The main issue I have come across in taking a phenomenological (or any qualitative) approach in a
commercial or organisational setting is people not understanding what it is, and expecting similar
parameters to apply as for quantitative research. A fairly common comment concerns sample size -
it can be hard to get over to people that a single-figure sample is valid - and there can be confusion
between methods such as theoretical sampling (see Glaser & Strauss 1967), used to ensure that
participants are drawn from a spread of contexts, and statistical sampling which is concerned with
quantitative reliability and often with differences between contexts. If the sample size is increased a
common misunderstanding is that the results should be statistically reliable.
A second issue is that commissioning clients are rarely willing to pay realistic rates for in-depth
studies using a small number of participants: they usually want a larger sample size based on the
reasons above. Although a skilful interviewer can get into reasonable depth quite quickly, this does
mean that depth of information gathered is often less than it could be. Equally, depending on the 4
study it can be difficult to gain access to participants for more than a single session of an hour or less,
particularly if they are not strongly engaged with the topic of the study. The result tends to be a
compromise where a phenomenological approach is used, but the methods used are more structured
and contrived than is ideal.
Finally, phenomenological approaches are good at surfacing deep issues and making voices heard.
This is not always comfortable for clients or funders, particularly when the research exposes takenfor-granted
assumptions or challenges a comfortable status quo. On the other hand, many
organisations value the insights which a phenomenological approach can bring in terms of cutting
through taken-for-granted assumptions, prompting action or challenging complacency