Process / pipelineinterpretive-psychological

Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) is a qualitative research methodology that explores how people make sense of significant personal experiences. Developed by Jonathan Smith (1999) and grounded in phenomenology and hermeneutics, IPA examines individual experience in detail before identifying shared patterns; it emphasizes the idiographic (particular) and operates on the principle of double hermeneutics: the researcher interprets participants' interpretations of their lived experience.

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Sources

  1. Smith, J. A. (1999). Towards a relational self: Social engagement during pregnancy and first-time motherhood. British Journal of Social Psychology, 38(4), 409–426. DOI: 10.1348/014466699164248
  2. Smith, J. A., Flowers, P., & Larkin, M. (2009). Interpretative phenomenological analysis: Theory, method and research. Sage Publications. link
  3. Smith, J. A. (Ed.). (2015). Qualitative psychology: A practical guide to research methods (3rd ed.). Sage Publications. link

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Referenced by

ScholarGateInterpretative Phenomenological Analysis (Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)). Retrieved 2026-06-04 from https://scholargate.app/en/qualitative-research/interpretative-phenomenological-analysis