The Technological mediation in pandemic and the considerations for interpretive phenomenological analysis

Abstract

This case study describes how we need to adapt the application of one interpretative phenomenological analysis [IPA]] as an approach, method and technique, when the interactions are online. The scenario takes place in a Chilean higher education institution, under the restrictions of confinement due to the pandemic. The suggestions in these three levels of IPA are shown, based on an investigation carried out on two undergraduate courses of the psychology career whose research question will address understanding the perceptions of the participants, in non-contact courses. We discuss around three ideas: 1) to identify the limits that contextual situations place on the application of the methods of interpretative phenomenological analysis, 2) to understand the ways in which preconceptions affect decision-making, during the application of the method, and 3) to evaluate the limitations of the method when the interactions are online instead of face-to-face. Therefore, the present text explores and discusses the adjustments that researchers must take into account when contextual situations are limiting the application of an IPA and how preconceived ideas affect decision making. Technology is more than a material tool because it has an impact on our emotional response, expressed as a change in the way another person can see us, or by limiting and expanding our communication skills. It is necessary to consider its effects on the meaning contained in the data. Thus, although technological mediation as an approach does not detract from its interpretative value, as a method it must incorporate the technological element as a means and regulator of the learning experience whose evidence can be found in non-verbal communications.