A note on a few research methodologies for Housing Studies

A note on a few research methodologies for Housing Studies

Briefly highlight 4 main ideas of the following research methodology in Housing Studies:

1.    The ethnographic approach

2.    The hermeneutic approach

3.    The phenomenological approach

Then, provide 1 illustrative example of how to employ a research method (e.g. interview) with reference to each of the three research methodology mentioned above for doing a Housing Studies dissertation project.

 

The three approaches are all interpretive, but they differ in their primary focus: ethnography studies social life in context, hermeneutics interprets meanings within context, and phenomenology examines individuals’ lived experience of a phenomenon.

Four main ideas

1. Ethnographic approach

·        Studies housing and neighbourhood life by immersing the researcher in participants’ everyday settings, rather than relying only on detached surveys.

·        Uses participant observation, field notes, informal conversations, home tours, and interviews to understand practices, routines, and social relations.

·        Treats housing as embedded in wider social, cultural, economic, and institutional contexts.

·        Produces holistic, contextual explanations—for example, how residents actually negotiate space, privacy, safety, and community.

2. Hermeneutic approach

·        Focuses on interpretation: how people make sense of housing, home, policy, displacement, or neighbourhood change.

·        Recognises that meaning arises from the interaction between a person’s account and the social, historical, and institutional context in which it is expressed.

·        Uses an iterative “hermeneutic circle”: the researcher moves between individual statements, the whole interview, prior understanding, and context to refine interpretation.

·        Is useful for questioning dominant housing narratives and uncovering alternative meanings held by residents or stakeholders.

3. Phenomenological approach

·        Focuses on the lived experience of a clearly defined phenomenon, such as insecure housing, moving into public housing, homelessness, or living in substandard accommodation.

·        Seeks participants’ subjective perceptions and meanings, rather than measuring objective housing conditions alone.

·        Uses in-depth interviews to elicit rich descriptions of what the experience was like, how it felt, and what it meant to the person.

·        Often analyses common structures or themes across participants while preserving the uniqueness of each person’s account.

Illustrative interview examples

Methodology	Illustrative Housing Studies dissertation use of interviews
Methodology		Illustrative Housing Studies dissertation use of interviews
Ethnographic		Study how tenants in an old public housing estate manage shared corridors, rooftop spaces, and informal neighbourly support. Conduct repeat interviews with 10–12 residents, combine them with participant observation in communal areas and home tours, and analyse how everyday housing practices are shaped by estate design, management rules, and social networks.
Hermeneutic		Examine how middle-aged homeowners in Hong Kong interpret “home ownership” amid high prices, mortgage pressure, and family expectations. Interview 8–10 owners using open questions such as, “What does owning this flat mean to you?” Then interpret each account in relation to family obligations, housing-market discourse, and policy context, moving iteratively between individual meanings and the wider narrative.
Phenomenological		Explore the lived experience of recently rehoused tenants moving from subdivided flats into public rental housing. Interview 6–10 participants in depth about their first months in the new home: what changed, what felt secure or unfamiliar, and how the move affected wellbeing. Use interpretative phenomenological analysis to identify shared themes such as safety, control over space, privacy, and belonging.

 

A concise way to distinguish them in a dissertation: ethnography asks “what do people do in their housing context?”, hermeneutics asks “what do their accounts mean within that context?”, and phenomenology asks “what is it like to experience this housing phenomenon?”