8. Adding further structure to the outcome space

A key indicator of phenomenography in the 21st century is the constitution of ‘dimensions of variation’ and associated ‘critical aspects’ in experience of phenomena. However, two ways of identifying and describing dimensions and critical aspects have emerged in the literature. In the traditional approach, dimensions of variation (and thus critical aspects) are constituted independently of each other. In the alternative approach, dimensions of variation (and thus critical aspects) are constituted in a structurally related way along common themes of meaning, called ‘themes of expanding awareness’. This adds additional structural complexity to the constitution of critical aspects of phenomena. This chapter clarifies the difference between the two approaches, provides concrete illustrations of the research outcomes that result from the two approaches, and discusses the different insights that each approach provides to our understanding of critical aspects of human experience.