Report R4.12 Creative Research / Creating Possibility for Action Seminar Leader: Elinor W. Gadon, Women's Studies Research Center, Brandeis University, USA elinorgadon2000[at]yahoo.com The seminar leader drew from her experiences of life as a researcher to illustrate the notion of creative research. Knowing the world around is often considered as the objective of research. As the research unfolds, it also becomes a process of self-discovery for the researcher. The deep relationship between the researcher and the research question enables the researcher to engage with the world more fully and know more about it. When researchers choose their questions, they have to introspect as to what the research questions mean to them. This meaningfulness might be driven by a number of factors. Research questions which are often chosen in view of employability may involve compromises with the researcher’s interest, and subsequently may affect the level of the researcher’s engagement with the chosen domain. Consequently, such research may not contribute to expanding intellectual boundaries and generating new knowledge. However, it is more appropriate when meaningfulness is sought in a manner that is intrinsic to the topic of the research. Because of the deep involvement of researchers in their work, results of such studies are more likely to be interesting. The idea of “creative research” is much more relevant in such instances. Often in their quest, researchers have to think beyond dominant forms of research and augment commonly used tools and practices. Apart from expanding the frontiers of the discipline, such research is likely to provide the researcher with a sense of meaningful satisfaction and achievement. The seminar leader narrated how her intellectual curiosity about myths, religion, and Indian culture led to her current research on village goddesses of Orissa in India. The objective of the research project is to study the living tradition of the gramadevi (village goddess) and reconstruct its meaning through the villagers’ own worldview. While intellectual curiosity is a pre-requisite for any attempt at research, quality research is likely to be a product also of patience, commitment and discipline. This was demonstrated by the seminar leader’s long involvement with the field that spanned decades. Research is often considered as an opportunity to generate new knowledge. High quality knowledge is also likely to have an impact on the field. Thus the link between knowledge and action is an important consideration for many researchers. Researchers can make their work more meaningful as a form of practice, by creating new possibilities for action in the field. Such prospects are especially relevant for countries such as India which are characterised by a high pace of socio-political and economic change. Often whole villages are displaced for facilitating large-scale projects. Such changes have an impact on their customs, practices and beliefs. For example, these changes have had an impact on the institution of the village goddess in Orissa. While such developments can equip researchers with a sense of urgency and purposefulness, often the research techniques at their disposal may not be sufficient. The idea of “creative research” might address such deficiencies by generating new possibilities for action in complex fast-changing fields. Reported by Madhavi Latha Nandi, with inputs from Jacob D. Vakkayil (Mar 13, 2007). Copyleft Xavier Institute of Management, Xavier Square, Bhubaneswar 751013, India Research World (ISSN 0974-2379) http://www1.ximb.ac.in/RW.nsf/pages/Home |
