Phenomenology is commonly understood to be the study of phenomena or ‘things’, and there is no doubt that it has become an increasingly popular approach with which to study the ‘things’ that are central to nursing and health care. However, as has often been pointed out, there has been a tendency for some researchers to adopt phenomenology as a research method without an adequate grasp or articulation of its underpinning philosophy. In some cases, there has been a failure to acknowledge the many different and sometimes conflicting traditions and perspectives that have emerged over time, such as descriptive (Husserlian) phenomenology and interpretive (Heideggerian) phenomenology. Consequently, researchers interested in the approach are left to piece together their own understandings, with the risk that these may, in fact, turn out to be misunderstandings or misinterpretations.