Meta-Reflection on an Applied Hermeneutic Phenomenology: Methodological Challenges of a Study on Young-Women's Political Participation

Authors

  • Pilar Folgueiras-Bertomeu Universitat de Barcelona
  • Amanda A. da Matta Universitat de Barcelona
  • María Paz Sandín-Esteban Universitat de Barcelona
  • Miriam Comet-Donoso Universitat de Barcelona

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-26.2.4201

Keywords:

hermeneutic phenomenology, applied hermeneutic phenomenology, qualitative research, research methodology

Abstract

In this article, we present a meta-reflection on the following questions: What methodological challenges arise when using VAN MANEN's (1990, 2014) applied hermeneutic phenomenology in a study of young-women's political participation? How can its analysis contribute to a critical reflection on this methodology in the human sciences? We present methodological challenges regarding delimiting the phenomenon, defining the research question, selecting participants, collecting data, conducting thematic analysis and working with a diverse team. We conclude that these challenges are transferable to other empirical phenomenological research, and that researcher reflexivity is key to facing them.

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Author Biographies

Pilar Folgueiras-Bertomeu, Universitat de Barcelona

Pilar FOLGUEIRAS-BERTOMEU is a professor at the Department of MIDE at the Faculty of Education, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), and member of the Institut de Recerca en Educació at the Universitat de Barcelona (IREUB). She is a member of the Intercultural Education Research Group (GREDI) and of the consolidated teaching innovation group MideMe. Her research areas include participation, citizenship education, and research methodologies. In her latest projects, she focused on political participation and meta-reflexive analyses of the methods she uses in her different studies (phenomenology, action research, mixed methods designs, etc.).

Amanda A. da Matta, Universitat de Barcelona

Amanda A. da MATTA is a pre-doctoral researcher at the Intercultural Education Research Group (GREDI) of the Department of Research and Diagnostic Methods in Education at the Universitat de Barcelona (UB). Graduated in pedagogy and with a master in value and citizenship education, she currently teaches at the University of Barcelona and is completing her doctoral thesis on the phenomenology of care.

María Paz Sandín-Esteban, Universitat de Barcelona

María Paz SANDÍN-ESTEBAN is a professor at the Department of MIDE at the Faculty of Education, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), and director of the Institut de Recerca en Educació at the Universitat de Barcelona (IREUB). She is a founding member of the Intercultural Education Research Group (GREDI) and a member of the consolidated teaching innovation group MideMe. Her research areas include intercultural education and teacher training, with a focus on participatory, ethnographic, and improvement-oriented studies. in her most recent projects, she explores resilience processes, academic success, and the analysis of relational environments through network analysis. She has also participated in some university teaching research and innovation projects, particularly those focused on learning and reflexivity through narrative inquiry.

Miriam Comet-Donoso, Universitat de Barcelona

Miriam COMET-DONOSO is an assistant professor at the Department of Research Methods and Diagnosis in Education, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), and graduate in biomedicine and neuroscience. She has led and collaborated on gender-focused projects across Europe, combining research and education. As founder of the Luciferases Association, she promotes science communication with a feminist and social justice lens, driven by her interest in how dominant narratives sustain inequality.

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Published

2025-05-26

How to Cite

Folgueiras-Bertomeu, P., Matta, A. A. da, Sandín-Esteban, M. P., & Comet-Donoso, M. (2025). Meta-Reflection on an Applied Hermeneutic Phenomenology: Methodological Challenges of a Study on Young-Women’s Political Participation. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 26(2). https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-26.2.4201

Issue

Vol. 26 No. 2 (2025): Digital Images and Visual Artifacts in Everyday Life: Changing Media—Changing Uses—Changing Methods

Section

Single Contributions

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Copyright (c) 2025 Amanda A. da Matta, Maria del Pilar Folgueiras-Bertomeu, Miriam Comet-Donoso

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