CHAPTER 2: A PRACTICAL THEOLOGICAL METHODOLOGY 75 voices of a group as a means to improve their practice. Even though I do not identify my own research as TAR (it does not aim to evaluate a practice in order to improve it in that particular context), the model helps to situate the current research in the whole of the theological conversation about the topic of Eucharistic hospitality. 2.3 RESEARCH DESIGN: EMPIRICAL METHODS The research design of this study is defined by its explorative nature, inductive approach, use of qualitative methods, and interest in biographic narratives. These characteristics are discussed in the following sections, after which the method of analysis is explained. Explorative-explanatory research This research is explorative since it investigates a perspective that has not been studied before. To my knowledge, no proper reflection on the experiences of ecumenical monastic communities with regard to their practice of Eucharistic hospitality has been conducted in order to enrich the debate on this topic. Since the current study is the first to contribute to this lacuna, it needs to employ an explorative attitude and ethnographic methods. A first step in investigating the field is to describe the practices involved and to explore the experiences and insights gained by participating in them. This first, fundamental perspective determines the other strategic choices made in this research design. Several sources contribute to the description of the practices involved. I present accounts of guests and researchers through literary review, complemented by my observations during my visits and the testimonies of members of the communities, as expressed in interviews. Obviously, the justification of the practices is a topic in the scope of this research (mainly because participants discuss it), yet it is not the purpose of this study to evaluate them extensively from a canonical perspective. The intention is to explore the theological implications of the practices: what is their significance in rethinking the place of the Eucharist in the ecumenical process? Therefore, the core of this research is formed by the accounts or testimonies of the interviewees, who express their own ecumenical process in which the practice of Eucharistic hospitality plays a significant role, and in which they reflect on their experiences, articulating theological insights. The main goal of this study is to explore these insights, in order to articulate an initial understanding of the theological implications of this practice. As such,
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