Appendix a heuristic Research Methodology and Procedures

---

© Hunter O’Hara, 2021 | DOI: 10.1163/9789004445321_019
APPENDIX A
Heuristic Research Methodology and Procedures
Because of the lived connection and experience I have had with the phe-
nomenon of transcendent teacher learner relationships, I chose the heuris-
tic research paradigm. Clark Moustakas, author of Heuristic Research: Design, 
Methodology and Applications states, “In heuristic research, the investigator 
must have had a direct, personal encounter with the phenomenon being inves-
tigated” (Moustakas, 1990, p. 14). The researcher’s encounter must be vital and 
intense because it is that vitality and intensity that creates in the researcher a 
passionate drive to know.
Heuristic research “involves self-search, self-dialogue, and self-discovery” 
(p. 11). Such an inner experiential process leads to the development of “methods 
and procedures for further investigation and analysis …” (p. 9). “Whatever 
presents itself in the consciousness of the investigator as perception, sense, 
intuition, or knowledge represents an invitation for further elucidation” (p. 10). 
“In heuristics, an unshakeable connection exists between what is out there, in 
its appearance and reality, and what is within me in reflective thought, feel-
ing and awareness” (p. 12). “One brings one’s own knowledge and experience 
into poetical depictions” (p. 14). Heuristic research is appropriate for this study 
because heuristics allows one to take one’s own autobiographically derived 
question and pursue it from the internal frame of reference outward, always 
keeping the internal referential foremost.
The heuristic researcher does not presuppose cause-effect relationships, as 
is the case with traditional empirical investigations. Instead, the intent of the 
heuristic researcher is to “discover the nature and meaning of the phenomena 
itself” (Moustakas, 1990, p. 38). Because the research question focuses on how 
individuals encounter transcendent teacher learner relationships, this study 
is emic or particularizing in nature, rather than etic, or generalizing in nature 
(Denzin, 1989, pp. 20–21). Emic studies seek to study experiences from within, 
through the use of personal accounts that capture what a particular moment or 
phenomenon means to the experiencer. Each case is viewed as unique, shaped 
by the individuals who create it. The individual voice and encounter is not to 
be lost in the texts that are reported (Moustakas, 1990, p. 39). The research 
effort is designed to recreate the lived encounters of the participants through 
complete depictions. Sources for depictions include:
Analogies 
Journals Artwork

---

250 
APPENDIX A
Autobiographical logs 
Metaphor 
Case histories 
Narrative descriptions
Conversations 
Poems
Correspondence 
Records
Creative renderings 
Stories
Dialogues 
Other personal documents
Diaries Documents
(Moustakas, 1990, pp. 9, 24, 42, 44, 52)
Although co-researchers, or participants, provide the data mentioned above, 
the bulk of reporting is provided by the primary research. Heuristic research 
methods are open ended and each research process opens in its own way. 
“As long as the method is congruent with responsible ethical concerns, any 
course that a researcher’s ingenuity is capable of suggesting is an appropriate 
method for scientific investigation” (Moustakas, 1990, p. 43). The researcher 
feels completely free to choose any method or device which seems likely to 
illuminate the phenomenon.
1 
The Population
The population for this study is divided into three tiers. Consistent with the 
heuristic approach, the first tier includes an investigation of the primary 
researcher’s encounters with transcendent teacher learner relationships, both 
as teacher and as learner. The second tier, or significant others, includes inter-
views with two teachers and three students with whom I have experienced 
and shared transcendent relationships. The third tier, the community of teach-
ers and learners, involve individuals who responded to an advertisement for 
participants, and who were chosen on the basis of the selection criteria.
2 
Data Collection
The majority of data collected were derived from interviews. In heuris-
tic research, the primary researcher is called upon to create an atmosphere 
that will encourage the natural expression or disclosure of thoughts, feelings, 
images and ideas. The intent is to allow the co-researcher “to respond com-
fortably, accurately, comprehensively and honestly” (Moustakas, 1990, p. 47). 
To accomplish this, Moustakas recommends a conversational or dialogue 
approach as being most “consistent with the rhythm and flow of heuristic