ABSTRACT
This chapter is about the realities of practice-based research (PBR) from the perspective of recent PhD graduates at the University of Technology Sydney. Drawing on a series of interviews with graduates and experienced PBR supervisors, I identify a number of challenges that are commonly encountered and strategies that have been applied to address them. Challenges include difficulty in managing the scope of projects and effectively documenting creative work and the tension between the need to produce creative work (the ‘practice’) and the time required to generate meaningful theoretical insights (the ‘research’). Strategies that PBR PhDs and their supervisors have applied to address these challenges include collaboration, establishing and maintaining clear reflective strategies and practices, and ensuring the program of research is flexible enough to accommodate artistic exploration.
