A brief note on using interpretive phenomenological research in an in-depth interview: for Housing Studies students

A brief note on using interpretive phenomenological research in an in-depth interview: for Housing Studies students (information from perplexity.ai)

My question 1: "In the context of Housing Studies research on the research theme of "life stress due to the housing affordability problem of the Hong Kong Gen Z in 2025", could you suggest some straightforward steps for me, a part-time Housing Studies student, as has some basic grasp of the topics of in-depth research interview and interpretive phenomenology, on how to conduct an in-depth review interview on 4 Hong Kong Gen Z related to my research theme."

The reply: "To conduct an in-depth interview on the theme of "life stress due to housing affordability problems of Hong Kong Gen Z in 2025," here are some straightforward steps you can follow, built on your basic grasp of in-depth interviewing and interpretive phenomenology:

Preparation

• Clearly define your research objectives to focus on how housing affordability impacts life stress among Hong Kong Gen Z.

• Design a semi-structured interview guide with about 3 to 10 open-ended questions, using a funneling approach: start broadly about housing experiences then narrow to stress and perceived impact on life.​

• Prepare probing questions to encourage elaboration.

• Obtain ethical approval if needed, and prepare informed consent forms explaining interview purpose, confidentiality, recording, and duration (30-90 minutes).​

Conducting the Interview

• Begin the interview by explaining the research purpose, why the interviewee was chosen, and how long it will take.

• Use open-ended questions to invite detailed, personal narratives about their housing affordability struggles and related life stress.​

• Maintain flexibility to follow the participant’s lead and explore topics spontaneously.

• Record the interview with permission.

• Stay observant of non-verbal cues for deeper understanding.​

Post-Interview

• Transcribe the interview carefully and accurately to preserve the richness of participant speech.​

• Apply interpretive phenomenological analysis (IPA) by identifying emergent themes that reveal how participants make sense of their housing struggles and related stress.​

• Reflect on and interpret the meaning of their experiences within the broader social and economic context of Hong Kong in 2025.​

Sample Question Flow (based on interpretive phenomenology and funneling)

• “Can you describe your current housing situation?”

• “How has housing affordability affected different aspects of your life?”

• “Can you share specific moments when housing stress impacted your daily wellbeing?”

• “What hopes or concerns do you have about your housing future?”

• “How do you cope with these housing-related stresses?”

Following these steps will help you gather deep, meaningful insights from the four Hong Kong Gen Z participants related to your research theme, in line with in-depth interview and IPA methodology principles."

My question 2: "Please provide 4 illustrative examples on how the interpretive phenomenological analysis is carried out in this case."

The reply: "Here are 4 illustrative examples of how Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) can be carried out in the context of your theme on life stress due to housing affordability for Hong Kong Gen Z:

1. Experiencing Belonging through Housing Efforts
   In a study of incremental housing, IPA was used to explore how residents’ efforts to build and adapt their homes deepened their sense of belonging and meaning attached to their living spaces. Similarly, you can analyze interviews to reveal how Gen Z individuals’ struggles with housing affordability shape their emotional attachment or detachment from their homes or neighborhoods.​

2. Making Sense of Housing Displacement
   IPA has been applied to understand how people experience and make sense of displacement from affordable housing options like Single Room Occupancy units. For Gen Z in Hong Kong, you could explore how they interpret and emotionally process the stress and insecurity related to unstable or unaffordable housing access, capturing deeply personal meanings.​

3. Identifying Emergent Themes on Housing Stress
   Through close reading and coding of transcripts, IPA guides the identification of emergent themes such as stress triggers, coping mechanisms, and life impacts. For each Gen Z participant’s interview, you might identify themes like “financial anxiety,” “social isolation,” or “future housing hopelessness” that illustrate how affordability problems manifest as life stress.​

4. Contextualizing Personal Experiences within Broader Socioeconomic Realities
   IPA emphasizes interpreting participants’ experiences within their broader social context. You would consider the macroeconomic factors affecting Hong Kong’s housing market—like price inflation and limited supply—alongside how participants personally experience these forces as life stress, giving a layered understanding of the phenomenon.​

These examples show the iterative process of immersion in interview data, identifying emergent themes, interpretation of personal meanings, and relating findings to wider social contexts—all core IPA steps for your research on Gen Z housing stress in Hong Kong 2025."

My question 3: "Highlight 8 main ideas of the interpretive phenomenological approach in qualitative research."

The reply: "Here are 8 main ideas of the interpretive phenomenological approach (IPA) in qualitative research:

1. Focus on Lived Experience
   IPA aims to explore how individuals experience and make sense of significant phenomena in their lives from their own perspectives.

2. Interpretative Nature
   The analysis is interpretative, meaning the researcher makes sense of the participant’s sense-making, often described as a "double hermeneutic."

3. Idiographic Commitment
   IPA typically studies small, purposive samples in-depth to understand the particular experiences of each individual before making broader interpretations.

4. Inductive Analysis
   Themes and insights emerge inductively from detailed engagement with the data rather than from predetermined theories or hypotheses.

5. Phenomenological Philosophical Roots
   It builds on phenomenology, focusing on the essence and structure of experiences as they present themselves to consciousness.

6. Contextual Understanding
   Experiences are interpreted within the broader social, cultural, and historical context influencing the participant.

7. Reflexivity of the Researcher
   Researchers acknowledge and reflect on their own preconceptions and the role their interpretation plays in the analytic process.

8. Detailed, Rich Data
   Data usually consist of detailed, rich narrative accounts (often from semi-structured interviews) to capture complexity and meaning depth.

These core ideas emphasize understanding the subjective, complex meanings participants assign to their experiences, which fits well with exploring housing affordability stress for Hong Kong Gen Z by deeply analyzing their personal lived realities."

A collection of blog notes on using chatgpt for research purpose.