Seeing as if for the First Time: Practising Transcendental Phenomenology with Emma Collins

What does it mean to practise transcendental (or descriptive) phenomenology?In this episode of The Phenomenology Collective, we explore how Moustakas’ transcendental phenomenology moves from philosophical ideas into the practical realities of doctoral research.We’re joined by Professional Doctorate candidate Emma Collins, who is using Moustakas’ approach to explore student nurses’ lived experiences of leadership learning. Drawing on her research journey, Emma offers an honest account of what it means to work descriptively with experience and to encounter a familiar phenomenon as if seeing it for the first time.Together, we explore the distinctive commitments of transcendental phenomenology, including epoché, phenomenological reduction, horizonalisation, imaginative variation, and the movement from individual descriptions towards a composite essence.In this episode, we discuss:What makes Moustakas’ approach transcendental and descriptiveWhy epoché is central—and what it looks like in practiceApproaching a familiar phenomenon with openness and freshnessMoving from horizons and invariant constituents to phenomenological descriptionsThe difference between the texture and structure of an experienceUsing imaginative variation to illuminate the conditions of experienceBalancing individual descriptions with the search for shared meanings and essencesHow images can support the description of experiences that are difficult to articulateAn accessible, practice-focused exploration of Moustakas’ methodology and the challenges of undertaking transcendental phenomenological research.