Using Thematic Analysis to Facilitate Meaning-Making in Practice-Led Art and Design Research

Abstract

This article argues that thematic analysis could aid artist-researchers in enhancing the arguments they construct in their fields of interest as they move through research projects. It discusses some of the distinctive features and obstacles of practice-led research in art and design and relates them to the use of thematic analysis. Artistic research often includes acts of interpretation, where the artist-researcher reflects on his or her artistic work process and the context of the artefacts created during the process. A systematic thematic approach is important for the whole process, because it supports the separate work periods of artmaking and conceptualising and binds them to the study. In its theoretical freedom, thematic analysis provides a flexible and useful research tool that can bridge the two realms of knowing in practice-led research, potentially providing a rich and synthesised account of the creative experience. The benefits of thematic analysis will be demonstrated by examining two examples.