REFLEXIVITY AND SCIENTIFIC RIGOROUSNESS: TESTIMONY FROM REFLECTIVE LIFEWORLD STUDIES

Phenomenological research is one of the most prominent qualitative research strategies. It is quite different research approach in terms of scientific rigorousness. Being part of qualitative research, phenomenological research holds same attributes of rigorousness as all scientific research – objectivity, validity generalizability. Just those attributes manifest differently in a different types of research. One attribute – reflexivity of a researcher is a prominent feature of phenomenological research, that speaks for scientific rigorousness with a same strength as the rest attributes. The author of this paper argues that reflexivity of a researcher is one of major and strongest scientific attributes of a scientific rigor. Arguments come from reflective lifeworld research philosophy and methodology as well as original research illustrations from Lithuania and the Netherlands.