Documentation as a practice-led research tool for reflection on experiential knowledge

Abstract

Practice-led research has been under debate for three decades. One of its major issues concerns how the researcher who is also the practitioner documents and reflects on her creative process in relation to a research topic. This article reviews and discusses documentation and reflection in practice-led research through three cases of doctoral dissertations that were completed at Aalto University in Finland. Through the cases the article examines the role the documentation and reflection of creative processes and products in these studies. In conclusion, documentation in the practice-led research context functions as conscious reflection on and in action. Any means of documentation, for example diary writing, photographing, or sketching, can serve as a mode of reflection.

Studying Material Interactions to Facilitate a Sense of Being with the World

“…As the students documented their making sessions by writing and sketching in their diaries, they reflected on and articulated their thoughts, experiences and feelings further. Reflecting on craft making processes reveals the insider's knowledge and how decisions are made during creative processes (Mäkelä & Nimkulrat, 2018;Groth, Mäkelä & Seitamaa-Hakkarainen, 2015). Reflections that emerge from craft making can inform both the practice and the theoretical understanding of the practice (Nimkulrat, 2012, p. 11).…”

Desenhando a mobilidade. A potencialidade do sketching nos estudos de mobilidade

“…Resultam principalmente do reforço da pesquisa em equipas multi e interdisciplinares e, consequentemente, da necessidade de ultrapassar as fronteiras, métodos e técnicas tradicionais, tendo em vista responder à complexidade crescente das questões de investigação em ciências sociais (Kara, 2015). Estas metodologias têm beneficiado de um contexto mais amplo de valorização dos valores associados à inovação e da aplicação dos princípios do design thinking a inúmeras esferas do social que não apenas a produção industrial ou as práticas artísticas (Mäkelä, Nimkulrat & Heikkinen, 2014).…”

“…Comparativamente ao desenho profissional, o sketching é comummente caracterizado por uma maior liberdade e criatividade (Gunn, 2009;Kuschnir, 2012). Desenhar, como dançar, é um processo exploratório e construtivo (Mäkelä et al, 2014), que implica um engajamento activo e subjectivo entre o observador e a coisa ou ideia observada num determinado espaço-tempo.…”

Using wool’s agency to design and make felted artefacts

“…According to Schön, while making, practitioners simultaneously reflect on their practice and decide on their next actions, this is reflection-in-action. Once the practice is completed the practitioner reflects on her experience to evaluate herself, this is reflection-on-action (See also Mäkelä & Nimkulrat, 2018). Through this reflective and reflexive loop intuitions continuously transform and reframe the research questions (Agger-Eriksen & Bang, 2013).…”

“…The reflective notes typically began with reflecting on that day's work experience, then continued with elaborating ideas for the next session based on specific experiences (Figure 7-8). These reflective diary notes had two purposes: firstly, documentation of the making of artefacts that reflected on the experiences that emerged while making and, secondly, documentation on the making of artefacts that suggested actions for the next making session (Mäkelä & Nimkulrat, 2018). Accordingly, some new design ideas were applied immediately while some became motives for the next sessions.…”