Navigating methodological perspectives in Doctoral research through creative practice

Abstract

Academic research in crafts, conducted by crafts persons from an insider perspective and through practice-led approaches, is still just emerging and ways of conducting research is developing with each research project. Through this article, we try to navigate the field from a doctoral candidate’s perspective, presenting the research field and some central issues commonly confronted with in regards to epistemology, methodology and methods. We exemplify the arguments made through our own doctoral projects to make our points more concrete. The article discusses the methodological perspectives of these research projects, how and why they developed and changed over time and influences posed by outer circumstances. We especially point to the challenges and opportunities of practice-led research in crafts and highlight the relevance and type of contribution to be had and its meaningfulness for the practice field and related education.