Chapter 3: Methodology
Overview
This phenomenological (Creswell, 2007; Moustakas, 1994) study sought to
discover and understand the experiences of effective Federal government leaders in
developing their emotional intelligence (EI). Those experiences involved an objective
and subjective orientation, as well as idealism and realism perspectives (Moustakas,
1994). A phenomenological approach complements the research question (elucidated
below), since a phenomenology asks: How did the experience of the phenomenon come
to be what it is? (Moustakas, 1994).
To explore the problem statement, the researcher used an emerging qualitative
approach to inquiry. Several characteristics are common to all qualitative research and
were of consequent importance in informing the questions:
Data were collected in a natural setting;
The researcher was a key instrument in collecting and analyzing the data;
Multiple sources of data (e.g., interviews, observations, and documents) were
used;
Data analysis was inductive, building on patterns, categories, and themes;
The focus was on the meaning that participants had about the problem;
The research process was emergent;
The researcher interpreted what was seen, heard, and understood; and
The researcher attempted to provide a holistic account of the problem being
studied (Creswell, 2007).