We are reminded frequently by phenomenographic theorists such as Ference Marton and Lennart Svensson that the object of phenomenographic research is human experience as it is remembered from a second-order perspective. The distinctive relational nature of phenomenography in which the subject and the object of the research are investigated for their relationships in a particular context and the search for qualitative variations in these relations suggest strengths for a research methodology which can no longer be denied in educational and social science research. Additionally, the capacity for phenomenographic studies to adopt a supra-individual orientation in the empirical investigation of human experience is an attraction for this methodology.

Some people become frustrated with phenomenographic investigations because they focus on answering What? questions and not How? or Why? types. This is because they aren t satisfied with the revelation of qualitative variations in people s experience of selected phenomena. Other researchers are contented to use the revealed differences as a basis for the consideration of pedagogical implications of these results. Whether the outcomes of the phenomenographic research are seen as the endpoint of the research or as a means to another end is really not the issue for the phenomenographic study has usually yielded valuable, rich results which have offered an alternative description of people s experience of the phenomenon. The power of phenomenography resides in its revelation of the variation in the experience.

The annotations in this publication are intended to offer prospective qualitative researchers and/or post-graduate research students a helping hand to enter the sometimes challenging research conversation that is centred around phenomenography. Please use this volume as diversely as your needs are to maximise its contents and to improve your experience of this distinctive approach to research.

Good luck!

Rod Gerber
September, 1995

Introductory Notes Annotated Bibliography: Alphabetical Index Phenomenographic Research: A Chronological Index Subject Index Back to Table of Contents