Essentials of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

by Jonathan A. Smith, Isabella E Nizza

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 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.

Genres: Research, Psychology

90 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 31, 2021

About the author

Jonathan Alan Smith is a psychologist currently based at Birkbeck, University of London. He has been very prominent in promoting qualitative research within social psychology and health psychology. In particular, he has developed and promoted a particular approach known as interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA).

Smith achieved a DPhil in Psychology from the University of Oxford and then held lectureships at Keele and Sheffield Universities. He has at least 160 publications to his name.

Reviews

[Charles · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful.

[Laura Louise Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction to the IPA methodology—particularly its interview guide. Perfect for those curious about IPA, however I’d still recommend the more robust guide from Smith, Flowers, & Larkin (2009) after this if you’re planning on using this methodology in research. Kind of like an appetizer and the main course.

If I were teaching a course in qualitative methods, I’d definitely assign this book.

[Melissainau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent method overview, clearly written and eminently readable. This is a great introduction to IPA but also to good interviewing technique. Valuable whether you are using the method or just seeking to understand it.

[Kernita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful

Essentials of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis offered a very clear and concise introduction to IPA. It has piqued my interest in IPA and has convinced me of its utility in research.

[Johanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extremely well-written and useful short guide for anyone who wants to carry out an IPA project.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect starter guide

This book gave me everything I needed to understand the implications of what I was undertaking and how to get started

[ReD · Rating 5 out of 5]

2021-2024

[Druss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding summation and introduction

[Phil James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book for college. Qualitative methodology books can be very dense and challenging to read. This one was great. It's in a series of short books, about 80 pages, on different qualitative methodologies. This one is by a renowned expert and really easy to read. A great introduction.

[Lisa Cherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Straightforward and practical read on IPA.