Am I doing practice-based research?

Practice based research is often associated with artistic practice, limiting its application to a narrow range of research fields. Once you dig down to the basics of practice-based research, suddenly a lot more comes into it. 

Practice-Based Research: Generating knowledge through doing

This moves practice-based research away from only highly artistic work, and draws in research involving more than sitting at your desk, reading and writing. This means making, doing, and experimenting to generate new knowledge. Suddenly we’re considering everything from curating an exhibition and gathering responses, to designing and testing a piece of technology, to innovations in music production, to developing new healthcare practices and products through prototypes.

What does that mean for impact?

The importance of practice-based research is recognised to some extent, but its role in impact is sometimes questioned. Some academics argue that practice based research won’t change the world, but practice-based research has great potential as a catalyst for change. 

We see a lot of confusion between the practice itself and the impact which it has. This can lead to assumptions that the impact of a practice-based project is the popularity or success of the practice itself, when in reality we are talking about the benefits caused by the practice. For instance, the impact of a performance or exhibition is not determined by the number of visitors it attracts, but rather by how it influences the attitudes and behaviours of those attendees or changes the curatorial practices of the host organisation, for example. If outlooks and actions demonstrably change as a result of these actions, then the practice-based research has succeeded in making an impact.

Of course, not all practice-based research will generate impact, just as not all ‘traditional’ research will. But practice-based research is no less capable of generating impact than its non-practice counterparts.
Check out our new guide on Practice-Based Research for more information or get in touch with the impact team if you have any questions.