A critical evaluation of the use of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) in health psychology

With the burgeoning use of qualitative methods in health research, criteria for judging their value
become increasingly necessary. Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) is a distinctive
approach to conducting qualitative research being used with increasing frequency in published
studies. A systematic literature review was undertaken to identify published papers in the area of health psychology employing IPA. A total of 52 articles are reviewed here in terms of the
following: methods of data collection, sampling, assessing wider applicability of research and
adherence to the theoretical foundations and procedures of IPA. IPA seems applicable and useful
in a wide variety of research topics. The lack of attention sometimes afforded to the interpretative
facet of the approach is discussed.