Use of phenomenography in nursing education research

Abstract Objective Phenomenography is a qualitative research method used to explore the different ways individuals experience phenomena. Over the last few decades, use of the research method grew in various higher education disciplines; however, use of the method for nursing education research was limited until early in the 21 st century.Therefore, the purpose of this article is to describe the main ideas of phenomenography methodology and provide a simplified integrative review of the contributions to nursing education research. Methods Whittemore and Knafl (2005) five-step integrative review process was used to guide the literature search and evaluate findings of published works between 2009 and 2019. Results Thirteen articles, including one comprehensive literature review, were identified in the literature search. Conclusion Findings illustrated phenomenography methodology was used to evaluate and improve teaching and learning principles, complex faculty and student issues, curriculum and professional development, and educational practices within nursing education. Phenomenography research can be instrumental in providing a more realistic worldview of individual differing experiences of nursing education phenomena.