Phenomenology: one way to understand nursing practice

Abstract

This article reviews some of the debates about the relative merits of qualitative research and gives some examples of phenomenological enquiry in nursing. Given that nursing occurs in "the real world of practice", the view is forwarded that a research method chosen to understand nursing practice must be able to generate meaning from the people who are involved in nursing, that is, the nurses and patients in everyday practice settings. Phenomenology is suggested as a method for understanding nursing practice and some phenomenological research is reviewed. © 1993.