What is Surrealism

Arts-based research is a dynamic approach to conducting qualitative research that expands on how knowledge is produced and communicated, reaching both academic and nonacademic audiences. Arts-based research is described as a political process that creates empathy, raises consciousness, and disrupts complacency. It touches the souls of the reading, viewing, or listening audience, often inspiring social activism. Several ways to use art in research are discussed, and examples are provided, including fiction as research data and expression, performance inquiry, textile art, poetry, and photography. The potential for arts-based research in graduate student research is also discussed. Arts-based research empowers both the research participants and the research audience as collaborative knowledge makers.