Nursing Inquiry. 2018;e12259. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/nin | 1 of 10 https://doi.org/10.1111/nin.12259 © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd 1 | INTRODUCTION Phenomenology, besides being a philosophy, is a qualitative research approach and methodology (Burns & Grove, 2004; Dowling, 2007; Heinonen, 2015; Munhall, 1989, 2007; Oiler, 1982) that, in recent years, has become a basic component in the development of professional human sciences in many countries (van Manen, 2014). However, there are a variety of approaches Received: 21 December 2017 | Revised: 25 June 2018 | Accepted: 4 July 2018 DOI: 10.1111/nin.12259 FEATURE van Manen’s phenomenology of practice: How can it contribute to nursing? Begoña Errasti-Ibarrondo 1,2,3,4 | José Antonio Jordán 4 | Mercedes P. Díez-Del-Corral 3,5 | María Arantzamendi 1,2,3 1 Procesos Crónicos, Cuidados al Final de la Vida y Familia Research Group, Facultad de Enfermería, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain 2 Cuidados Paliativos (ATLANTES) Research Group, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain 3 IdisNA, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain 4 Fenomenología, Educación y Experiencia Vivida (FEVI)-UAB Research Group, Departament de Pedagogia Sistemàtica i Social, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain 5 Innovación para un Cuidado Centrado en la Persona Research Group, Facultad de Enfermería, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain Correspondence Begoña Errasti-Ibarrondo, Facultad de Enfermería, Universidad de Navarra, Campus Universitario, 31080, Pamplona, España. Email: meibarrondo@unav.es Funding information Plan Estatal I+D+i, ISCIII-Subdirección General de Evaluación y Fomento de la investigación, Project (PI13/02039) of the Instituto de Salud Carlos III and cofunded by Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), the European European Regional Development Fund. This Doctoral Dissertation was granted by the Nursing Council of Navarra (Colegio Oficial de Enfermeria de Navarra, Convocatoria 2015). Abstract Phenomenology of practice is a useful, rigorous way of deeply understanding human phenomena. Therefore, it allows research to be conducted into nursing’s most sensi- tive and decisive aspects. While it is a widely used research approach and methodol- ogy in nursing, it is seldom addressed and made use of in its practical and applied value. This article aimed to approach the global outlook of van Manen’s hermeneutic- phenomenological method to better understand its theoretical background and to address and support the contribution this method can make to nursing, if rigorously applied. For a professional discipline like nursing, van Manen’s approach is especially interesting because, in addition to contributing to the body of knowledge of nursing, it provides a special kind of knowledge that allows nurses to act in a more reflective manner, and with tact and skill, in certain situations and relationships that arise in their daily practice. A more in-depth understanding of this research methodology may help nurse-researchers make good use of it and also harness knowledge derived from this type of research. This comes as a result of assuming that phenomenological texts, the final product of the research, have tremendous educational potential for people who read them carefully. KEYWORDS lived experience, bracketing, nursing research, phenomenological research, phenomenology, phenomenology of practice, philosophy, qualitative research