Table 1.

The Impact of a Hermeneutic Approach on Mixed Methods Research Involving Longitudinal Data

Hermeneutic Principle	Study Aspect	Practical Impact
Hermeneutic circle: One should interpret a whole in terms of its parts, and parts in terms of the whole to which it belongs.	Design	Prospective or retrospective relation of qualitative interviews to longitudinal quantitative dataa
Empathetic understanding: Application of methods should be combined with sensitivity to individual interests and purposes.	Interview	Contextualized follow-up questions regarding practical interests and personal purposesb
Presuppositions for interpretation: Attention should be given to study participant attributes and related factors that inform interview responses.	Presentation	Attribute table of quoted study participants including summary measures of change over timec

^aFor the textual illustration of this principle, see the section titled “The Hermeneutic Circle.”

^bFor the textual illustration of this principle, see the section titled “Not All Truth Is Methodical.”

^cFor the textual illustration of this principle, see the section titled “No Interpretation Without Presuppositions.”