Expanding Microphenomenology: The Researcher-as-Obstacle Approach to Continuous Phenomena
Raphaël Julliard, Damien Roy, Marion Botella
January 8, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/g7nmf_v1 via OpenAlex
Summary
Standard micro-phenomenology, which reconstructs short, bounded episodes after they end, struggles to investigate phenomena that practitioners experience as continuous. The Researcher-as-Obstacle (RAO) framework adapts the method by introducing precisely timed interruptions during a pretext experience that mobilizes the continuous process. A case study with a professional artist compared a standard retrospective interview to an RAO session. Standard micro-phenomenology captured fine-grained experiential content but could not temporally anchor the regulative dynamic of the “creative engine.” RAO sacrificed exhaustive diachrony to obtain multiple anchored samples of recurrent patterns, such as the search for a “feeling of life.” RAO extends micro-phenomenology to continuous phenomena while preserving evocation and pre-reflective access.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Case study Case report |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 1 |
| Population | Professional artist |
| Keywords | Pretext Experiential learning Process computing Bounded function Feature linguistics |
| Key finding | The Researcher-as-Obstacle framework, by introducing timed interruptions during a pretext experience, obtains multiple anchored samples of recurrent experiential patterns in continuous phenomena, whereas standard micro-phenomenology struggles to temporally anchor such dynamics. |
Abstract
Investigating phenomena that practitioners experience as continuous, without clear beginning or end, poses a challenge for standard micro-phenomenology, which reconstructs short, bounded episodes retrospectively. This article introduces the Researcher-as-Obstacle (RAO) framework and protocol as a structural adaptation for such cases. RAO organizes a pretext experience that genuinely mobilizes the continuous process of interest, and the researcher introduces precisely timed interruptions eliciting immediate micro-phenomenological evocations. Each interruption is retrospective with respect to the micro-event yet functions as real-time sampling within the unfolding pretext experience.A case study with a professional artist who completed both a standard retrospective interview and an RAO session illustrates the contrast. Standard micro-phenomenology reveals fine-grained experiential content but struggles to temporally anchor the regulative dynamic of the “creative engine.” RAO, by contrast, sacrifices exhaustive diachrony to obtain multiple anchored samples of recurrent patterns, such as the search for a “feeling of life.”RAO thereby extends micro-phenomenology to practitioner-defined continuous phenomena while preserving evocation, pre-reflective access, and experiential validity.