Creative writing and academic research can seem uncomfortable bedfellows. But in this learned, practical book, Jen Webb shows how 'research practices can invigorate writing; creative practices can invigorate research; and - if properly organised and managed - creative writing can operate as a mode of knowledge generation, a way of exploring problems and answering questions that matter in our current context'. Researching creative writing enables writer-researchers to craft a toolkit that will help them produce better creative work and more rigorous research work. Jen Webb is Distinguished Professor, Creative Practice, at the University of Canberra. Researching creative writing is the sixth title in the Creative Writing Studies series. Creative writers who are also students or academics face two apparently contradictory imperatives: the need to answer important research questions, and the need to produce works of the imagination. The two activities depend on very different thinking processes, use language differently, and address different audiences. Yet they are not irreconcilably different: writers, whether academic or creative, tend to investigate the world around us, explore what we as human beings know and how we know it, test facts and common sense, and try to establish what really matters. And whether the result is a scholarly essay, a poem, a novel or a playscript, the writer faces similar challenges: how to convey the ideas, information, logical and emotional aspects that were a part of the work. Writer-researchers need to attend to the formulation of research questions, the selection of methodology and research methods, such practical aspects of writing and research as dealing with other people, and how the outputs are managed, analysed, interpreted and disseminated. When these issues are managed appropriately, research practices can invigorate writing, creative practices can invigorate research, and creative writing can operate as a mode of knowledge generation, a way of exploring problems and answering questions that matter. Jen Webb is Distinguished Professor, Creative Practice, at the University of Canberra Cover Title page Imprint information and credits Disclaimer Series information Dedication page Contents page Abstract 1 An introduction – What is research? PART ONE: Designing the research 2 Finding a project 3 The epistemological preliminaries 4 The craft of research PART TWO: Doing research 5 Writing as research 6 Research and other people 7 Research and the environment PART THREE: From materials to the published work 8 Managing the material 9 Writing and telling Acknowledgements References Glossary of key terms Index In this learned but practical book, Jen Webb shows how 'research practices can invigorate writing; creative practices can invigorate research; and - if properly organised and managed - creative writing can operate as a mode of knowledge generation, a way of exploring problems and answering questions that matter in our current context'. Researching creative writing enables writer-researchers to craft a toolkit that will help them produce better creative work and more rigorous research work
