COMPARING TWO METHODS
FOR EXPLORING CONSCIOUSNESS:
DESCRIPTIVE EXPERIENCE SAMPLING AND
MICRO-PHENOMENOLOGICAL INTERVIEWS
Julian L. Bass-Krueger1,
Elisa G. Wiedemann2 and
Ema Demšar3
1University of Vienna Received: 11th March 2023. ABSTRACT Methods are arising in first-person research aimed for deeper understanding of lived experience. Here we compare two of
the most frequently used methods – Descriptive Experience Sampling and the micro phenomenological interview. Both look at short episodes of experience.
Both have safeguards to limit biases and distortions from first-person reporting. But these methods are still different in terms of how they deal with
memory, questioning, and analysis. KEY WORDS CLASSIFICATION
Vienna, Austria
2Central European University
Vienna, Austria
3Monash University
Melbourne, Australia
INDECS 22(1), 84-106, 2024
DOI 10.7906/indecs.22.1.5
Full text available in
pdf format.
Accepted: 21st February 2024.
Regular article
We report on an exploratory study that used both methods in the context of a common task. Four participants were interviewed about their experience of a
mental imagery task using both methods. Descriptive Experience Sampling results focused more on fine-grained details of visual experiences. micro
phenomenological interview results focused more on how experience extended over time, and how participants engaged with the task. These differences in
results demonstrate how the applied methods differ in their focus and scope, and present a direction for future comparison, investigation and potential
integration of first-person methods.
empirical phenomenology, descriptive experience sampling, micro-phenomenological interviews
APA: 2260
JEL: I12