The conduct of research as guided by philosophical tenets of hermeneutics, in particular the hermeneutics of Hans-Georg Gadamer, is a complex and sophisticated endeavor. In this paper, we offer that one of the things that guides the inquiry is the topic and that most often topics for discovery arrive with the experience of an address. We discuss the notion of the address of the topic, how a researcher discerns a topic to be studied and, from this address, develops appropriate research (...) questions that help to inform how the study will be conducted. (shrink)

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This hermeneutic study analyzes a case of one family who chose to undergo two hematopoietic stem cell transplants for two of their four children affected with sickle cell disease with full knowledge of the risks involved with curative therapy. This case had a life-changing impact on the family and on the medical practice of the physician who worked with them. As a result of this family, international treatment of early transplant for SCD has adopted different protocols. In this study, interviewing (...) the mother in the family, the physician, and the transplant nurse, and analyzing the data hermeneutically brings us to a deeper understanding of how change occurs and its profound effect on lives and medical treatment. (shrink)

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This article is an introduction to the subsequent one by Jodi Latremouille's "My Treasured Relation." It demonstrates that hermeneutic work is always about the application of particular cases to universals, demanding of universals to listen to the difference that the case portends.

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