A practical guide to using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis in qualitative research psychology

Igor Pietkiewicz , Jonathan A. Smith

Abstract

Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) has become a popular methodological framework in qualitative psychology. Studies based in IPA focus on examining how individuals make meaning of their life experiences. A detailed analysis of personal accounts followed by presenting and discussing the generic experiential themes is typically paired with the researcher’s own interpretation, which is an expression of double hermeneutics in practice. IPA draws upon phenomenology, hermeneutics, and idiography. This paper presents fundamental principles behind IPA and offers guidelines for doing a study based on this framework.