Meditation in Qualitative Research for Bracketing and Beyond
K. Grajzel
International Journal of Qualitative Methods January 15, 2025 DOI: 10.1177/16094069241312826 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Qualitative Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Intervention | Mantra meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 5 |
| Key points | Proposes that bracketing through mantra meditation, rather than aiming for objectivity or immersion, allows the researcher to be fully present and interpret participants' experiences faithfully. |
Abstract
In this study, I recounted my experience using mantra meditation during a phenomenological study for the purposes of bracketing. The efficacy and purpose of bracketing have been debated from Husserl (1931), whose aimed was to achieve objectivity, to Heidegger (1962) who advocated for immersion of the researcher, through the French school (Merleau-Ponty, 1964) of middle ground, by whom bracketing was seen as the process to unearth and suspend biases for the better understanding of participants’ experiences (Arsel, 2017; Creswell & Creswell, 2017; Creswell & Poth, 2016; Fischer & Guzel, 2023). In this study, however, I propose another approach to bracketing that expands beyond phenomenology and the duality of objectivity or immersion. I propose that bracketing, with the aim of meditation is inseparable from qualitative research. Meditation, as a form of bracketing, provokes the researcher to be fully present ensuring that participants’ experiences are heard and interpreted in a faithful manner. In this orientation, the goal of bracketing is not to rid one’s subjectivity but to allow subjectivity to be diminished and the researcher to be fully present to the other.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. | 2004 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mechanisms of mindfulness | 2005 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective | 2011 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression | 2006 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness | 2012 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
Citations in the library
Cites 22
- Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Neuroreport November 7, 2005
- Mindfulness Interventions Annual Review of Psychology September 30, 2016
- The psychological effects of meditation: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin May 14, 2012
- The Empirical Status of Mindfulness-Based Interventions: A Systematic Review of 44 Meta-Analyses of Randomized Controlled Trials Perspectives on Psychological Science February 16, 2021
- Effectiveness of mantra meditation as a neurophysiological phenomenon for stress management in undergraduate medical students National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology April 2, 2026
and 17 more in the library