Phenomenology: a Viable Qualitative Approach in Nursing Research?

Phenomenology is widely used in nursing research studies to understand human phenomena related to nursing practice.

While nurses can relate to the phenomenological approach because they see it as sharing the values of nursing (Wolnar & Swanson, 2007), this fact may not be sufficient on its own to start conducting this kind of research.

Many nurse researchers continue to grapple with methodological issues related to their choice of phenomenology as a qualitative method. Nurse researchers often fail to adhere to acceptable scientific and phenomenological standards. Cognizant of these challenges, researchers are expected to indicate in their work the focus of their investigations, designs, and approaches to collecting and analyzing data.

Researchers are also expected to present their findings in an evocative and expressive manner. Choosing phenomenology requires researchers to understand it as a philosophy, including basic assumptions and tenets of phenomenology as a research method.

This awareness enables researchers, especially novices, to make important methodological decisions, particularly those necessary to indicate the study’s scientific rigor and phenomenological validity (Matua, 2015).

Phenomenology is an approach conducive to nursing investigations because of the professions core value to respond to human phenomena but it is essential to have a solid understanding of this qualitative approach to maintain validity in the studies conducted. Nurses educated in the liberal arts tradition may have a better grasp of the philosophical underpinnings of phenomenology. A solid base in liberal arts provides the cornerstone for the education, research, and clinical practice of nurses (AACN, 2008).

Below is a brief informative video, by Katie Crawford Buys of the University of Alabama, explaining the history and criticism of the use of Phenomenology in Nursing Research.