Interweaving Arts-Based, Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research: Showcasing Integration and Knowledge Translation Through Material and Narrative Reflection

Abstract

Arts-based research can exist as a stand-alone method, methodology, or reflect varying degrees of interweaving with other research approaches. With this in mind, this paper explores these relationships using examples from a recent arts-based research exhibition inclusive of various artistic works created to respond to, understand, and reflect nuanced experiences, narratives, contradictions, and diverse data sources in frailty and aging research. Taking an interdisciplinary perspective positioned between the arts and health sciences with specific attention to knowledge translation, the roles of object materiality, proximity to research data, and narrative reflection are considered, as are their implications for the creation and purpose of arts-based research more generally. The paper encourages researchers to consider how research data and arts-based research can continue to evolve and create deeply impactful and resonating findings.