Capturing more than a snapshot: Methodological considerations and the development of an analytical framework for longitudinal interpretative phenomenological analysis ( LIPA )

The use of longitudinal approaches when conducting qualitative research is becoming increasingly commonplace. From a phenomenological perspective, longitudinal research aims to generate knowledge by placing an enhanced interpretative focus on temporality when exploring how individuals make sense of their experiences to generate meaning. This paper provides an overview of some practical and methodological considerations that researchers must consider when using longitudinal interpretative phenomenological analysis. The considerations covered in this paper include (i) acknowledging the flexibility and complexity of using LIPA, (ii) embedding creative methodologies, (iii) minimizing attrition, (iv) ensuring sustained ethical research practices and (v) tracking individual and group trajectories when analysing an experientially rich and large data corpus. This paper also provides a flexible and adaptive framework of analytical stages that researchers may adopt when seeking to interpret longitudinal experiential data. The paper concludes with a balanced overview of the strengths and limitations of adopting a longitudinal approach within phenomenological research.