Creative practice research, also called practice-based research, is where a specific research question is explored via creative practice processes and/or via the product of a creative endeavour. It is commonly employed in art and design creative practice HDR projects. However, practice-based research also has a history in other disciplines such as medicine, engineering and education where it is often referred to as "action research".
Definitions vary, but research in the creative areas may be considered practice-based or practice-led (Skains, 2018). Practice-based research, according to PRAGUK (n.d., para. 11), is research where the "creative artefact is the basis of the contribution to knowledge", whereas in practice-led research the contribution of the research "leads primarily to new understandings about practice". As such, in practice-based research, creative outputs, such as a sculpture or a novel, are integral to the research process and form part of the submission. The creative output may not be fully understood as a research object/output without the dissertation/written component, and the written component cannot be fully understood without the creative component. On the contrary, in practice-led research, the research results can be entirely conveyed through language, offering theoretical insights into the practice without requiring the inclusion of a creative work.
References
Candy, L. (2006). Practice based research: A guide. Creativity & Cognition Studios. https://www.creativityandcognition.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/PBR-Guide-1.1-2006.pdf
PRAGUK (n.d.). Methodology. PRAGUK. https://prag-uk.org/glossary-of-terms/methodology/
Skains, R. L. (2018). Creative practice as research: Discourse on methodology. Media Practice and Education, 19(1), 82-97. https://doi.org/10.1080/14682753.2017.1362175
The following video is a presentation and teaching supplement of practice-based methodology for arts practitioners.
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