Creative Research Research Articles

Identities and Methodologies of Doctoral Candidates Undertaking Audiovisual Research-by-Practice

“Identities and Methodologies of Doctoral Candidates Undertaking Audiovisual Research-by-Practice” comprises a triptych of video essays, crafted by the co-organisers of the inaugural B-Film Creative Practice Colloquium at the University of Birmingham. In each video, the creators reflect upon data collected during this event (including a videographic exercise, digital questionnaires, and filmed interviews). Through analysing how attendees described and executed their practice and methods, the three videos jointly and separately interrogate: • relationships of process and product in audiovisual research-by-practice; • the place of experimental filmmaking in academia; • opportunities for, and impediments to, the adoption and development of filmmaking in the academy. These works have a specific focus on postgraduate researchers and thus may provide guidance for both supervisors and future students working in creative practice research.

The place and role of purgatory in the twenty-first century: a visual content analysis of students’ AI-generated works

This article examines current perceptions of purgatory among young people and its role in society. Architecture students’ visual material explores the evolving concept of purgatory and its importance today. The study analyses how ideas of purification and hybridity are understood in contemporary secular society. Using a structured visual research framework, the study incorporates participatory seminars, art-based methodologies and innovative AI techniques. It investigates young people’s views on purgatory and their understanding of the cosmos, considering contemporary interpretations and the concept of presentism. By combining creative and conventional research approaches, this text aims to enhance understanding and generate new insights. The analysis uncovers how purgatory and transitional spaces are understood in today’s society, revealing individual interpretations of religious teachings. It also highlights the importance of creative research methods in understanding complex religious ideas.

Working "With" Not "On" Disabled People: The Role of Hate Crime Research within the Community.

For many disabled people, violence can become an unwanted, yet ordinary part of everyday life. Often, these crimes are attributed to understandings of disabled people as vulnerable and largely, passive victims. Attending to the aims of this special issue, this paper aims to dismantle these stereotypes and attend to the unique ways that disabled people can resist and respond to hate crime through creative and collaborative research practices. Building upon this, I argue that there is a pressing need for hate studies researchers to work "with" and not "on" those who have experienced targeted violence. Working in this way builds upon long-standing efforts of disabled activists and disabilities studies researchers to challenge reductive research practices by working in more collective and inclusive ways. To demonstrate this, I reflect upon a project working in partnership with disabled people to create a disability hate crime toolkit. The toolkit, now published, shares accessible and informative resources that can be used to raise awareness about disability hate crime. While the focus of this paper is disability, I consider methods of collaboration, co-production and participation that can be drawn upon by researchers to respond to hate crime and interpersonal violence more broadly.

Phillip K. Dick: A Psychotic Prophet?

The clinical potential of creativity research remains largely unexplored. Philip K. Dick’s deeply personal writings, particularly his journal following a psychotic episode, provide a rare insight into the neuropsychological processes that drive creativity. His unique blend of psychological depth and philosophical science fiction has profoundly impacted literature and popular culture, securing his place as one of the leading science fiction authors of the 20th century. Drawing on his own experiences with mental illness, Dick delved into themes like ontological insecurity, psychosis, dissociation, and drug addiction. Considerable research has explored the connection between madness and creativity. Building on this, the essay will apply clinical nosology to diagnose Dick as a case study, aiming to uncover how his psychopathology influenced his life and creative output. The second part will review recent research on creativity, focusing on factors that enhance our understanding of the roots of his genius. Progressing the neuropsychology of creativity holds significant clinical, social, and economic promise

A Filmmaking Research Continuum

Exploring aspects of the development of filmmaking research within the Academy over past decades, this article focuses on creative practice-based methods and the establishment of filmmaking as a legitimate research endeavour. It delves into the nuances of filmmaking research methodologies, specifically the rearticulation and repositioning of research practices to encompass both the work of filmmaking production and further filmmaking engagement with its reception. The importance of research statements in elucidating scholarly contributions made by films and other screen works, like scripts and video essays, is emphasised, alongside discussions of peer-review processes and the role of creative practice research journals in fostering critical dialogue within the filmmaking research community. Despite ongoing tensions between academic and industry requirements, the article argues for the progress of filmmaking research as a distinctive discipline with distinct methodologies, highlighting the need for continual refinement in quality assessment metrics to reflect the evolving nature of the field.

More Than a Photograph: An Analysis of the Photographs of the Interdisciplinary Creative Research Center “Pracownia” Using the Six-Moves Typology in Arts-Based Research

In this article I analyze the actions of the Interdisciplinary Creative Research Center “Pracownia” using the author’s art-based research typology of six moves: downward (two types), upward, inward, along, and across. The paper considers culture animation/community arts to be practices of researching oneself and the world through art. I explain this via the example of “Pracownia” and select one photo of their actions from the years 1978–1981 in order to present every point of the typology. The research aims to fill in the gaps in the history of Polish community arts/culture animation, whilst providing analytical tools for social scientists and practical guidelines for culture animators/community artists.

Analysis of Creativity Research Trends in Chinese Universities Using Topic Modeling

Analysis of Creativity Research Trends in Chinese Universities Using Topic Modeling

Looking at things strangely: Defamiliarisation as a design approach for media literacy education

Design methods have long been proposed as educational devices and, increasingly, as approaches for engaging with societal issues. While media, cultural and political narratives continue to debate best practices for challenging disinformation, with some countries embedding media literacy within formal education, this article speculates on how design approaches might be repurposed for media literacy education. Drawing on theories of defamiliarisation from creative practice and design research, the article postulates graphic design’s intrinsic communicative nature as a potential approach for engaging with media literacy. By interweaving diverse academic discussions, alongside case studies, the article scrutinizes defamiliarisation’s efficacy, alongside graphic design, as a research and pedagogical tool, foregrounding innovative design strategies that may be responsive to contemporary media literacy challenges. In doing so, the article speculates how such practices might be combined, leveraged, and repurposed as educational tools for media literacy, as well as for future interdisciplinary discussions and social design research.

Marketing Innovations in Enhancing the Sustainability of the Creative Market in Metro City

This research examines the role of marketing innovation in enhancing the sustainability of the creative market in the digital era. Through a systematic literature review, this study aims to identify current trends, best practices, and challenges in implementing innovative marketing strategies in the creative industry. The analysis covers various aspects of marketing innovation, including digital technology adoption, value-based strategies, consumer collaboration, and integration of online-offline experiences. Research findings indicate that digital transformation has become a primary driver of marketing innovation, with the utilization of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and blockchain opening new opportunities for personalization and creativity in marketing. A significant shift towards value-based and sustainable marketing strategies is identified as a response to consumer demands for ethical and sustainable products and services. Collaboration and co-creation with consumers emerge as effective approaches to enhance product relevance and build customer loyalty. Adaptability and flexibility of marketing strategies prove crucial in facing rapidly changing market dynamics. Seamless integration between online and offline marketing is found to be key in creating holistic customer experiences. This study concludes that marketing innovation plays a vital role in enhancing the competitiveness and sustainability of the creative industry. Recommendations include investing in digital capabilities, developing value-based strategies, strengthening consumer collaboration, increasing organizational flexibility, and optimizing the integration of online-offline strategies. The implications of this research are relevant for creative industry practitioners, policymakers, and researchers in the fields of marketing and creative industries.

Mass spectrometry in animal health laboratories: recent history, current applications, and future directions.

Mass spectrometry (MS) has long been considered a cornerstone technique in analytical chemistry. However, the use of MS in animal health laboratories (AHLs) has been limited, however, largely because of the expense involved in purchasing and maintaining these systems. Nevertheless, since ~2020, the use of MS techniques has increased significantly in AHLs. As expected, developments in new instrumentation have shown significant benefits in veterinary analytical toxicology as well as bacteriology. Creative researchers continue to push the boundaries of MS analysis, and MS now promises to impact disciplines other than toxicology and bacteriology. I include a short discussion of MS instrumentation, more detailed discussions of the MS techniques introduced since ~2020, and a variety of new techniques that promise to bring the benefits of MS to disciplines such as virology and pathology.

You Want to Foster Creative Behavior? Try Behavioral Sciences Models

Abstract Why do individuals confronted with a specific situation act creatively or not? To answer this question, the psychology of creativity needs to rely on comprehensive behavioral models allowing researchers to better identify the determinants of creative behavior and to be able to efficiently foster this behavior. Behavioral sciences precisely developed behavioral models that allow us to understand and influence a wide variety of behaviors. The present contribution argues for the use of behavioral sciences models in creativity research, and describes three main functions for creativity research: (1) a heuristic function (supporting the development of scientific knowledge about goal-directed creative behavior), (2) an interventional function (supporting the elaboration of efficient behavioral interventions to foster creative behavior), and (3) a categorization function (providing a clearer view of the types of interventions designed to foster specific creative behavior and of the behavioral drivers used).

Creative Tourism: Two Decades of Conceptual Evolution and Characterization

The concept of “creative tourism”, emerging at the century’s start, responds to the “creative turn” in tourist destinations, aligning with the evolving creative class, clusters, and cities. This study employs a bibliometric analysis to examine the evolution and academic focus on creative tourism over the past two decades. Using databases like Scopus and Web of Science, we analyzed key trends, thematic developments, and the impact of creative industries on tourism. Our study reveals significant growth in creative tourism research, emphasizing creativity’s role in enhancing tourism experiences and formulating sustainable, culturally rich models. It underscores the importance of integrating creative industries into tourism and the positive impact on local economies and community development. This analysis not only maps the academic trajectory of creative tourism but also highlights its practical implications for future tourism management and sustainable community development.

Dark intelligence: When the possibility of 1984 becomes reality

This essay reviews a concept that is too rarely dealt with, if at all, in the literature on human intelligence, namely, dark intelligence. I argue that dark intelligence is the possession and, as relevant, deployment of creative, analytical, and practical abilities and attitudes that, in particular tasks confronted in particular situations, can be, and are used for negative, harmful, and, sometimes, malign purposes. Dark intelligence is extremely common, and the world is the worse for it. Yet intelligence research continues to focus largely on solving test-like problems that do not speak to how intelligence is deployed on particular tasks in particular situations, either for good or for evil purposes. The world is facing severe crises, such as climate change, weapons of mass destruction, violence, and enormous income disparities. Creativity researchers, recognizing these problems, have developed a thriving field of “dark creativity.” Intelligence researchers have been largely absent, however, largely ignoring the dark side of intelligence. Yet dark intelligence can be and is being used to cause harm. The world is at increasing peril from its intended and unintended consequences; understanding dark intelligence may help to mitigate some of that peril.

Research, practice, knowledge: introducing the creative knowledges enabling framework

ABSTRACT Amongst a myriad of articles, chapters and books that argue for different ways to understand and conduct creative practice research – or as it is otherwise known, artistic research, arts-based research, practice-led research, practitioner-based research, and so on – this article goes to the heart of the affordances of creative practice research and offers what the authors believe is more generative model for this work, with more productive terminology. By focusing on a process of research enabling, as opposed to research being led by, based on or taken through practice (and vice versa), the article seeks clarity on the relationship between research questions, research design and methods; where a contribution to knowledge resides; how, accordingly, a research project might be written up; and who, indeed, creative practice researchers are. From our experience of undertaking, supervising and evaluatingcreative practice research, we have come to realise that some of the fundamental challenges of this work reside in a basic understanding of what, why, how and by whom. We believe that some of the definitions and models of creative practice research are a contributor to these challenges, hence a new model with alternative terminology to help untangle some of the intellectual complexities we have seen. The discussion uses screen practice as its disciplinary site, encompassing media/screen production and screenwriting.

Executive functions and divergent thinking in young adults: Evidence from individual differences and cognitive training studies

The interplay between executive functions and divergent thinking remains a debated question in creativity research. To address this issue, two studies were conducted from different perspectives. The first study explored which of the executive functioning components—namely working memory, inhibition, and shifting—predicted divergent thinking. A sample of 203 college students performed a battery of tasks assessing divergent thinking, executive functions, and related cognitive variables (fluid intelligence, verbal fluency, and processing speed). After statistically controlling for these variables, only working memory emerged as a significant predictor of creativity scores in the Alternative Uses Task, while inhibition and shifting did not. In the second study, a cognitive training approach was employed to further elucidate the potential efficacy of working memory training in fostering divergent thinking. The results found that the experimental group, which received a 15-day dual n-back task training, demonstrated greater improvements in the creativity score of the Alternative Uses Task compared to the control group, suggesting a transfer effect from working memory training to divergent thinking. This research underscores the plasticity of divergent thinking and highlights a plausible avenue for enhancing creativity through targeted cognitive training.

A framework for extending co-creative communication models to sustainability research.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) present a challenge due to their potential for conflicting objectives, which hinders their effective implementation. In order to address the complexity of sustainability issues, a framework capable of capturing the specificity of diverse sustainability issues while offering a common methodology applicable across contexts is required. Co-creative communication can be regarded as a key source of uncertainty within functional systems, as it can be instrumental in realizing and sustaining sustainability. In this regard, the studies in Constructive approaches to Co-creative Communication (CCC), particularly those employing artificial intelligence (AI) methodologies such as computational social science and innovation studies, hold significant value for both theoretical and applied sustainability research. However, existing CCC frameworks cannot be directly applied to sustainability research. This work bridges this gap by proposing a framework that outlines a general approach to establishing formalized definitions of sustainability from the lens of communication. This approach enables the direct application of CCC models to sustainability studies. The framework is based on systems theory and the methodologies of artificial intelligence, including computational/symbolic modeling and formal methods. This framework emphasizes the social function of co-creative communication and the interaction between the innovation process and the sustainability of the system. It can be concluded that the application of our framework enables the achievements of CCC to be directly applied to sustainability research. Researchers from different disciplines are therefore able to establish their own specific definitions of sustainability, which are tailored to their particular concerns. Our framework lays the groundwork for future sustainability studies that employs CCC, facilitating the integration of CCC insights into sustainability research and application. The outcomes of computational creativity research based on AI technologies, such as distributed artificial intelligence and self-organizing networks, can deepen the understanding of sustainability mechanisms and drive their practical applications. Furthermore, the functional role of co-creative communication in societal sustainability proposed in this work offers a novel perspective for future discussions on the evolutionary adaptation of co-creative communication.

Bibliometric Analysis and Research Trends on Creative Accounting from 2000 to 2023

This study employs a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to explore the extensive landscape of creative accounting research from 1958 to 2024. By analyzing thematic clusters, research trends over specific years, potential research topics in less explored areas, and patterns of author collaboration, the study provides a multidimensional view of the field's evolution and current state. Thematic analysis reveals core areas such as policy, earnings management, and the role of external audits, illustrating their interconnectedness within the research community. Temporal trend analysis identifies shifts from regulatory and ethical discussions to more complex issues like technology’s impact on creative accounting practices. Emerging research topics suggest future areas of study, including the influence of cultural perceptions and technological advancements on creative accounting. Furthermore, the author collaboration network highlights influential researchers and suggests robust collaborative ties within the community, offering insights into the social structure of academic collaboration. This study maps the development of creative accounting research, providing a foundation for future academic inquiry and practical application in the field.

Knowledge mapping of creative cities research: A visual analysis using VOSviewer and CiteSpace

Creative cities as a study discipline have garnered extensive attention and research in theory and practice as a practical approach to urban revitalization and sustainable development. This study conducted a systematic review of academic research on creative cities. Utilizing the visual analysis tools Citespace and VOSviewer, a comprehensive analysis was performed on 570 relevant articles from the Web of Science database. This study analyzed the most influential publications, authors, journals, institutions, and countries within the sample. The investigation spans various disciplinary domains, including geography, environment, culture, and others. Additionally, an exploration of the structure and characteristics of co-cited references was undertaken to enhance our understanding of the theoretical foundations of creative cities research further. Among these, the focal points of the study encompass urban development, urban policies, and the challenges faced. Finally, through co-occurrence analysis of keywords and examining the evolutionary process, the study forecasted that future trends will focus on the practical application of cities to enhance the urban image and improve urban governance from multi-dimensional perspectives such as creativity-related cultural places, public art, and so forth, exploring novel models of creative cities from case to universal. The results of this study can support scholars in grasping the development trends and exploring focal points.

Beyond Western Notions of Creativity in Education: Toward a Trans‐Epistemological Approach

ABSTRACTIn this editorial for the special issue on Beyond Western Notions of Creativity in Education, we provide an overview of six articles that challenge the normative ontological, epistemological, and methodological underpinning of creativity research and practice in education. This special issue aimed to interrogate and problematize the notion of creativity as a Western conception, to expand it toward developing a more global, diverse, inclusive, and decolonized vision. Articles in this issue contribute to a more expanded conception beyond traditional Western ways of knowing and point to new areas for research within existing understandings of creativity. We explore creative practices and conceptualizations, as well as diverse research paradigms beyond Western traditions to present a more holistic understanding. We share implications for future research and practice for educators and scholars interested in expanding beyond the Western conceptualizations of creativity.

An ecological crisis of reason: using creative and arts-based research methods for exploring affective-emotional life and just transitions

In 2017, the Swedish parliament committed to making the country fossil-free by 2045, prompting an exploration of experiences and perceptions of transition in three cities hosting carbon-intensive industries – steel, cement and petrochemicals, which currently top the list of Sweden’s industrial emitters. From 2019 to 2024, a Swedish–UK research team employed conventional qualitative methods to gather insights from various stakeholders, including industry, municipal actors, and residents, supplemented by arts-based research methods for co-creating data on affective-emotional life in transition towns. This article argues that arts-based research serves as a valuable tool for accounting for and understanding affective-emotional life in frontline transition towns. The arts-based research (ABR) challenges prevailing technocratic and rational frameworks, aligning with ecofeminist Val Plumwood’s call to address the ‘ecological crisis of reason’ that serves to inhibit achieving sustainable futures. The primary value of this article lies in its contribution to the development and refinement of ABR within the context of just transition studies that I argue can help add citizen perspectives and consideration of affective-emotional life to the just transition discourse.