Table 3.

Basic Guidelines of IPA and Brief Descriptions

Stages of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA)	Brief Descriptions
Stage 1: Multiple reading and making notes	Close reading of the transcript several times to immerse in the data; Making notes about one’s observations and reflections about the interview experience or any other thoughts and comments of potential significance; Highlighting distinctive phrases and emotional responses
Stage 2: Transforming notes into Emergent Themes	Reflecting on the source material to transform notes into emerging themes; Formulating a concise phrase (themes) at a slightly higher level of abstraction which may refer to a more psychological conceptualization
Stage 3: Seeking relationships and clustering themes	Looking for connections between emerging themes, grouping them according to conceptual similarities, and providing each cluster with a descriptive label; Dropping of ‘unfit’ themes; Listing of major themes and subthemes, and relevant short extracts from the transcript
Stage 4: Writing a narrative account of the study	Taking the themes identified in the final table and writing them up one by one; Describing each theme and exemplifying it with extracts from interview, followed by analytic comments from the author/s