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Phenomenology: A research tool in nursing practice

Phenomenology: A research tool in nursing practice
Description of the problem
Nursing as a discipline and branch of science has grown tremendously over the years. The use of research, scientific inquires, evidence-based practice, and scientific validations have contributed immensely to this growth. Several disciplines such as Psychology, Sociology, Arts, and Philosophy have played major factors in the growth of nursing as a science. Science as a discipline is never static and continues its growth through the use of quantitative and qualitative research inquires. Phenomenology is a branch of philosophy that aims to utilize methodology in nursing research (Tuohy, Cooney, Dowling, Murphy, & Sixsmith, 2013). This paper will focus on the role of phenomenology as a research tool in nursing practice and the similarities between phenomenology and the views of logical positivists.
Background and significance
Edmond Husserl is recognized as the pioneer of Phenomenology, having introduced this movement at the beginning of the 20th century (Tuohy et al., 2013). Phenomenology as a branch of philosophy focuses on the importance of exploring the realities of life and living, it is a method of recounting occurrences as it appears to the person experiencing the occurrence (Tuohy et al., 2013). Phenomenology is described as a movement because unlike other philosophical views; it is not committed to a specific set of doctrines but has rather developed into several directions, such as realistic, constitutive, existential, and hermeneutic phenomenology (Standal, 2014).
Although, Tuohy et al., described Husserl as the father of Phenomenology, different philosophers have expressed their views on this subject. As early as the 18th and 19th centuries, the idea of phenomena began to be cultivated in philosophical thought as experiences that take place in the mind, rather than independent truths to be observed (Converse, 2012). Another prominent philosopher of the 18th century; Immanuel Kant believed a phenomena is something that seems to be present in the human mind- “the thing as it exists in reality is separate and not perceptible by human senses” (Kant as cited in Converse, p.30). In the 19th century, George Wilhelm Fredrick Hegel regarded phenomenology as an “appropriate way to study the path human consciousness leads to real knowledge…consciousness was the ability of the mind to reflect on itself (Hegel as cited in Converse, p.30). Franz Bretano a 19th century psychologist, expanded the concept of phenomena to include thought. His “principle of intentionality” stated that “every mental act is related to some object and implies that all perceptions have meaning” (Converse, p.31). Bretano’s idea became a fundamental notion in the phenomenology of his student; Husserl, who historians consider to be the founder of phenomenology (Converse, 2012; Tuohy et al, 2013).
Husserl took Bretano’s principle of “intent” out of psychology with its naturalistic scientific basis and placed it on phenomenology (Converse, 2012; Standal, 2014). Husserl believed that the goal of phenomenological inquiry was to comprehend human thought and knowledge through rigorous and unprejudiced study of things as they appear (Converse, 2012). The hallmark of Husserl’s phenomenological views focused on stripping away the researcher’s biases of a phenomena to experience the occurrences in its purest state (Converse, 2012). Husserl’s phenomenology accentuated a method of coming to know, through the actual experience or concept (experiential epistemology) with an objective of describing the experience of the phenomena. This methodology enthused by Husserl is called “descriptive phenomenology (Converse, 2012; Dowling, 2007)
Phenomenology as a philosophical branch of science and as a process of qualitative inquiry has several different parts of interpretation and cohorts (Tuohy et al., 2013).
Husserl’s view of phenomenology
Descriptive phenomenology is directed by the work of Husserl and his primary goal was to describe a phenomena’s general characteristics rather than the individual’s experiences (Tuohy, 2013). A fundamental principle of the above stated goal is referred to as “bracketing” which involves the elimination of extraneous factors, such as religion, cultural thoughts, and beliefs that could have an influence on the phenomena (Tuohy, 2013). The aim of descriptive phenomenology is to define situations as they appear to consciousness. Tuohy et al., describes consciousness as the medium between people and the mind (Tuohy et al., 2013). A distinguishing factor between descriptive phenomenology and other types of phenomenology is the focus on the experience and not the context of the experience (Tuohy et al., 2013).
Heidegger’s view of phenomenology
Hermeneutics is another branch of phenomenological philosophy that describes, comprehends, and construes a participant’s experiences (Tuohy et al., 2013). It was initially developed as a way to interpret religious texts that took into contemplation the world in which the text was written (Converse, 2012). Heidegger developed the hermeneutics circle to take into consideration the fact that researchers have preconceptions of some situation being; before approaching it to understand and interpret it (Converse, 2012). Hermeneutics focuses on attaining understanding through clarification and adopting a process that interprets the phenomenon of interest within its context (Dowling & Cooney, 2012). As the emphasis of hermeneutics is to discover the lived experience, it is substantial to identify that peoples’ realities are influenced by the world in which they live; the researcher needs to understand that experiences are related to social, cultural, and political frameworks (Tuohy et al., 2013).
Literature Review
Nursing roles are expanding and in the United States, nurses can be seen in the community, acute care, and home care settings. Several nursing specialization exists such as surgical, pediatric, oncology, and medical surgical nursing. Nursing roles have also expanded to include management positions in hospitals; for example, nurse managers and nursing directors. Across specializations and settings, nurses also serve in educational roles, they act as mentors to nursing students or preceptors to newly graduated nurses. Nurses also change their practice through research based guidelines and principles. A hermeneutical phenomenological study on the experiences of nursing students’ mentors identified recommendations for clinical managers, mentors, students, and their higher education partners (Wilson, 2014).
Phenomenology has been utilized and adopted widely in nursing research. Its success is partly due to its achievement in promoting the understanding of patients’ experiences in a way that augments nursing practice (Wilson, 2014). It has also provided fresh perceptions into the implications of certain nursing roles such as in the case study of the critical care nurse and the nursing student (Vouzavali, Pappinanassoglou, & Karanikola, 2011).
Phenomenology has also been described as a philosophy and methodology that is exclusively suited to aid healthcare professionals to understand and discover the meaning of disability from the perspectives of the patient/client (Greenfield & Jemen, 2012). Human beings ascribe meaning to life experiences, consciously interpreting their experiences in the world. In a logical sense, phenomenologists are committed to an inner view of reality with consciousness (the mind), playing a foundational role in creating or in (phenomenological language) constituting the world participants live (Greenfield & Jemen, 2012).
Phenomenologists define human beings as conscious beings; engaging participants involved in a research enquiry through a method of recounting constitutive events and through a continuing process of interpreting their experiences. Phenomenologists emphasize that individuals cannot fully rely on generalizable objective data alone, rather it is argued that human beings can have the greatest assurance that subjective interpretation of life experiences are more meaningful than objective reality (Greenfield & Jemen, 2012).
The orthodox phenomenological approach focuses on the world’s appearance through streams of consciousness as a configuration of meaning (Kupers, 2009). The components of consciousness include perceiving, willing, thinking, remembering, and anticipating are the modalities of self- world relationships (Kuper, 2009). These modalities provides access to experiences by reflecting on the content (meaning or the what), which are thus encounters, and reflecting on the process (the how).
Kuper went on to describe what constitutes a conscious experience, he stated that “a specific awareness one has of the experience while living through it or performing it” (p. 54). Specific awareness in phenomenology refers to a direct investigation and description of phenomena as consciously experienced without theories or explanations of their existence, and as free from extraneous preconceptions and presuppositions (Kuper, 2009). It can be inferred that with these stated objectives, phenomenology is not only a philosophical inquiry, but serves also in a modified way for research purposes and methodological pursuits (Kuper, 2009).
Phenomenology being a specific research methodology strives to depict phenomena from the personal or contextual perspectives of the participants experiencing them (Kuper, 2009; Converse, 2012).
A comparison of Logical Positivists views and Phenomenology
Logical positivism is the philosophy of science that derives information and data from logical and mathematical truths (Ayer, 1952). Logical positivists believe that valid knowledge relies on derived knowledge (Ayer, 1952). They hold that society, like the physical world, functions according to general laws (Ikuenobe, 2004). They believe that the physical world operates according to gravity and other absolute laws (Ikuenobe, 2004). Positivists are only concerned about positive facts and perceptible events- things that can be measured and counted as facts. These views compare closely to the scientific view of the world (Ikuenobe, 2004). Positivism takes little account of feelings and experiences; however some of its more extreme protagonists seem to be drawn in the direction of religion (Ikuenobe, 2004).
Phenomenology on the other hand has a different way of viewing the world in contrast to the positivism. Phenomenologists are concerned with the meaning of things, rather than identifying and measuring phenomena. The focus of phenomenologists is the concept that human experiences are a valuable source of data, as opposed to the idea that true research or finding lies in simply measuring the reality of physical phenomena (Converse, 2012; Tuohy et al., 2013). It is therefore safe to infer from this point that logical positivism is geared towards a quantitative approach of research methodology while phenomenology focuses on a qualitative research methodology. The debate continues on the best research methodology to be utilized for evidence based practice in nursing practice. The research question or inquiry should serve as a guide in choosing the research methodology to be utilized. In research questions involving the lived experiences of patients, the phenomenological approach might be the best approach to ensure that the patients’ experiences leads the researcher to the research answers.
Relevancy to nursing research
Phenomenology is a well- authenticated qualitative methodology and as such it is highly valuable for addressing research questions specific to the discipline of nursing. It is also vital for the implementation of holistic, empathic, and individualistic nursing care. Despite this growth, nurses have been criticized by some other theorists for not applying sound knowledge of the philosophical tenets of true phenomenology (Earle, 2010). Nurse researchers need to investigate the philosophy of phenomenology to create a methodology that is sound, individualized, and meaningful and relevant to nursing practice.
Conclusion
Nurses and advanced practice nurses have contributed immensely to the growth of nursing as a profession. Research is one of the tools that is utilized to contribute to these growth. Phenomenological inquiry is an important qualitative research methodology that can be used to answer questions that pertain to life experiences; for example the loss of a child, coping strategy used by patients diagnosed with a terminal disease. A vital component of phenomenological research is active listening, nurses, especially nurse researchers should strive to achieve this component while conducting interviews to ensure that experiences of participants are documented meticulously and concisely. Despite sharp criticisms leveled against qualitative research tools, literature reviews show that it is becoming increasingly popular among researchers especially in research questions involving participants lived experience.
References
Ayer, A. J. (1952). Language, Truth and Logic (2nd ed.). New york, NY: Dover.
Converse, M. (2012). Philosophy of phenomenology: How understanding aids research. Nurse Researcher, 20(1), 28-32. http://dx.doi.org/Retrieved from
Dowling, M. (2007). From Husserl to Van Manen: A review of different phenomenological approaches. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 44(1), 131-142.
Dowling, M., & Cooney, A. (2012). Research approaches related to phenomenology: Negotiating a complex landscape. Nurse Researcher, 20(2), 21-27.
Earle, V. (2010). Phenomenology as research method of substantive substantive metaphysics: An overview of phenomenogical views in nursing. Nursing Philosophy, 11(4), 286-296. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1446-769x.2010.00458
Greenfield, B., & Jemen, G. (2012). Phenomenology: A powerful tool for patient centers rehabilitation. Physical Therapy Reviews, 17(6), 417-424. http://dx.doi.org/10.117911743288x124.0000000046
Ikuenobe, P. (2004). Logical positivism, analytical methods and criticisms of ethnophilosophy. Metaphilosophy, 35(4), 479-503. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.467.9973.2004.00332.x
Kupers, W. M. (2009). The status and relevance of phenomenological integral reseaech: Or why phenomenology is more and different thn an “upper left” or “Zone 1” affair. Integral Review, 5(1), 51-95. Retrieved from
Standal, O. F. (2014). Phenomenology and Adapted Physical Activity: Philosophy and professional practice. Adapted Physical Activity Quaterly, 31(1), 35-48.
Tuohy, D., Cooney, A., Dowling, M., Murphy, K. J., & Sixsmith, J. (2013). An overview of interpretive phenomenology as a research methodology. Nurse Researcher, 20(6), 17-20.
Vouzavali, F., Pappinanassoglou, E., & Karanikola, M. (2011). The patient is in my space: Hermenutic investigation of the nurse-patient relationship in critical care. Nursing Critical Care, 16(3), 140-151.
Wilson, A. (2014). Being a practitioner: An application of Heideger’s phenomenology. Nurse Researcher, 21(6), 28-33.

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