Exploring information experiences through phenomenography

TLDR

Phenomenography is a qualitative research approach that explores variation in how people experience aspects of their world and has been applied in many information research studies within libraries and information science. The paper provides an overview of the phenomenographic method and discusses its key underlying assumptions. The paper details data collection, data analysis, and the outcomes of phenomenographic research. An illustration of phenomenography applied to students’ web‑based information searching shows that the approach yields insights into experiential variation, enabling deeper understanding and informing practice improvement.

Abstract

Phenomenography is a qualitative research approach that seeks to explore variation in how people experience various aspects of their world. Phenomenography has been used in numerous information research studies that have explored various phenomena of interest in the library and information sphere. This paper provides an overview of the phenomenographic method and discusses key assumptions that underlie this approach to research. Aspects including data collection, data analysis and the outcomes of phenomenographic research are also detailed. The paper concludes with an illustration of how phenomenography was used in research to investigate students’ experiences of web-based information searching. The results of this research demonstrate how the phenomenographic approach yields insights into variation, making it possible to develop greater understanding of the phenomenon as it was experienced, and to draw upon these experiences to improve and enhance current practice.