The Role of Reflexivity in Collecting and Selecting LEDs in a Phenomenological Study

Authors

Pilar Folgueiras, Universitat de Barcelona, SpainFollow
Valeria De Ormaechea, Universitat de Barcelona, SpainFollow
Amanda Aliende da Matta, Universitat de Barcelona, SpainFollow

Abstract

This article addresses the methodological tension between description and interpretation in a phenomenological study on young women's political participation. The researchers explore how this tension influenced decisions about data collection and selection in applied hermeneutic phenomenology. A reflexive, meta-analytic approach is employed to examine research materials—epistemological diaries, team discussions, working documents, and researchers’ accounts—tracing how empirical material was produced and selected. Four distinct stages in the data collection process are identified and reveal how interpretative dilemmas emerged in the formulation of interview scripts, data gathering strategies, and narrative selection. The findings indicated that participants’ descriptions already contain a first level of interpretation, though not always consciously reflective. The discussion highlights the central role of reflexivity in navigating the tension between descriptive fidelity and interpretative depth. The article concludes that this tension is intrinsic to phenomenological inquiry, and that applied hermeneutic phenomenology provides conceptual and practical tools to address it constructively.

Keywords

meta reflection, reflexivity, phenomenology, hermeneutics

Author Bio(s)

Pilar Folgueiras Bertomeu is a professor at the Department of MIDE at the Faculty of Education, Universitat de Barcelona (UB), and member of the Institut de Recerca en Educació at the Universitat de Barcelona (IREUB). She is a member of the Intercultural Education Research Group (GREDI) and of the consolidated teaching innovation group MideMe. Her research areas include participation, citizenship education, and research methodologies. In her latest projects, she focused on political participation and meta-reflexive analyses of the methods she uses in her different studies (phenomenology, action research, mixed methods designs, etc.). Pilar can be reached at pfolgueiras@ub.edu

Valeria de Ormaechea Otalora is a professor at the Faculty of Education at the University of Barcelona (UB), Department of Research and Educational Diagnostics (MIDE). PhD in Education and Master’s in Intercultural Education, member of the Academic and Labor Transition Research Group (TRALS) and the Intercultural Education Group (INTER). Valeria can be reached at valedeormaechea@ub.edu

Amanda A. da MATTA is a professor at the Department of Research and Diagnostic Methods in Education at the Universitat de Barcelona (UB). Graduated in pedagogy and with a master in value and citizenship education, she participates in the Intercultural Education Research Group (GREDI-UB, Spain) and in the Grupo de Estudos e Pesquisas em Práticas Educativas (GEPPE-CNPq, Brazil). Amanda can reached at amanda.aliende.matta@ub.edu 

Publication Date

1-31-2026

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2026.7900

Recommended APA Citation

Folgueiras, P., De Ormaechea, V., & Matta, A. (2026). The role of reflexivity in collecting and selecting LEDs in a phenomenological study. The Qualitative Report, 31(1), 5056-5075. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2026.7900

ORCID ID

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0599-2868

ResearcherID

57934636000