Tactics in Support of the Strategy to Include Artistic Research as Evidence in Systematic Reviews

Artistic research studies produce a felt and often physically embodied type of knowledge initiated in an artistic experience and consolidated as an art form. The actual art work as the outcome of these studies, complements other types of knowledge and therefore requires attention from systematic review authors who synthesize evidence from primary studies. Working with artistic research evidence in a systematic review context requires a different approach to searching, appraising, analysing and integrating research findings than what is usually promoted by international review organisations. In this paper we outline how the different steps in a systematic review process can be adapted to include art work as as a multimodal type of research evidence in systematic reviews. We discuss useful tactics of identifying artistic research evidence, judging its value, analysing and synthesizing such evidence, hereby building on iconographic, thematic and/or art and design related analytical frameworks. In addition, we feature a gallery approach to present artistic research evidence to end-users and feature a multimodal type of evidence synthesis in which individual art works are comprehensively integrated in an audio visual production.

Automated summary

Artistic research produces a unique type of knowledge that is felt and often embodied through artistic experiences. This knowledge is consolidated into art forms and complements other types of knowledge. Systematic review authors need to pay attention to the art work resulting from artistic research, and adapt their approach to searching, appraising, analyzing and integrating these research findings. This paper outlines how the steps in systematic review process can be modified to include art work as a multimodal type of research evidence, discussing tactics for identifying and evaluating artistic research evidence, and presenting a gallery approach and multimodal evidence synthesis.