Damian Barneschi
Research Investigations – AE514
September 28, 2010
Tracking for Week 2 – Heuristic Research (Moustakas)
Moustakas, C. (1990). Heuristic research. Newbury Park, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
First Steps:
I think the argument is that the best process to investigate the human experience is through heuristic research – a process of internal search through which one discovers meaning of experience and develops methods for further investigations.
Thesis – Verbatim: “(Heuristic research) refers to a process of internal search through which one discovers the nature and meaning of experience and develops methods and procedures for further investigation and analysis” (9).
The question is: How does one conduct research that involves self-exploration, yet allows others to share in (and learn from) these experiences?
Moustakas claims that heuristic knowledge was launched with the publication of Loneliness, which he wrote, in 1961. According to Moustakas, ”heuristic knowledge involves self-search, self-dialogue, and self-discovery; the research question and the methodology flow out of inner awareness, meaning, and inspiration” (11).
Second Steps:
Chapter 1 (Introduction: Resources and Inspiration): 9 – 14.
- Heuristic research came into Moustakas’s life when he was searching for the processes
that were essential for investigating the human experience
- Heuristic refers to a process of internal search through which one discovers the nature
and meaning of experience and develops procedures for further investigation
- Heuristic research was launched with the publication of Loneliness (Moustakas, 1961)
- Heuristic research involves self-search, self-dialogue and self-discovery
- The research question flows out of inner awareness, meaning and exploration
- Moustakas begins his heuristic journey with something that has moved him in his life
experience
- Moustakas says that the “data” is within him and the challenge is to discover and
explain its nature
Chapter 2 (Heuristic Concepts, Processes, and Validation): 15 – 37.
- Heuristic inquiry begins with a question or problem that the researcher attempts to
answer
- The heuristic process is autobiographical, yet there is likely a social – and perhaps a universal – significance
Concepts and Processes of Heuristic Research
1. Identifying with the Focus: Through self-directed search and immersion, one is able to get inside the question and understand it
2. Self-Dialogue: Allowing the phenomenon to speak directly to one’s own experience in
order to examine it and uncover its multiple meanings
3. Tacit Knowledge: The very base of all heuristic knowledge; the idea that we can know
more than we can tell
4. Intuition: The bridge between the explicit and the tacit; from observable factors, one
uses internal capacity to make inferences and arrive at an understanding of structure
and dynamics
5. Indwelling: The heuristic process of turning inward to seek a greater understanding of
the quality or theme of human experience
6. Focusing: The clearing of an inward space to tap into thoughts and feeling necessary to
clarify a question
7. The Internal Frame of Reference: The medium or base of the heuristic process
The Phases of Heuristic Research
1. Initial Engagement: The task is to discover a subject that is of intense interest, a
passionate concern or one that holds important social meaning
2. Incubation: The process where the researcher retreats from his intense focus; growth is
nevertheless still taking place
3. Illumination: A breakthrough into awareness of qualities and a clustering of themes
inherent to the question
4. Explication: The purpose is to examine what has awakened in consciousness in order
to understand its various layers and meanings
5. Creative Synthesis: The final phase of heuristic research; the researcher is familiar with
all the data and in explaining its meanings, as well as the experience as a whole
- The validity of heuristic research is not quantitative, rather it is one of meaning: Does
the depiction of the experience accurately present the meaning and essences of the
experience?
Chapter 3 (Research Design and Methodology): 38 – 58.
Qualities of Heuristic Inquiry
- Focus on heuristic research is on the lived experience
- Examples, narrative descriptions, dialogues, stories, poems, artwork, journals and
diaries, and other personal documents can also be used for heuristic research
- Typical way of gathering materials is through interviews with one’s self and one’s
research participants
- Crucial processes in heuristic are concentrated gazing on a topic of interest, focusing on
a topic and organizing methods of preparing, organizing and synthesizing data
Formulating the Question
- All heuristic research begins with the quest to discover
- Discovering a significant problem or question that will hold the gaze is essential
- The heuristic researcher is not only related to the question but he learns to love the
question
Exploring and Answering the Question
- Next step is to organize the methods to prepare to conduct the study
- Methods of preparation include: 1. Developing a set of instructions, 2. Locating the
research participants, 3. Developing a contract, 4. Considering ways of creating an
atmosphere, 5. Using relaxation methods, 6. Constructing a way of appraising co-
researchers
- Transcripts, notes , etc, are organized by the investigator into a sequence which tells a
story for each participant
Creating the Research Manuscript
The following is an outline for the manuscript: 1. Intro. and statement of topic and question, 2. Review of the literature, 3. Methodology, 4. Presentation of Data, 5. Summary, implications and outcomes
Third Steps:
- “The cousin word of heuristic is eureka” (9).
- “In the heuristic process, I am personally involved” (11).
- “The initial “data” is within me; the challenge is to discover and explicate its nature”
(13)
- “(Heuristic research is) finding the underlying meanings of important human
experiences” (15).
- “Truly experiencing death as a passive event bothers me. I would prefer to surrender
myself at the appropriate moment” (18). (This is a quote from Varani’s self-dialogue.)
- “We can know more than we can tell” (20).
- “Focusing is an inner attention, a staying with” (25).
- “I find that the tender part of me, rather than the tough part, was a part my friends and I
both cherish” (35). (Quote taken from a reader’s personal response to Moustakas’ book
Loneliness)
- All heuristic research begins with the internal search to discover” (40)
- “Heuristic research is a demanding and lengthy process” (54).
