voi Cesa result of the initial outcomes. some studio- based or arts- based research is essentially
exploratory and so the focus may change continually and this change may itself become
a new focus of enquiry. similarly the method by which data is collected or argument
is constructed may become a major focus of the research. Collaborative methods for
instance, or new techniques, may contribute as much to the outcomes as do the initial
reasons for using them; (2) Rationale; (3) Method or intervention, including artistic
processes or productions; (4) Data collection or collation; purely theoretical research will
omit this stage; (5) Analysis, Theorizing and argument; (6) Outcomes: these may be in the
form of conclusions and/or insights and/or questions; (7) Presentation and dissemination:
the form of presentation and dissemination varies with the purpose of the research and
with the intended audience. For instance, it may be published, presented, performed
or exhibited.
Examples of arts- based, practice- based researchhaving outlined models of the self and of the research process, i now move on to
giving an explanation of how the self is significant in research, and the implications of
this for the researcher. in order to ground this explanation i begin by presenting three
examples of arts- based, practice- based research, all of which were ongoing at the time
of writing. These examples have been written by the researchers themselves and then
edited by me. The distinctive voices and actions of the researchers disclose something
of their selves.
i myself have not personally carried out projects in arts- based research. however
much of my work has involved working closely with those who have. i am a philosopher
and researcher based in a university faculty of education. For the past four years i have
been at the university of edinburgh, in scotland, where i have worked closely with
Tony gemmell, the researcher in the first of the examples. he is a lecturer in art and
design within teacher education. Before moving to scotland, i worked in england, at
nottingham Trent university, where i was involved in a number of capacities with
artists and performers at Creative partnerships nottingham. The second and third of
the examples are written by researchers i came to know professionally at that time.
nettie scriven and peter Rumney, are co- founders of dragon Breath Theatre company,
and direct a performance and education research programme. The account is also co-
authored by the researcher on the project, iryna Kuksa. sara giddens and simon Jones
are co- directors of Bodies in Flight performance company, where they are, respectively,
choreographer and writer.
The examples have been chosen to demonstrate three different methodologies and
approaches to research. They are, of course, just three among the very many different
kinds of arts- based, practice- based research. The first can be described as reflective
self- study focused on professional practice (loughran et al. 2004; Tidwell et al. 2009).
gemmell, gives an account of a researcher feeling a way into arts- based, practice- based
research through the use of video. This study focuses on his self- understanding as a
researcher, in tracing his own movement from visually- based research to arts- based
research, while also offering a research- based contribution to the improvement of his
own and his colleagues’ professional practice. The second example is reflective action
research (schön 1991; mcardle and Reason. 2006; noffke and somekh. 2009).