What do you think?
Rate this book
Method Meets Art: Arts-Based Research Practice
This book presents the first comprehensive introduction to arts-based research (ABR) practices, which scholars in multiple disciplines are fruitfully using to reveal information and represent experiences that traditional methods cannot capture. Each of the six major ABR genres--narrative inquiry, poetry, music, performance, dance, and visual art--is covered in chapters that introduce key concepts and tools and present an exemplary research article by a leading ABR practitioner. Patricia Leavy discusses the kinds of research questions these innovative approaches can address and offers practical guidance for applying them in all phases of a research project, from design and data collection to analysis, interpretation, representation, and evaluation. Chapters include checklists to guide methodological decision making, discussion questions, and recommended print and online resources.
286 pages, Paperback
First published July 29, 2008
33 people are currently reading
172 people want to read
About the author
Patricia Leavy
66Ìýbooks310ÌýfollowersPatricia Leavy, Ph.D., is a bestselling author. She has published over fifty books, earning commercial and critical success in both fiction and nonfiction, and her work has been translated into many languages. Patricia has received over 100 book honors as well as career awards from the New England Sociological Association, the American Creativity Association, the American Educational Research Association, the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, and the National Art Education Association. In 2024 the London Arts-Based Research Centre established "The Patricia Leavy Award for Arts-Based Research." She lives in Maine with her family. Patricia loves writing, reading, watching films, and traveling. These days, she's focused on writing feel-good love stories.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 23, 2018
“New pathways don’t just form, we have to create them--we have to blaze the trails we want to pursue and that will be traveled by others� (Leavy, 2015, p. 304).
Though some of the chapters appeal less to me, I found this text very useful as someone who is beginning to delve into ABR for my dissertation. This book does it all from discussion theory, providing examples, and presenting ways to navigate a study in a very new, disputed terrain. The most useful aspect for me was when Leavy explains validity and provides suggested considerations when creating an ABR study. I choose not to provide more details in this space for my future dissertation texts since I will be spending much time with them in the coming year, but rest-assured that I would provide a less favorable critique if there was anything I saw that would warrant it. Luckily, I did not! Leavy is clearly passionate about ABR and her text is inviting and encouraging for notices who with to contribute to the field!
Style-wise, the continuous use of italics and spotty comma usage could have been improved.
Though some of the chapters appeal less to me, I found this text very useful as someone who is beginning to delve into ABR for my dissertation. This book does it all from discussion theory, providing examples, and presenting ways to navigate a study in a very new, disputed terrain. The most useful aspect for me was when Leavy explains validity and provides suggested considerations when creating an ABR study. I choose not to provide more details in this space for my future dissertation texts since I will be spending much time with them in the coming year, but rest-assured that I would provide a less favorable critique if there was anything I saw that would warrant it. Luckily, I did not! Leavy is clearly passionate about ABR and her text is inviting and encouraging for notices who with to contribute to the field!
Style-wise, the continuous use of italics and spotty comma usage could have been improved.
September 28, 2012
Leavy covers the underrepresented topic of the slowly growing field of art based methods for research in qualitative approaches. She explains that potentials of this type of methodology/tool allows for expanded and multiple findings, the representation of and access to marginalized groups, and the ability to research conceptual issues (such as death, memory, etc) that more traditional qualitative methods wouldn't reach. Each chapter focuses on the ideas and example applications of specific mediums such as narrative, poetry, music, dance, performance, and visual arts. Each chapter includes at its end an example of the representation of the work of a specific researcher. Leavy illustrates that art based methods can be used for any or all phases of a research project: data collection, analysis, interpretation, and representation.
The first half of the book is much stronger in that it focuses mostly on text-based arts and thus the concepts presented in the book flow naturally due to their form (some really moving examples of poems and stories, etc). There is a fair amount of redundancy in Leavy's descriptions of the use and power of the mediums. With each medium/chapter, she discusses fields of questioning/concern that the medium lends itself to and inevitably there is repeat/overlap from one medium to the next (gender, feminism, authority, identity, etc.) By the second half of the book there is not a lot of new information presented other than a couple of specific examples in dance/choreography technique and the chapter on visual approaches is sorely underdeveloped. For example, Leavy chooses not to include moving image.
Overall, this is an interesting an useful book. If you are a researcher, I wouldn't read it from beginning to end, just dip into the chapters you are drawn to and fit your topic/approaches. If you are assigning this for a class, I'd recommend only assigning the first and last chapters (on the role of this research in a science-focused academic environment) and a couple of chapters such as poetry, narrative, or music. I really found myself wishing there had been a CD accompanying this to experience some of the music, performance, and visual examples, rather than reading the artists explanations of their work.
The first half of the book is much stronger in that it focuses mostly on text-based arts and thus the concepts presented in the book flow naturally due to their form (some really moving examples of poems and stories, etc). There is a fair amount of redundancy in Leavy's descriptions of the use and power of the mediums. With each medium/chapter, she discusses fields of questioning/concern that the medium lends itself to and inevitably there is repeat/overlap from one medium to the next (gender, feminism, authority, identity, etc.) By the second half of the book there is not a lot of new information presented other than a couple of specific examples in dance/choreography technique and the chapter on visual approaches is sorely underdeveloped. For example, Leavy chooses not to include moving image.
Overall, this is an interesting an useful book. If you are a researcher, I wouldn't read it from beginning to end, just dip into the chapters you are drawn to and fit your topic/approaches. If you are assigning this for a class, I'd recommend only assigning the first and last chapters (on the role of this research in a science-focused academic environment) and a couple of chapters such as poetry, narrative, or music. I really found myself wishing there had been a CD accompanying this to experience some of the music, performance, and visual examples, rather than reading the artists explanations of their work.
January 16, 2019
This book has enormous potential. It is the best guide through arts-based research practice that I have read. The key and singular problem in this monograph remains that ABR is assumed to be of value. In other words, the value is self evident, rather than argued or proven.
Throughout the book, there are unfortunate comments about 'jargon' and the problems with academic research. I never value or validate academics critiquing academics for being ... academic. Specialist language is important and valuable. The complex, the intellectual, the tough and complex should never be shunned or dumbed down in research.
What makes this book interesting is that there is some consideration for popular culture. It is a minoritarian part of the book, but it would be possible to use ABR as configured here to research popular cultures.
Throughout the book, there are unfortunate comments about 'jargon' and the problems with academic research. I never value or validate academics critiquing academics for being ... academic. Specialist language is important and valuable. The complex, the intellectual, the tough and complex should never be shunned or dumbed down in research.
What makes this book interesting is that there is some consideration for popular culture. It is a minoritarian part of the book, but it would be possible to use ABR as configured here to research popular cultures.
half-read
April 2, 2024I'm working on an art-based research project for school.
August 9, 2018
Loved it. Truly an ABR staple.
September 24, 2024
comprehensive overview of artistic research practices!
March 5, 2017
Such a great open source approach without being trite. Excellent for those not looking for a prescriptive guide to art therapy.
December 15, 2010
This introduction to arts-based qualitative research discusses the theoretical foundations of the practice and how it can be applied to inquiry in areas like poetry, visual arts, music and performance. The information Leavy provides and questions she offers give interested students and researchers significant food for thought.
August 7, 2015
The updates for the second edition is great. Leavy's work on art-based research is foundational and so very important. Her interdisciplinary approach and her understanding of art and popular culture are sharp.
February 23, 2010
Integral to cutting edge social research, Leavy crystallizes thoughts I've held for years about the science/ arts barriers- and you know what? There shouldn't be any!!!
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.