Meaning and Method in Researching ‘Meaning in Life’ - place for one or two PhD Students

Field of Research:   Meaning in life, Quality of life, Research methods

The main asset of the ‘Meaning & Method’ PhD-projects is the combination of researching a humanistic theme related to ‘meaning in life’ and simultaneously exploring new research methodologies for that field. By adding a methodological subsidiary question to your main, substantive research question, the PhD-projects seeks to provide innovative contributions to the field.

The humanistic meaning in life studies, as performed in the PhD-projects, incorporate related theoretical concepts like those of spirituality, social capital, well-being, quality of life, et cetera. The research projects usually address complex empirical phenomena, such as loneliness, social exclusion, racism, trauma, conflict and resilience. Studying this kind of phenomena may benefit from employing both an individual and a broader, contextual (may be societal) orientation. 

Given the inherent need to create tailor-made methods and procedures for less known research areas, pioneering studies into meaning in life inevitably intertwine theoretical methodological themes. This approach may be particularly adequate when the focus is on populations that deal with communicative, emotional or cognitive challenges.

PhD-proposals are especially welcome to focus on social interactional, (social) psychological, or life-course oriented research perspectives. The study approach may be qualitative, quantitative or mixed methods. 

In addition, submitting other good ideas that relate to this short introduction are appreciated. 

Examples of substantive RQ’s for the above depicted types of PhD-projects that combine humanistic themes with methods research:

1) What is het role of (what kind of) memories [or: other aspects] in people’s life narratives, as related to their meaning making processes during the life course? 

2) What is the role of close relationships (partners, family, care givers) in the meaning making process of frail older people receiving long-term care [or: another population]?

Examples of methodological subsidiary research questions, related to the above RQ’s:

1a: What kind of aided recall strategies [or: other strategies] can be developed to collect adequate retrospective data on major personal life events?

1b: What kind of visual and interactive procedures can be integrated in a life history survey tool [or: other methods] to collect adequate data on (sensitive) life stories?

2a: How does ‘third party interviewing’, in which a trusted third person is present/helping during a personal interview, affect data quality in older populations [or: other populations]?

One  external PhD candidate

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