Content area
Full text
Abstract
This paper proceeds from examining the debate regarding the question of whether a systematic literature review should be undertaken within a qualitative research study to focusing specifically on the role of a literature review in a phenomenological study. Along with pointing to the pertinence of orienting to, articulating and delineating the phenomenon within a review of the literature, the paper presents an appropriate approach for this purpose. How a review of the existing literature should locate the focal phenomenon within a given context is illustrated by excerpts from the first author's literature review within a descriptive phenomenological study. Also discussed is the important issue of when the researcher should fully enter the attitude of the phenomenological reduction and how this may influence the study.
Introduction
Undertaking a literature review in a qualitative study has been the subject of much debate in terms of not only when it should occur and how extensive it should be, but even whether it should be avoided entirely. Disagreement in these regards has been particularly evident in relation to the methodologies of grounded theory and phenomenology (Dunne, 2011; Finlay, 2011). The issue has further been confused by the lack of definition and interchangeable use of various terms for this review, such as systematic, rapid, scoping, metaanalysis, systematised, umbrella and overview (Grant & Booth, 2009). Regardless of the term used, the thrust of the debate is that researchers may be influenced by an examination of the applicable literature and research and consequently may limit the research focus and the range of themes identified as relevant. The implications of this debate have particular resonance in the context of descriptive phenomenological studies and in relation to the phenomenological attitude adopted by the researcher towards "the thing itself' under study. This, however, needs to be weighed against the ethical demands of conducting original and rigorous research. A further concern for the phenomenological researcher is when to fully enter the attitude of the phenomenological reduction. Compounding these issues is that there is little available in the literature to guide the novice researcher on how to undertake a literature review in a phenomenological study. The novice researcher needs guidance with regard to both the process of orienting to, articulating and delineating an experiential phenomenon...