121 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/14193-006 APA Handbook of Sexuality and Psychology: Vol. 1. Person-Based Approaches, D. L. Tolman and L. M. Diamond (Editors-in-Chief) Copyright © 2014 by the American Psychological Association. All rights reserved. C HAPTER 6 PHENOMENOLOGICAL RESEARCH METHODS IN THE PSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY OF SEXUALITY David M. Frost, Sara I. McClelland, Jennifer B. Clark, and Elizabeth A. Boylan In this chapter, we review issues central to the use of phenomenological research methods in the psycho- logical study of sexuality. Phenomenological meth- ods are characterized by close attention to the details of participants’ lived experience as well as an emphasis on participants’ interpretation of their experience. This group of methods is essential in psychological research on sexuality because it helps researchers to understand the phenomenon of sexu- ality as it is experienced in everyday life and under constant change. Beginning with a summary of the epistemological foundations of phenomenological research methods in psychology, we present an overview of several popular approaches to data col- lection and analysis that facilitate phenomenological investigations of sexuality. Classical foundations, future directions, limitations, advantages, and clini- cal and policy relevance are discussed via key exem- plar studies of sexuality-related phenomena using phenomenological research methods. SEXUALITY AS COMPLEX AND VARIED PHENOMENA Human sexuality is complex, given that it is inclusive of a number of related, but distinct, phenomena. These phenomena include, but are not limited to, sexual behavior, desire, pleasure, orientation, and identity. Psychologists and other social scientists often operationalize these aspects of sexuality cate- gorically at the level of groups and populations to facilitate comparative study (e.g., heterosexual vs. sexual minority; penetrative vs. nonpenetrative sex). However, within these groups and categories, psy- chological experiences of sexuality-related phenom- ena are enormously varied. For example, people vary greatly in the content and object of their sexual desires, hold complex and multiple sexual identity structures, imbue their own and others’ sexual behav- iors with subjective meanings, and become energized to engage in sexual behavior by diverse motivations (see Chapters 10, 19, 20, and 25, this volume). In addition to this high degree of interpersonal or within-group variability, there is also a great deal of intrapersonal variability in the psychological experience of sexuality. As people develop over time and move between social contexts, their psychological experiences of sexuality often follow suit. Thus, for any given person, sexual desires, identities, behaviors, and motives may change from one moment to the next. With all of these varia- tions in mind, researchers are tasked with developing and using methods that are able to adequately capture the diversity of individuals’ psychological experiences of sexuality, including the multitude of dimensions within the experience of sexuality. In addition, pressing clinical concerns in the area of sexuality require both a nuanced understanding of people’s subjective meanings of their experience of sexuality and an identification of possible ways to intervene (see Volume 2, Chapter 4, this handbook). For example, researchers have addressed a number of issues, including the following with which we have engaged in our own research: how same-sex couples negotiate experiences of stigma and intimacy within long-term romantic relationships (Frost, 2011b), what motivations gay men have for seeking