ABSTRACT
Arts-based research provides a systemic structure for researchers to create art in order to develop their understanding of a phenomenon of interest. Through focused artmaking, investigators use the creative process and resulting art works to explicate data collected from study participants or as a means of heuristic inquiry to enhance their own understanding of art therapy. Researchers leverage the evocative power of art to expand knowledge, encourage creative inquiry, extend audience reach, and raise social awareness. By adhering to unique characteristics, credibility checks, and methodological steps, arts-based research offers a means to harness the best of art therapy practice in the service of scholarship. This chapter offers theoretical considerations, practical steps, and illustrative examples for conducting studies.
