reality can vary significantly between researchers. However, as the phenomenographic research approach has been utilised, the theoretical stance has been refined. The generally accepted view within the literature is that defined by Marton which gives phenomenography a non- dualistic ontological position in that people cannot be seen as separate from the aspects of their world that they experience. Marton (2000) explained that:
There are not two worlds: a real, objective world on the one hand and a subjective world of mental representation on the other. There is only one world, a really existing world, which is experienced and understood in different ways by human beings. It is simultaneously objective and subjective. (p.105)
The experience encompasses both object (the phenomenon experienced) and subject (the person experiencing) and it is this inseparable relationship between the person and aspects of their world that is explored within phenomenography. The focus becomes what is the person’s understanding of what is there in the world, rather than a search for an ultimate truth of what is there in the world. This ontological position differs from a dualist ontology often associated
with the traditional positivist paradigm where the person and the world are considered two separate and distinct entities (Yates, Partridge, & Bruce, 2012).
Richardson (1999) viewed this non-dualistic stance as problematic in that it supposes objects or events can only exist if they are experienced by someone. He argued that physical objects have persisted through time whether they were experienced by someone or not. Marton and Booth (1997) did acknowledge the physical existence of natural objects, although argued that “our world is a real world, but it is a described world, a world experienced by humans” (p.113). Therefore objects existing within the world cannot be described in a way that is independent of the description or the describer.
Associated with the non-dualist ontological position, a fundamental aspect of
phenomenography is the second order perspective. Whilst a first order perspective is
concerned with describing aspects of the world, a second order perspective is concerned with describing people’s experiences of these aspects in the world (Marton, 1981). Hence
researchers are concerned with individuals’ understanding of the world rather than how the world really is. This second order perspective influences the nature of how research questions are formulated, instead of asking ‘why’ questions, researchers are more concerned with ‘how’ and ‘what’ questions (Yates et al., 2012). Therefore the first research question in this study addresses what variation exists in the participants’ understanding of recovery. It is the
experiences of the participants, rather than those of the researcher that are explored with this second order perspective therefore it is necessary for the researcher to ‘bracket’ their own experiences and judgements. The issues related to bracketing are discussed more fully in section 3.3.4.1.
The ontological and epistemological assumptions within phenomenography are
interdependent, relating to conceptions and their relationship to knowledge and reality. The ontological interest relates to an individual’s consciousness of reality, with the epistemological issue relating to the individuals’ expression of reality (Uljens, 1996). Understanding of the epistemological issues is based on the notion of intentionality first suggested by Franz Bretano in the 19th century. Intentionality embodies the idea that all psychic (psychological) refers to
“something beyond itself” (Marton & Booth, 1997, p.84). Human experience is understood as a ‘human world relationship’ where all psychological acts are viewed as intentional. Experiences occur with something being experienced and knowledge is constituted through these internal relationships (Marton & Pang, 2008). To illustrate this Marton and Booth (1997) provided the example of a thought, which cannot be imagined unless there is something to think about, “a thought of a dog refers to an object, a dog that is beyond the thought itself” (p.84).
Phenomenography is an approach distinguished from phenomenology. Although both have human experience as their object of research, a number of key differences mean that
“phenomenography has to be seen as no more than a cousin-by-marriage of phenomenology” (Marton & Booth, 1997, p.117). Phenomenography is concerned with the second order perspective describing people’s experiences of the world. However, Phenomenology is concerned with the describing the world as it is, taking a noumenal first order perspective. Phenomenography emphasises reflective rather than pre-reflective thought and is concerned with collective meaning, highlighting the variation of experience that exists across groups of individuals. Phenomenology on the other hand is focused at an individual level and concerned with capturing the singular essence of experience, entering the unique lifeworld of the person (Barnard, McCosker, & Gerber, 1999; Alsop & Tompsett, 2006). As phenomenography has developed, aspects of phenomenological method have been incorporated in a limited way and the two approaches do share some similarities in their approaches to method (Barnard et al.,
1999). However, phenomenography does not have its origins in a phenomenological tradition, rather a pedagogical one (Svensson, 1997).