Lived experience

In qualitative phenomenological research, lived experience (German: Erlebnis) refers to the first-hand involvement or direct experiences and choices of a given person, and the knowledge that they gain from it, as opposed to the knowledge a given person gains from second-hand or mediated source. It is a category of qualitative research together with those that focus on society and culture and those that focus on language and communication. While the term has been increasingly used in qualitative research as a form of evidence and source of knowledge, the concept of "lived experience" as something separate from "experience" is rarely defined.