How is phenomenology different from positivism?

While phenomenology and positivism both share an unconditional respect for the positive data of experience, they differ significantly in their scope and methodology.1

• Scope of Data: Positivism confines itself strictly to the data of experience, typically emphasizing sense experience and excluding metaphysical or a priori speculations. In contrast, phenomenology does not restrict its data to sense experience. It admits nonsensory or "categorial" data—such as values and relationships—provided they present themselves intuitively.12
• Approach to Knowledge: Positivism is generally secular and antimetaphysical, focusing on observable facts. Phenomenology, however, resists transforming the given into simplified constructions. It seeks to analyze phenomena for what they are in themselves, including essential relationships, and recognizes synthetic a priori knowledge that is independent of experience.21
• Methodology: Phenomenology is characterized by the direct investigation of phenomena as consciously experienced, often employing a methodological suspension of belief regarding the natural world to focus on the intentional structure of consciousness. Positivism, by contrast, prioritizes the testimony of observation to build systems of knowledge, often merging into analytic philosophy.342