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Background Heuristic inquiry is a research approach that improves understanding of the essence of an experience. This qualitative method relies on researchers' ability to discover and interpret their own experience while exploring those of others. Aim To present a discussion of heuristic inquiry's methodology and its application to the experience of nurse migration. Discussion The researcher's commitment to the research is central to heuristic inquiry. It is immersive, reflective, reiterative and a personally-affecting method of gathering knowledge. Researchers are acknowledged as the only people who can validate the findings of the research by exploring their own experiences while also examining those of others with the same experiences to truly understand the phenomena being researched. This paper presents the ways in which the heuristic process guides this discovery in relation to traditional research steps. Conclusion Heuristic inquiry is an appropriate method for exploring nurses' experiences of migration because nurse researchers can tell their own stories and it brings understanding of themselves and the phenomenon as experienced by others. Implications for practice Although not a popular method in nursing research, heuristic inquiry offers a depth of exploration and understanding that may not be revealed by other methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim This paper is intended to introduce Moustakas's heuristic method to a wider nursing research audience. It is aimed at identifying the main principles that underpin this approach, and outlining the processes and structure that this form of inquiry might take. Background Heurism is a generic term that encapsulates a way of thinking and exploring that is shared by such diverse disciplines as computer programming, mathematics and philosophy. All these disciplines at some point require an understanding of the process that comprises the experience of discovery that pre-empts the formulation of a hypothesis. Review methods The heuristic method is critically reviewed and its strengths are identified. The discourse offered by post-modernism, which challenges some of the method's main principles, is explored and potential solutions offered. Discussion This paper highlights how research questions that are heuristic in origin can create conditions that offer the possibility for change in the researcher. It explores how the internal change that occurs in the researcher can be a catalyst for deeper appreciation of the question under investigation and how this personal transformation can be relevant for practice and research. Conclusion Nursing practice and research are ideally placed to engage with questions that emerge heuristically from our experience. Implications for research/practice Moustakas's method gives practitioners and researchers the opportunity to explore internal and personal questions. It suggests that the personal nature of these questions can contribute to the contexts and environments in which care and research take place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]