| 1. Describe the phenomenon(s) of interest | Comfort level as it relates to incorporating spiritual perspectives within the context of depression. |
| 2. Collect participants descriptions of the phenomenon(s) | Focus group, tape-recorded, and transcribed verbatim. |
| 3. Read all the participants’ descriptions, conventionally termed protocols ([30], p. 59) of the phenomenon. | Read the verbatim transcriptions. |
| 4. Return to the original transcripts and extract significant statements. | Reread the verbatim transcriptions. Inter-rater reliability began during this process. The transcripts were read by two coders, the researcher, and a research assistant. |
| 5. Trying to spell out the meaning of significant statements. | According to Colaizzi, this step involves the researcher understanding the difference between what his or her subjects say and what they mean. However, the meanings that the researcher formulates should never sever all connection with the original protocols or descriptions. |
| 6. Repeat the above for each protocol or description and organize the aggregate formulated meanings into clusters of themes. | The clusters of themes were validated by going back to the transcripts and inquiring if there was anything in the protocol or the participants’ descriptions that isn’t accounted for in the clusters or themes. |
| 7. Formulate an exhaustive description of the investigated phenomenon. | A summary was provided discussing the essential structures and patterns of relationships among the phenomenon(s). |
| 8. Return to participants for validation of the description. |