Phenomenological Research Needs to be Renewed: Time to Integrate Enactivism as a Flexible Resource
International Journal of Qualitative Methods January 1, 2021 Peter Stilwell, K. Harman 43 citations
Phenomenology as a qualitative research method has become overly rigid and prescriptive, especially regarding the epoché and reduction. This process paper argues that the emerging paradigm of post-cognitivism and the aligned movement of enactivism—rooted in phenomenology and embodied cognition—offer a flexible alternative. Enactivism treats sense-making as a 5E process (Embodied, Embedded, Enacted, Emotive, and Extended) and can be integrated with existing methods like observation, interviews, and thematic analysis. The authors draw on their enactive study of pain-related meaning co-construction between clinicians and patients to illustrate how this approach moves beyond methodological individualism and captures the dynamic, context-sensitive nature of subjective experience. A sample interview guide, codebook, and rigor components are provided.