WHY CREATIVITY IN RESEARCH? 

Unfortunately, though, modern research conditions don’t support optimal creativity, so many scholars are not achieving their full creative potential. Many researchers are never explicitly taught how to be creative, which means that most learn about creativity by trial and error. And academic life in the twenty-first century is not structured to foster creativity. Compare a day in your life to one of Charles Darwin’s. When he wasn’t sailing around the world in HMS Beagle, Darwin spent only a few hours in dedicated work. The bulk of his day was spent writing letters, going on walks, resting on the sofa, or eating with his family.6This is exactly the setup that people who study creativity would espouse: leaving plenty of downtime for reflection and an idle mind. But if you’re like most modern scholars, your daily reality is not creative idle time, but being busy. What this adds up to is a focus on productivity and outcomes. The result is tragic but all too common: Many researchers are frantically trying to produce as much innovative research as possible without doing the

things that science suggests lead to optimal creativity. In other words, they are focusing on outputs without paying attention to the process by which their research happens or developing awareness of the conditions in which their creativity flourishes.

What if you could be more intentional about being creative? That’s where this book comes in. By shifting from a focus purely on content and paying conscious attention to the creative process of research, you can create conditions that lead you toward the innovative outputs you ultimately desire. Ultimately, a focus on creative process can yield more creative research content, making you more productive.

How do we do this? In our book and our workshops, we give you tools and exercises to practice specific skills employed by creative scholars. Plenty of guidance about creativity in general exists, but the examples and advice in those books and courses  requires translation to apply to scholarly research. We as an author team have explored many of the mindsets, abilities, and tools that people in creative professions use and spent a decade applying, testing, and iterating them in the specific context of research. We share this learning with you to help you optimize your own creative process.

 HOW CAN IT HELP YOU?

GRADUATE STUDENTS

For graduate students and emerging researchers, this approach aids development of essential skills of in your research practice, making you more productive.

RESEARCHERS

For experienced researchers, our guidance helps you gain clarity about techniques you already use.

FACULTY

For faculty, we provide suggestions for mentoring your students in creativity.

ADMINISTRATORS

We are also available to work with administrators interested in developing offerings for their programs or departments.