About the Book
A highly accessible introduction to arts-based research (ABR), this widely used text provides a practical guide for researchers who want to uncover information that traditional methods cannot capture. Patricia Leavy addresses all eight major ABR genres--narrative inquiry, fiction-based research, poetry, music, dance, theatre, film, and visual art. Following a consistent format, chapters review how each genre developed, explore its methodological variations and the kind of research questions it can address, and describe sample studies. An exemplary research article or online video link demonstrates each set of techniques in practice.
See also Dr. Leavy's edited volume, Handbook of Arts-Based Research, which examines the theoretical and methodological foundations of ABR and explores cutting-edge applications across disciplines.
New to This Edition:
*Covers two additional ABR genres: fiction-based research and film.
*Chapter on the criteria for evaluating ABR studies.
*Most end-of-chapter exemplars are new; plus links to online exemplars added for ABR performance studies.
*Chapters restructured to follow a consistent format.
*Implications for creative arts therapies are addressed throughout.
*Increased attention to public scholarship and audience issues.
*Expanded discussions of ABR as a paradigm, playbuilding, and technology.
Pedagogical Features
*Checklists of issues to consider when deciding how to use a particular method.
*Discussion questions and activities that can be worked on in class or assigned.
*Annotated lists of suggested readings and websites, including links to online performance pieces.
*Instructive research examples from multiple disciplines.
*Flexibly organized so that chapters can be read independently or in sequence.
Winner--AERA Division D Significant Contribution to Educational Measurement and Research Methodology Award
Table of Contents:
1. Social Research and the Creative Arts: An Introduction
2. Narrative Inquiry and Fiction-Based Research
(Exemplar: Selection from American Circumstance by Patricia Leavy)
3. Poetic Inquiry
(Exemplar: Children’s Poetic Voices by April R. Mandrona)
4. Music as Method
(Online Exemplar: The Beauty of Song by Danny Bakan)
5. Dance and Movement as Inquiry
(Online Exemplar: Gender Icons by Jack Migdalek)
6. Theater, Drama, and Film
(Exemplar: Blink by Mary E. Weems)
(Online Exemplar: SAILing into UNI(versity) by Anne Harris)
7. The Visual Arts
(Exemplar: Integrating Artistic Process into Qualitative Research by Carolyn Jongeward)
8. Evaluation
9. Bridging the Art-Science Divide
About the Author :
Patricia Leavy, PhD, is an independent sociologist and former Chair of Sociology and Criminology and Founding Director of Gender Studies at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts. She is the author, coauthor, or editor of over 30 books, and the creator and editor of seven book series. Known for her commitment to public scholarship, she is frequently contacted by the U.S. national news media and has blogged for The Huffington Post, The Creativity Post, and We Are the Real Deal. She is also co-founder and co-editor-in-chief of the journal Art/Research International. Dr. Leavy has received numerous awards for her work in the field of research methods, including the Distinguished Service Outside the Profession Award from the National Art Education Association, the New England Sociologist of the Year Award from the New England Sociological Association, the Special Achievement Award from the American Creativity Association, the Egon Guba Memorial Keynote Lecture Award from the American Educational Research Association Qualitative Special Interest Group, and the Special Career Award from the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry. In 2016, Mogul, a global women’s empowerment platform, named her an “Influencer.” The School of Fine and Performing Arts at the State University of New York at New Paltz has established the Patricia Leavy Award for Art and Social Justice in her honor. Dr. Leavy delivers invited lectures and keynote addresses at universities and conferences. Her website is www.patricialeavy.com.
Review :
"Leavy has another winner! A practical, engaging guide, Method Meets Art, Second Edition, makes a persuasive case for ABR as its own developed paradigm with the potential to advance public scholarship. The second edition includes current examples, an important chapter on evaluation, and new discussions of film, fiction-based research, playbuilding, and creative arts therapies. This book is useful for all qualitative researchers who want to step outside a traditional mode, as well as for any graduate or advanced undergraduate class exploring ways to blend qualitative methods with narrative, music, dance, poetry, drama, fiction, film, visual art, and other creative expressions."--Carolyn Ellis, PhD, Distinguished University Professor and Chair, Department of Communication, University of South Florida
"For Leavy, inquiry and performance are not the sole possessions of either science or art, but rather the children of technique, vision, and imagination. This book gently guides us from more familiar means of narrative and poetic expression to more adventurous and experimental modes of music, dance, and visual arts. Along the way, Leavy shares wonderful, original examples of how method meets art to produce research reports that are as accurate as they are moving and as rigorous as they are beautiful. The book challenges us as researchers to not so quickly select a comfortable way to create and share research, but rather let the inquiry’s focus, the data’s form, the audience’s perspectives, and our inner muse guide us to consider new alternatives. Read this book and be prepared to base your research in art like you never could have imagined before!"--Ronald J. Chenail, PhD, Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nova Southeastern University
"This evocative second edition is a gem for all who want to know more about ABR and the power and potential of the arts in defining our world. Leavy has succeeded in pushing the borders of our understanding of the importance of the arts in research and in writing. The new chapter on evaluating ABR and the provocative discussion of the art/-science divide make the book a 'must read.' I will certainly use this text in my qualitative methods courses."--Valerie J. Janesick, PhD, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, University of South Florida
"Like height marks on a doorframe that record a child's growth, Leavy's second edition records a major growth spurt in ABR over the past several years. Arts-based researchers and the broader qualitative research communities continue to be indebted to Leavy for her documentation, celebration, and advocacy of multiple ways of knowing. This extensively updated edition is rich with exemplars and sophisticated discussions of the epistemological and methodological issues that underpin this work. It is a standout book and a 'must have.'"--Joe Norris, PhD, Department of Dramatic Arts, Brock University, Canada
"Well written, engaging, and thoughtful. The teaching features of this book are second to none. As a qualitative researcher, but not an arts-based researcher, I appreciate the way that Leavy weaves pedagogical practices into her text, allowing for scaffolding of those new to ABR. This text serves as a bridge to the various genres, idiosyncrasies, practices, and possibilities of ABR. I highly recommend this book to students of research methods, professors of educational research, and artists who wish to engage in educational research and pedagogy."--Jennifer L. Milam, PhD, Department of Curricular and Instructional Studies, University of Akron
"I love this book! It provides detailed information on each method, with an example at the end of the chapter; covers all the main ABR genres; and draws exemplars from multiple disciplines in social science. Each chapter is independent from the others, so reading doesn’t need to be linear. This is a great resource for professors who want to learn about (and teach) ABR to their students."--Jeong-Hee Kim, PhD, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Kansas State University
"A leading-edge, articulate, comprehensive overview of ABR. The second edition expands into new terrain to make a robust case for ABR across disciplines. Patricia Leavy has once again moved ABR forward, showing how these methods can illuminate and clarify the human experience by bridging the arts and science divide. She demonstrates that ABR methods can take us beyond the limits of quantitative conclusions and into the realm of implicit, person-centered wisdom. This book will undoubtedly be required reading for researchers and students in psychology, social sciences, creative arts therapies, and arts education."--Cathy A. Malchiodi, PhD, ATR-BC, LPAT, LPCC, REAT, Founder and Executive Director, Trauma-Informed Practices and Expressive Arts Therapy Institute
"This is the perfect introductory text for graduate-level courses on ABR, and is also ideal for undergraduate surveys of multiple qualitative methods. Key to the book's usefulness are its broad definition of ABR and its inclusion of the multiple artistic genres that have been used as modes of data collection, analysis, and representation in qualitative research."--Susan Finley, PhD, Department of Teaching and Learning, Washington State University
"This book is a great foundation for conducting ABR projects as well as a primer for explaining how and why ABR methods complement traditional methods. Leavy introduces us to the field while walking us through issues and topics overlooked by traditional research engagements. Leavy is conscious that she is on the cutting edge of this dynamic methodology and provides thoughtful background and bridging concepts/language. She helps those who use ABR practices succeed in their research and defend their methods to their institutions and audience."--Paulette Moore, MA, Visual and Communication Arts Department, Eastern Mennonite University
"Method Meets Art serves as a methods book to all arts-based researchers coming from different disciplines as Leavy provides an updated comprehensive overview with practical variations, lists of suggested readings, and research examples. But it may also be of interest to researchers and artists outside the qualitative community and various fields as well as to anyone who wishes to explore the merging of science and the arts."--The Qualitative Report, 1/1/2016
"An excellent introductory text for arts-based research (ABR)….It is time for the arts as research to reside in the research methods classroom and in research proper....Leavy adeptly relates the most basic techniques in ABRgiving them away to students and researchers alike. In addition, she exceeds the introduction of techniques by presenting excellent examples of ABR research by experienced ABR methodologists. These elucidate ABR methods by showing students and beginning researchers what those methods 'look like' when done well....I greatly appreciate Leavy's adept handling of this introduction to ABR, showing that it is legitimate, useful, and authentic among research methodologies. I have taught research methods in behavioral science for over 15 years and will use Leavy's book alongside a traditional research methods text, next time around. It is an excellent resource for students, for beginning researchers, and for academicians in the arts, literature, and social and behavioral sciences." (on the first edition)--PsycCRITIQUES, 1/1/2009
"I found the book interesting and one I believe will be useful for those wanting to embark on using a different approach to research....For those practicing counseling and psychotherapy, whether engaged in therapy and/or research and not familiar with using alternative methods of enabling people to capture experience I believe this book could offer fresh insights to support and further their endeavors." (on the first edition)--Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 11/1/2010
"In reading Leavy's book I can now see that all forms of research can inform, perform, reform, and transform what we think we know about the world around as well as ourselves as researchers and readers."(on the first edition)--Weekly Qualitative, 10/1/2008
"A breath of fresh air....The contribution of this book to the field of research methods is invaluable....Leavy successfully establishes the legitimacy of arts-based research in social science research and succinctly explains how pivotal arts-based research is to the future of academic research." (on the first edition)--International Journal of Education and the Arts, 7/1/2009
