title: van Manen's method and reduction in a phenomenological hermeneutic study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe van Manen's method and concept of reduction in a study that used a phenomenological hermeneutic approach.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Nurse researchers have used van Manen's method in different ways. Participants' lifeworlds are described in depth, but descriptions of reduction have been brief.
  
  
  METHODS
  The literature and knowledge review and manual search of research articles.
  
  
  METHODS
  Databases Web Science, PubMed, CINAHL and PsycINFO, without applying a time period, to identify uses of van Manen's method.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This paper shows how van Manen's method has been used in nursing research and gives some examples of van Manen's reduction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Reduction enables us to conduct in-depth phenomenological hermeneutic research and understand people's lifeworlds.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As there are many variations in adapting reduction, it is complex and confusing. This paper contributes to the discussion of phenomenology, hermeneutic study and reduction. It opens up reduction as a method for researchers to exploit.
authors.affiliation: Savo Vocational College, University of Eastern Finland, Savo, Finland.
authors.forename: Kristiina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Heinonen
mesh_terms: D015399:Nursing Research / Q000379:methods*; D012108:Research Personnel
keywords: Phenomenology; hermeneutic; lifeworld; methodology; nursing; reduction; van Manen