Practice-Based Research book

Fundamentals of Practice-Based Research and Research-Creation
by David Gauntlett

Having previously produced vinyl records, cassettes, CDs, and streaming music, Unfolding Records publishes its first book (UNFOLD018) on 29 May 2026. Available as a physical 182-page book, an eBook, or free as an open-access PDF:

Practice-based research means exploring research questions through creative practice. Also known as ‘research-creation’, it is a process of making, doing and thinking, to explore ideas, identities and experiences.

This book offers a clear explanation of how practice-based research makes sense as a method, and explores how to develop, make, and present projects effectively. It features inspiring examples, including the work of Indigenous fashion creator Justine Woods, and Black bio-art activist Ashley Jane Lewis, as well as cases where drawing, performance, sound, and music technology are used to explore Black history, migration and social justice.

Practice-based research is a journey on which we gather a basket of processes, experiments and experiences, so we can foreground complex realities, gentleness, and lived experience.

David Gauntlett is Canada Research Chair in Creative Practice at The Creative School, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada, and the author of 10 previous books including Making is Connecting (2018) and Creativity (2022).