Employing Heidegger in death studies: a practical introduction for qualitative research

This paper presents a first introduction of Martin Heidegger’s analysis of death in a form that is philosophically exact and methodologically transformative for qualitative research in death studies. This goal is accomplished in two steps. First, I reconstruct Heidegger’s account of being-towards-death. Rather than relying on fragmentary citations or slogans, I provide a sustained philosophical account that preserves the precision of his analysis, while presenting it in a form that is understandable to qualitative and empirical researchers generally. Second, I advance a methodological innovation. I show how Heidegger’s account of being-towards-death can be operationalised in qualitative death studies in a strikingly immediate and unexpectedly powerful way. This operationalisation is possible via a newly developed methodology, ‘Phenomenologically Directed Qualitative Research (PDQR)’. The structure of PDQR directly aligns with Heidegger’s analysis such that his distinctions can directly shape empirical inquiry. In this alignment, Heidegger’s thought can become the generative framework through which lived experiences of death can be investigated. The result is a decisive advance for death studies, establishing a framework that makes possible forms of inquiry that have until now remained out of reach.