Hermeneutic phenomenological narrative enquiry: A qualitative study design

Abstract

This paper explains why it is necessary to employ two apparently disparate qualitative methodologies to address multidimensional research objectives of a complex phenomenon: non-native English-speaking teachers’ (NNESTs) professional identity. This paper proposes a combined methodology of narrative enquiry and hermeneutic phenomenological enquiry to construct understanding in terms of what NNESTs describe as their experiences of professional identity development and the researcher’s interpretations of their thickly layered data. This proposed methodology is the adopted version of the Methodology chapter of a confirmed Australian doctoral project. The purpose of this paper is to show how, by employing the two methodologies, the author intends to capture individual teachers’ meaning makings and their common phenomena of professional identity formation. With justification, the paper includes components of a qualitative research design: research paradigm, methodological approach, and the methods.