In Research in the Creative and Media Arts, Desmond Bell looks at contemporary art and design practice, arguing that research activity is now a vital part of the creative dynamic. Today, creative arts and media students are expected to develop a range of research competencies and critical capacities in their creative project work. This book plots the basis for a research culture in the creative and media arts. It provides an illuminating genealogy of artistic research, revealing the intimate connections between art and science over the centuries and identifying some of the founding figures of practice-based artistic research. Bell explores the research that artists undertake through a number of case studies, talking to a range of contemporary artists and media makers about their work and the role research plays in this. He also traces the dialogues between art practice and a range of other humanity disciplines, such as history, anthropology and critical theory. His analysis reveals how contemporary art practice is now so locked into a set of interlocutions about process and purpose that it increasingly resembles a research practice in and of itself. Research in the Creative and Media Arts is a comprehensive overview of the relationship between research and practice that is ideal for undergraduate and postgraduate students, as well as researchers in the fields of art and design, art history and visual culture.

This book addresses one of the most exciting and innovative developments within higher education: the rise in prominence of the creative arts and the accelerating recognition that creative practice is a form of research. The book considers how creative practice can lead to research insights through what is often known as practice-led research. But unlike other books on practice-led research, it balances this with discussion of how research can impact positively on creative practice through research-led practice. The editors posit an iterative and web-like relationship between practice and research. Essays within the book cover a wide range of disciplines including creative writing, dance, music, theatre, film and new media, and the contributors are from the UK, US, Canada and Australia. The subject is approached from numerous angles: the authors discuss methodologies of practice-led research and research-led practice, their own creative work as a form of research, research training for creative practitioners, and the politics and histories of practice-led research and research-led practice within the university. The book will be invaluable for creative practitioners, researchers, students in the creative arts and university leaders. Key Features*The first book to document, conceptualise and analyse practice-led research in the creative arts and to balance it with research-led practice*Written by highly qualified academics and practitioners across the creative arts and sciences *Brings together empirical, cultural and creative approaches*Presents illuminating case histories of creative work and practice-led research

Heidegger’s notion of “gathering” and his proposition, “Questioning builds a way ... the way is one of thinking” provides the means to link the different chapters. This wide-ranging metaphoric device allows the authors to emphasise a set of fundamental questions concerning epistemologies, ways of knowing, and ontologies, ways of being, and the relations between the two. Their book opens a conceptual space to recognise the diversity of practices that count as creative arts research. “This collection is authentic, it speaks to the reader, it raises many questions and it theorises methodologies and practices of creative arts research in ways that the art student, the teacher, the practitioner, and the lecturer will find philosophical, interesting and methodologically insightful. The collection is to be welcomed as breaking new ground and it will have a deserved readership beyond the confines of the academic art-based community.” Michael A. Peters.

"This book looks at the combination of art, creativity and expression through the use and combination of computer science, and how technology can be used creatively for self expression using different approaches"--Provided by publisher.

With foreword by Kenneth J. Gergen and Mary M. Gergen. Creative research methods can help to answer complex contemporary questions, which are hard to answer using traditional methods alone. Creative methods can also be more ethical, helping researchers to address social injustice. This accessible book is the first to identify and examine the four areas of creative research methods: arts-based research, research using technology, mixed-method research and transformative research frameworks. Written in a practical and jargon-free style, with over 100 boxed examples, it offers numerous examples of creative methods in practice, from the social sciences, arts, and humanities around the world. Spanning the gulf between academia and practice, this useful book will inform and inspire researchers by showing readers why, when, and how to use creative methods in their research.

Creative research methods can help to answer complex contemporary questions which are hard to answer using conventional methods alone. Creative methods can also be more ethical, helping researchers to address social injustice. This bestselling book, now in its second edition, is the first to identify and examine the five areas of creative research methods: • arts-based research • embodied research • research using technology • multi-modal research • transformative research frameworks. Written in an accessible, practical and jargon-free style, with reflective questions, boxed text and a companion website to guide student learning, it offers numerous examples of creative methods in practice from around the world. This new edition includes a wealth of new material, with five extra chapters and over 200 new references. Spanning the gulf between academia and practice, this useful book will inform and inspire researchers by showing readers why, when, and how to use creative methods in their research. Creative Research Methods has been cited over 750 times.

Everyone who writes a novel, a poem, or a memoir almost certainly conducts research along the waywhether to develop a story idea, or to capture the voice, the speech patterns, or the exact words of a character, or to ensure authenticity or accuracy of detail in describing a person, a place, an object, a setting. This kind of experiential research is an art form of its own, and this book is the first to treat it as such. Addressing writers of fiction, poetry, and nonfiction, Philip Gerard covers all the different kinds of archives that might inform creative work, including historical documents, site visits, interviews, and memory. He offers practical tips for drawing on these different types of sources, including such mundane matters as planning and budgeting for travel costs, arranging access in advance, and troubleshooting when plans go awry. And he illustrates how the insights gleaned from research can be incorporated into stories, poems, and nonfiction using examples from a wide range of writers."

Interacting gives a primary voice to practitioner researchers in the emerging academic discourse about creative practice and research, a voice which has been somewhat muted in debates about the nature of practitioner knowledge and the role of the artefact in knowledge creation. By creating and evaluating interactive artworks, the contributors challenge existing notions about the role of research in practice, and their accounts provide fascinating insights into the growing phenomenon of artworks shaped by the audiences who interact with them.

Visualizing Research guides postgraduate students in art and design through the development and implementation of a research project, using the metaphor of a 'journey of exploration'. For use with a formal programme of study, from masters to doctoral level, the book derives from the creative relationship between research, practice and teaching in art and design. It extends generic research processes into practice-based approaches more relevant to artists and designers, introducing wherever possible visual, interactive and collaborative methods. The Introduction and Chapter 1 'Planning the Journey' define the concept and value of 'practice-based' formal research, tracking the debate around its development and explaining key concepts and terminology. ’Mapping the Terrain’ then describes methods of contextualizing research in art and design (the contextual review, using reference material); ’Locating Your Position’ and ’Crossing the Terrain’ guide the reader through the stages of identifying an appropriate research question and methodological approach, writing the proposal and managing research information. Methods of evaluation and analysis are explored, and of strategies for reporting and communicating research findings are suggested. Appendices and a glossary are also included. Visualizing Research draws on the experience of researchers in different contexts and includes case studies of real projects. Although written primarily for postgraduate students, research supervisors, managers and academic staff in art and design and related areas, such as architecture and media studies, will find this a valuable research reference. An accompanying website www.visualizingresearch.info includes multimedia and other resources that complement the book.