quantitative research paper about arts

Arts-Based Research

• First Online: 29 September 2022

Cite this chapter

• Robert E. White   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8045-164X 3 &
• Karyn Cooper 4  

1541 Accesses

In its purest form, art may be simultaneously immediate and eternal: immediate in its ability to grasp one’s attention, to provoke or inspire; eternal in its ability to create deep and permanent impressions. Responses to art may be visceral, emotional or psychological by turns or even together. As such, a work of art may possess almost unlimited potential to educate (Leavy, 2017). Although a pursuit of matters artistic may be a worthy pursuit for its own sake, the arts also represent invaluable opportunities across all research disciplines. As such, arts-based research exists at intersections between art and science. According to McNiff ( 2008 ), both arts-based research and science involve the use of systematic experimentation with the goal of gaining knowledge about life.

Aristotle once said or, at least, was said to have said, man by nature seeks to know. Research, in the broadest sense, is an effort to know and I believe that the forms of knowing vary enormously…. – Elliot Eisner, Stanford Graduate School of Education

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save.

• Get 10 units per month
• Download Article/Chapter or eBook
• 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
• Cancel anytime
• Available as PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Compact, lightweight edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Barone, T. (2001). Touching eternity: The enduring outcomes of teaching . Teachers College Press.

Google Scholar  

Barone, T., & Eisner, E. W. (1997). Arts-based educational research. In R. M. Jaeger (Ed.), Complementary methods for research in education (pp. 95–109). American Educational Research Association.

Barone, T., & Eisner, E. W. (2012). Arts-based research . Sage.

Book   Google Scholar  

Behar, R. (2007). Ethnography in a time of blurred genres. Anthropology & Humanism, 32 (2), 145–155.

Article   Google Scholar  

Cahnmann-Taylor, M. (2008). Arts-based research: Histories and new directions. In M. Cahnmann-Taylor & R. Siegesmund (Eds.), Arts-based research in education: Foundations for practice (pp. 3–15). Routledge.

Chilton, G., Gerber, N. & Scotti, V. (2015). Towards an aesthetic intersubjective paradigm for arts based research: An art therapy perspective. Critical Approaches to Arts-based Research, 5 (1), 1–27. Retrieved December 24, 2018, from; https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308971008_Towards_an_aesthetic_intersubjective_paradigm_for_arts_based_research_An_art_therapy_perspective

Chilton, G., & Leavy, P. (2014). Arts-based research practice: Merging social research and the creative arts. In P. Leavy (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of qualitative research (pp. 403–422). Oxford University Press.

Cole, A., & Knowles, J. G. (2008). Arts-informed research. In J. G. Knowles & A. Cole (Eds.), Handbook of the arts in qualitative research: Perspectives, methodologies, examples, and issues (pp. 55–70). Sage.

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Cooper, K., & White, R. E. (2012). Qualitative research in the postmodern era: Contexts of qualitative research. Springer.

Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2008). The discipline and practice of qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials, Volume 4 (pp. 1–42). Sage.

Eisner, E. W. (1991). The enlightened eye: Qualitative inquiry and the enhancement of educational practice . Merrill.

Eisner, E. W. (1993). Forms of understanding and the future of educational research. Educational Researcher, 22 (7), 5–11.

Eisner, E. W. (2002). The arts and the creation of mind . Yale University Press.

Eisner, E. W. (2008). Art and knowledge. In J. G. Knowles & A. Cole (Eds.), Handbook of the arts in qualitative research (pp. 3–12). Sage.

Eliot, T. S. (1961). The love song of J. Alfred Prufrock. In M. Mack, L. Dean, & W. Frost (Eds.), Modern poetry (Vol. VII, 2nd ed., pp. 130–134). Prentice-Hall.

Finley, S. (2005). Arts-based inquiry: Performing revolutionary pedagogy. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 681–694). Sage.

Finley, S. (2008). Arts-based research. In J. G. Knowles & A. Cole (Eds.), Handbook of the arts in qualitative research: Perspectives, methodologies, examples, and issues (pp. 71–82). Sage.

Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of culture: Selected essays . Basic Books.

Geertz, C. (1988). Works and lives: The anthropologist as author . Polity Press.

Gerber, A. S. (2012). Field experiments: Design, analysis and interpretation . W. W. Norton.

Gray, C. (1996). Inquiry through practice: Developing appropriate research strategies . Retrieved, December 27, 2018, from: http://carolegray.net/Papers%20PDFs/ngnm.pdf

Greene, M. (1993). Diversity and inclusion: Toward a curriculum for human beings. Teachers College Record, 95 (2), 211–221.

Hesse, H. (2002). The glass bead game/Das Glasperlenspiel . Picador Books.

Irwin, R. L. (2014). Turning to a/r/tography. KOSEA Journal, 15 (1), 1–40.

Irwin, R. L., Beer, R., Springgay, S., Grauer, K., & Xiong, G. (2006). The rhizomatic relations of A/R/Tography. Studies in Art Education, 48 (1), 70–88.

Irwin, R. L., & de Cosson, A. (2004). A/R/Tography: Rendering oneself through arts-based living inquiry . Pacific Educational Press.

Irwin, R. L., & Springgay, S. (2008). A/r/tography as practice-based research. In S. Springgay, R. L. Irwin, C. Leggo, & P. Gouzouasis (Eds.), Being with A/r/tography (pp. xix–xxxiii). Sense Publishers.

Knowles, J. G., & Promislow, S. (2008). Using an arts methodology to create a thesis or dissertation. In J. G. Knowles & A. Cole (Eds.), Handbook of the arts in qualitative research: Perspectives, methodologies, examples, and issues (pp. 511–526). Sage.

Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (2003). Metaphors we live by . Chicago University Press.

Leavy, P. (2015). Method meets art: Arts-based research practice (2nd ed.). The Guilford Press.

Leavy, P. (2017). Introduction to arts-based research. In P. Leavy (Ed.), Handbook of arts-based research (pp. 3–22). The Guilford Press.

Malchiodi, C. A. (2017). Creative arts therapies and arts-based research. In P. Leavy (Ed.), Handbook of arts-based research (pp. 68–87). The Guilford Press.

McNiff, S. (2005). Foreword. In D. Kalmanowitz, B. Lloyd, & S. McNiff (Eds.), Art therapy and political violence: With art, without illusion (pp. xii–xvi). Routledge.

McNiff, S. (2008). Art-based research. In J. G. Knowles & A. Cole (Eds.), Handbook of the arts in qualitative research: Perspectives, methodologies, examples, and issues (pp. 29–40). Sage.

McNiff, S. (2009). Cross-cultural psychotherapy and art. Art Therapy, 26 (3), 100–106.

McNiff, S. (2015). Imagination in action: Secrets for unleashing creative expression . Shambala Publications.

Merleau-Ponty, M. (1962). Phenomenology of perception . Routledge & Kegan Paul.

Nyasulu, E. (2019) Eisner’s connoisseurship model . Retrieved November 6, 2018 from: https://www.academia.edu/23230956/Eisners_Connoisseurship_Model

O’Toole, J., & Beckett, D. (2010). Educational research: Creative thinking & doing . Oxford University Press.

Polkinghorne, D. (1988). Narrative Knowing and the Human Sciences . State University of New York.

Saldaña, J. (2011). Fundamentals of qualitative research . Oxford University Press.

Saldaña, J. (2015). The coding manual for qualitative researchers . Sage.

Savin-Baden, M., & Major, C. H. (2012). Qualitative research: The essential guide to theory and practice . Routledge.

Savin-Baden, M., & Wimpenny, K. (2014). A practical guide to arts-related research . Sense.

Schratz, M., & Walker, R. (1995). Research as social change: New opportunities for qualitative research . Routledge.

Simons, H., & McCormack, B. (2007). Integrating arts-based Inquiry in evaluation methodology: Opportunities and challenges. Qualitative Inquiry, 13 (2), 292–311.

Sinner, A., Leggo, C., Irwin, R., Gouzouasis, P., & Grauer, K. (2006). Art-based educational research dissertations: Reviewing the practices of new scholars. Canadian Journal of Education, 29 (4), 1223–1270.

Springgay, S., Irwin, R. L., & Kind, S. (2005). A/r/tography as living inquiry through art and text. Qualitative Inquiry, 11 (6), 897–912.

Sullivan, G. (2006). Research acts in art practice. Studies in Art Education, 48 (1), 19–35.

Suppes, P., Han, B., & Lu, Z.-L. (1998). Brain-wave recognition of sentences. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 95 (26), 15861–15866.

Tierney, W. G. (1999). Guest editor’s introduction: Writing life’s history. Qualitative Inquiry, 5 (3), 307–312.

Turner, M. (1996). The literary mind: Origins of thought and language . Oxford University Press.

Wang, Q., Coemans, S., Siegesmund, R., & Hannes, K. (2017). Arts-based methods in socially engaged research practice: A classification framework. Art Research International, 2 (2), 5–39.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Faculty of Education, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, NS, Canada

Robert E. White

OISE, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

Karyn Cooper

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Robert E. White .

Researching Creations: Applying Arts-Based Research to Bedouin Women’s Drawings

Ephrat Huss

Julie Cwikel

Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel

Huss, E. & Cwikel, J. (2005). Researching creations: Applying arts-based research to Bedouin women’s drawings. The International Journal of Qualitative Methods 4 (4), 44-62.

All problem solving has to cope with an overcoming of the fossilized shape … the discovery that squares are only one kind of shape among infinitely many. —Rudolf Arnheim, 1996, p. 35

In this article, the author examines the combination of arts-based research and art therapy within Bedouin women ’ s empowerment groups. The art fulfills a double role within the group of both helping to illuminate the women ’ s self-defined concerns and goals, and simultaneously enriching and moving these goals forward. This creates a research tool that adheres to the feminist principles of finding new ways to learn from lower income women from a different culture, together with creating a research context that is of direct potential benefit and enrichment for the women. The author, through examples of the use of art within lower income Bedouin women ’ s groups, examines the theoretical connection between arts-based research and art therapy, two areas that often overlap but whose connection has not been addressed theoretically.

Keywords: art-based research, art therapy, researching women from a nondominant culture

Introduction: Why use the arts in research?

While I am talking with Bedouin women about their drawings, the tin hut in the desert that is the community center in which we work sometimes reverberates with lively stories and emotional closeness, and sometimes I, as a Jewish Israeli art therapist and researcher, and they, as a Bedouin Israeli women’s empowerment group, are lost to each other: When I suggest that we summarize the meaning of the art therapy sessions for the women, they nod their heads politely and thank me, and ignore my questions.

My aim in this article is to see how art-based research literature and art therapy literature can jointly contribute to both working with and understanding women from a different culture.

Art as communication (rather than as therapy) can be defined as the association between words, behavior, and drawing created in a group setting. McNiff (1995), a prominent art therapist and one of the pioneers of art-based research, suggested that art therapy research should move from justification (of art therapy) to creative inquiry into the roles of the art itself.

I will first review arts-based research in an effort to understand the use of art as research. I will then survey art therapy’s practice-based knowledge concerning working with art with women from a different culture, and third, I will apply both of these knowledge bases to Bedouin women’s drawings and words from within my case study.

Art as a form of inquiry

The aim in arts-based research is to use the arts as a method, a form of analysis, a subject, or all of the above, within qualitative research; as such, it falls under the heading of alternative forms of research gathering. It is used in education, social science, the humanities, and art therapy research. Within the qualitative literature, there is an “explosion” in arts-based forms of research (Mullen, 2003).

How does arts-based research help us to understand women from a different culture? It seems that classic verbal methods of interviewing or questionnaire answering are not effective forms of inquiry with these women. Bowler (1997) described the difficulties she found in using questionnaires and interviewing, both of which stress Western-style verbal articulation, as research methods with lower income Asian women. She found that the women try to give the “right” answer or to be polite. In-depth interviewing was also conceived of as a strange and foreign way of constructing and exploring the world for these women (Bowler, 1997; Lawler, 2002; Ried, 1993). The women are often mistakenly conceived of as “mute” because they do not verbalize information along Western lines of inquiry (Goldberger & Veroff, 1995).

The search for a method that “gives voice” to silenced women is a central concern for feminist methodologies. De-Vault (1999) analyzed Western discourse as constructed along male content areas and suggested that we “need to interview in ways that allow the exploration of un-articulated aspects of women’s experiences … and explore new methodologies” (p. 65). Using art as a way of initiating self-expression can be seen as such a methodological innovation.

The arts-based paradigm states that by handing over creativity (the contents of the research) and its interpretation (an explanation of the contents) to the research participant, the participant is empowered, the relationship between researcher and research participant is intensified and made more equal, and the contents are more culturally exact and explicit, using emotional as well as cognitive ways of knowing. Mason (2002) and Sclater (2003) have suggested that drawing or storytelling, or the use of vignettes or pictures as a trigger within an interview, already common in work with children, could also help adults connect ideological abstractions to specific situations, using both personal and collective elements of cultural experience.

Thus, culture and gender unite in making Western research methods insufficient for understanding women from a different culture. Using visual data-gathering methods, then, can be seen as a movement offering alternate avenues of self-expression for women from traditional cultures.

The arts are considered “soft,” female ways of knowing; they tend to be used as a counterpoint to the seriousness of words (Mason, 2002). Alternatively (and mistakenly), as in photography, arts are considered a depiction of absolute reality (Pink, 2001).

Silverman (2000) argued that research must access what people do, and not only what people say.

Art brings “doing” into the research situation. However, the inclusion of arts in research poses many methodological difficulties, described by Eisner (1997) in the title of his article as “The Promises and Perils of Alternative Research Gathering methods.” Denzin and Lincoln (1998) described personal experience methods as going “inwards and outwards, backwards and forwards” (p. 152). The art product by definition creates more “gaps” and entrances than closed statements or conclusions (this is what enables so many different people to connect to one picture!). The art process also includes moves between silences, times of doing, listening, talking, watching, thinking, and different gaps and connections between the above. For example, Mason (2002), a qualitative researcher, described how research participants agonize about where to put whom when drawing a genogram or family diagram. She claimed that this process of “agonizing,” or creating the genogram, is an important component of the finished genogram and should not be left out.

Issues in arts-based research

Sclater (2003) explored the above-described complications of defining the “contours” of art-based research, as difficulties in defining issues related to the quality of art, to the relationship with the research participant, and to the relationship between art and words in arts based research.

Defining issues related to the quality of art

Mullen (2003) concluded that art-based research is focused on process as expressing the context of lived situations rather than the final products disconnected from the context of its creation. Mahon (2000) argued, through the concept of embedded aesthetics, that the aesthetic product is not inherent from within but is always part of broader social contexts, which both transform and are transformed by the art product and around which there is always a power struggle over different cultural meanings (see also Barone, 2003). At the same time, Mahon claimed that art includes elements and aesthetic languages that are specific to itself and that cannot be translated into action research or communication, or understood as direct translations of social interactions. The boundaries of quality are seen as marginalizing whoever does not conform to them, as in folk, vernacular, and outsider forms of art. In art-based research, elitism is replaced by art as communication, whereby reactions to the art work are more important than the quality of the art in terms of external aesthetic criteria. Within this paradigm, the criteria of communication and social responsibility predominate over craftsmanship (Finley, 2003; Mullen, 2003; Sclater, 2003).

Defining issue related to the relationship with the research participant

Another consideration for arts-based research is the setting of standards or limits around the roles of artist, researcher, and facilitator of creative activities. Mullen (2003) suggested,

We need to find ways not just to represent others creatively, but to enable them to represent themselves. The challenge is to go beyond insightful texts, to move ourselves and others into action, with the effect of improving lives. (p. 117)

Therefore, multiple or blurred roles are advantageous, as they reflect the complexity of reality within any research situation. By handing over creativity and its interpretation to the research participant, and including these elements within the research, the relationship between researcher and research participant is intensified, eliciting emotion and facilitating transformation. Thus, the blurring of the contours or roles of the researcher and research participant is seen as advantageous.

For example, cameras were given to lower income rural Chinese women, who, through photography, were able to communicate their concerns to policy makers with whom they would not engage in a direct verbal confrontation (Wang & Burris, 1994).

Defining issues related to the relationship between art and words in arts-based research

Art-based research literature addresses the problematic issue of how to work with the relationship between the verbal and nonverbal elements of the data, the art form, and its interpretation within a research context. Within research, the theoretical framework of understanding a work of art is harnessed to the reason art was used within the research puzzle (Mason, 2002). The use of verbal and nonverbal elements can be seen as a triangulation of data. It is important to understand why we are including art and to think about how the use of visual contents will help solve the “puzzle” of the research (Davis & Srinivasan, 1994; Finley, 2003; Mason, 2002). Save and Nuutinen (2003) defined the relationship between drawing\ and words (after researching a dialogue between the alternate use of pictures and words) as “creating a field of many understandings, creating a ‘third thing’ that is sensory, multi-interpretive, intuitive, and ever-changing, avoiding the final seal of truth” (p. 532).

Connections between art therapy and arts-based research

Art therapy, or any therapy, aims to connect, integrate, and transform experience and behavior. Art-based research also aims to transform, in that it can “use the imagination not only to examine how things are, but also how they could be” (Mullen, 2003, p. 117). It aims to connect and empower by creating something together with the research participants rather than the classic research orientation that takes information away from them (Finley, 2003; Sclater, 2003).

Sarasema (2003), a qualitative researcher, discussed the therapeutic advantages of storytelling for widowed research participants, claiming that art-based research is a way of creating knowledge that “connects head to heart” (p. 603).

Both art therapy and arts-based research involve the use of dialogue, observation, participant observation, and heuristic, hermeneutic, phenomenological, and grounded techniques of interpretation. Both relate to the ethical issues of art and interpretation ownership and a relational definition of art, including the skills of working simultaneously with both visual and verbal components (Burt, 1996; Mason, 2000; B. Moon, 2000; H. Moon, 2002; Talbot Green, 1989).

The difference between the two fields could be defined as art therapy implementing a theoretical psychological metaframework that organizes the therapeutic relationship while using the inherent qualities of different art materials and processes (Kramer, 1997). However, within art therapy, there are researchers who wish to discard these psychological metaframeworks and to focus more on “art-based” art therapy. For instance, in feminist, and studio or community art therapy, art is used both as an expression and a critique of society (Allen, 1995; B. Moon, 2000). Savneet (2000) claimed that art with women from the Developing World, such as the Bedouin women, can serve as a decolonizing tool by giving voice to women holding a polytheistic view of the world, as long as the interpreters of the art are the women and not an external interpreter. The nonverbal image should speak for itself, reducing the possibility of the artist-client’s being spoken over (Hogan, 1997). In addition, the image can be subversive, creating a narrative or counternarrative additional to the dominant one of words. The distancing or intermediating element of art can be helpful in interactions of inequality or of conflict (Dokter, 1998; Liebmann, 1996).

Art-based research, art therapy, and culture

Arts-based research literature focuses on art as a way to connect different people and to express different cultures, giving voice to nondominant narratives.

The culture of the viewer of the art will influence or interact with how the art is understood (Denzin & Lincoln, 1998). Another possibility is to accept that art does not define cultures from the outside but enables multiple and complex views of that culture (Eisner, 1997; Pink, 2001).

Art therapy literature also stresses the ability of art to help make cultural issues manifest within pictures by the fact that each picture shows differing understandings and conceptions of the content drawn, rendering new perspectives (Gerity, 2000). Quiet people can create “loud” art work. Art connects to individual-subjective rather than generalized and stereotyped levels of experience. Thus, we see that factors inherent in the art language help integrate the individual with the culture (Campanelli, 1991; Campbell, 1999; Hiscox & Calisch, 1998).

Art therapy literature also addresses the complexity of art as a culturally embedded vessel in itself. Hocoy (2002) has argued that art as self-expression is a deeply Western construct, not necessarily suited to people from different cultures. Acton (2001) warned against being a “color blind” art therapist, ignoring the cultural differences and approaches to healing of different people and their manifestations within art. Hogan (2003) stressed that art therapists can claim to be culturally sensitive but actually dominate the participants by offering an art process or interpretation that is alien and strange to them (Acton, 2001). Conversely, Hocoy (2002) pointed out that assuming that everything is a cultural difference can also create misunderstandings of pictures. Cultural possibilities for misunderstanding are, on the one hand, bridged by the third object—the artwork—but, on the other, intensified by it. Thus, art is not a “magic” way of overcoming cultural differences but has the potential to enable the multifaceted nature of different cultural identities. The analyses of the art, and the relationship, are harnessed to the therapeutic aims, taking culture into account. In general, art therapy literature supplies much practice-based knowledge of how to take culture into account while focusing on harnessing the artwork and relationship to the therapeutic goals of the interaction.

Having briefly summarized and created a connection between the central issues within arts-based research, and within art therapy with a different culture, I will now apply them to some drawings by the Bedouin women from my research, as a set of relevant data on which to continue examining the above concepts.

The context of the Bedouin women

My aim is to outline briefly the levels of change and stress that some women in this culture are currently experiencing.

Meir (1997) has suggested that under the influence of the dominant Israeli culture (and despite ongoing political friction between the Israeli government and the Bedouins’ claim to the right to continue a traditional nomadic lifestyle), Bedouin society is undergoing change from a collective to an individualistic culture, and from a nomadic lifestyle to fixed settlements. This has resulted in the devaluation of women and children, who no longer work in the fields and tend animals as part of the economic support system, as well as changes in the traditional role of elders. In addition, the loss of the traditional Bedouin tribal supportive roles with an externalization of these responsibilities to state authorities, who invest limited resources and cultural relevance, has resulted in the decline of collective family support and funds. These changes are creating high levels of stress (Abu-Rabia-Abu-Kuider, 1994; Meir, 1997).

The status of Arab women in Israel can thus be defined as doubly oppressed, both by their patriarchal society and by the Israeli political regime. Paradoxically, Bedouin women’s dependence on the males in their family has sometimes increased due to perceptions of women’s exposure to work, education, and individualism as a threat to tradition. Indeed, Bedouin women in the Negev were found to be intensely affected by poverty and the interconnected social and health problems that this entails (Cwikel, 2002; Cwikel, Wiesel, & Al-Krenawi, 2003).

Conversely, Arab feminists Hijab (1988) and Sabbagh (1997) have differentiated between issues of concern for Western women in Western society and those for Arab women. In the West, concerns focus on issues such as reproductive rights, legal equity, expression of self through work and art, and sexual freedom; for Arab women, concerns center on education, health, and employment opportunities as well as legal reform and political participation. Power is measured in relation to other women and not in relation to men (Hijab, 1988; Sabbagh, 1997).

We have found that there are many difficulties for Western female researchers who are not from within the Bedouin communities to understand the diverse concerns of Bedouin women. Bedouin middle- class women will also be from a different “culture” from that of Bedouin working-class women. We see that there is a paramount need to find alternative research methods that can enable outsiders to “hear” the concerns of the Bedouin women and that can enable the Bedouin women to communicate those concerns first to themselves and then to the dominant culture.

Using art as a research method: The Bedouin women’s drawings

The following examples of drawings are from three ongoing groups, in which the art activity was introduced for a few sessions, aiming to enrich, reflect on, or enhance the existing self-defined concerns of the group rather than to present an external study objective or research agenda. The three groups were all of poor Bedouin women living in a township in the Negev, including a group of single mothers meeting as a support group, a group of women undergoing vocational training to open early childhood centers within their homes for extra income, and a group of women without writing skills, wishing to learn arts and crafts as enrichment and eventually to make products to sell.

The art activity in all the groups and meetings divided into set stages, although the contents were in accordance to the group’s wishes. The meetings were undertaken by means of a Bedouin social worker learning art therapy, so as to enhance cultural suitability and to enable the women to talk in Arabic.

As stated, the aim of the art was two pronged.

The first direction is art as empowerment, enrichment, or self-expression. This is in accordance with feminist research that aims to be of direct benefit to the participants (especially as the aims of the group and the contents were defined by them).

The second direction is art as a research method, or a way to understand the concerns of the women (which is a preliminary step to any type of empowering or enriching intervention).

Following is a detailed explanation of the art stages and examples of each of the stages from the different case studies. The intent is not to present a full case study but to examine the interaction between arts-based research and art as empowerment, and lower income Bedouin women.

From a bird’s eye overview, the method of using art described within this article undergoes the following stages, which can be repeated, refining, redefining, deepening, or enriching the contents through doing, observing, and talking.

Participant interacts with art making (within the context of the group leader and group).

Participant interacts with art and group and group leader simultaneously.

Participant observes the pictures as a group exhibition.

Participant re-interacts with the above stages of art making, discussing, and observing, over an issue that arose in the former “wave.”

Step 1: The art-making stage

Each participant draws a picture in oil pastels, or makes a clay statue of a subject agreed on in the initial discussion and connected to the overall aim of the group:

Oil pastels with different sizes of paper, and clay are offered. Oil pastels enable both lines and areas to be created quickly with minimal mess. Clay might be a more familiar medium for Bedouin women.

Drawing can be used in a combination of directive and nondirective forms, similar to different levels of structuring an interview.

The type of art making is process rather than product oriented, termed diagrammic art within art therapy (Liebmann, 1996), which helps access and raise an issue rather than working on a product that exists independent of the creator, as in an art class. This means not that the art does not “lead” the artist but that the products are relational, used to communicate rather than to display talent (Hogan, 2003).

In the sketch shown in Figure 1 , the black circle (left) symbolizes the drawer, the red (vertical) oblong, her picture, and the arrows, the mutual influence of her on the picture and the picture, on her. The brown circle (right) is the context within which this reflective activity takes place, created by and observed by the group leader or researcher, symbolizing the dominant culture.

The question of whether to suggest a topic to draw can be seen as analogous to decisions concerning the level of structure of an interview. I chose to suggest a few topics, so as to make the drawing less threatening for people not used to drawing. Oil pastels include the elements of color and line, encouraging a “story” to be told. On the other hand, clay might be a more familiar medium for some women, and three-dimensionality evokes different types of storytelling. Time is then given to work individually or in pairs (according to what is preferred by the women) on the subject.

The assumption is that the engagement in the art process creates a novel interaction with the subject matter, showing differing perspectives and enhancing a connection between the emotive and the cognitive which in turn promotes a process of reflection and prioritizing elements to be included in the art. This creates a silent prestage of creative organization of personal data from inside onto the empty page, before or together with translating it to the group and to the researcher-observer.

Each type of art assignment embodies a different “culture” within the room in terms of collectivist or individualist interactions. Dosamantes-Beaudry (1999) showed how cultural self construal is depicted by working individually or in pairs in dance therapy. The use of time, space, materials, and so on are all expressions of power and will influence the type of discussion that emerges, enacted both physically and symbolically within the organization of the arts behavior.

An additional question arises if the group leader or researcher, beyond becoming an observer and student of the participant’s pictures, also draws so as to make transparent and clarify her position. According to arts-based research, the aim is to “blur the boundaries” of the (unequal) relationship between researcher and research participant. According to art therapy, this point is much disputed, with some advocating the above and others considering the danger of taking the client-drawer’s space, or intimidating or influencing the client.

All of these considerations become the research context. They need to be examined reflexively as they express the researcher’s cultural bias.

For example, I was certain that oil pastels were the most flexible medium, perhaps being the closest to a writing tool, which is the dominant medium within my culture, but the older Bedouin women responded immediately to clay. One single mother, an abandoned first wife and an older Bedouin woman did not draw but, when I included clay, immediately made a clay ashtray before bursting into tears. She explained that the ashtray was like an older woman, an empty and discarded container. A mundane clay ashtray thus becomes an object of intense meaning and communication illustrating the communicative rather than aesthetic quality of art. As Finley (2003) stated, within this paradigm, the reactions to the poem are more important than the poem itself. The above example also illustrates how the visual stimuli initiated associations that were not decided on in advance, and that were influenced by the material and by the context of the group.

An example of a woman’s interaction with her art was an older woman from the single mothers’ group, who did not speak at Figure 2 all at the beginning but repeated a schema of squares within each meeting. In one meeting, she stated that it was a house. It is not clear if the squares were an illustration of the house, the idea of a house emerged from the graphic shape of the squares, or the idea of a house emerged from within the context of the things other women said, or all of the different elements combined together. Arnheim (1996) stressed the inherent dynamics of an art gestalt that influences the observer (rather than just being a neutral vessel for projection (Figure 2 ).

The example in Figure 3 illustrates how the dialogue between art and the individual can be transforming in itself. One young third wife, whose husband is in jail for violence, said of her picture of a house with flowers, that her father did not allow her to plant flowers by the house and did not allow her to play with other children, and he chose her husband for her. About the picture, she said, “I want a house; I want to build a house of my own. Most important, I want to plant a garden by the house.” The picture contained past and future in a causal narrative, based on a specific instant that gained symbolic meaning. The narrative is poetically organized, with three elements from the past and three from the future, corresponding to the three pictures. The dialogue was transformative, in that it allowed the drawer “to use imagination to examine how things are, but also how they could be otherwise” (Finley, 2003, p. 292). This exemplifies the arts-based paradigm that has as an aim to “go beyond insightful texts, to move ourselves and others into action, with the effect of improving lives” (Mullen, 2003. p. 117).

Another example was when an older woman, who was silent in all the meetings, made a cow, saying that a women is like a cow: When she has no milk left, she is discarded. A younger woman made a horse, saying that a woman is like a horse, strong and able to carry many burdens. Here, the art “answered” the art.

Another woman made an ashtray, and while describing how tired she was of managing as a single mother with no money, she broke the ashtray into many tiny bits in nervous movements creating, a physical embodiment of her emotional state. When the women talked to her and suggested solutions, she started sticking all the pieces together again. She looked at her hands and laughed, noticing this.

One woman ignored the two directives and decided to draw, first in pencil Figure 2 , Figure 3 and then in paint, a stylized sunset picture she had once seen in a magazine. She worked quickly and carefully, begging for a few more minutes at the end. I framed the picture for her. She stated that she wanted to execute a picture like that to decorate her house, as she could not afford to buy one. She had worked hard and was proud of the result (Figure 4 ).

Although for me, as a Western-oriented art therapist, the discussion or individualized creativity of the product is most important (rather than copying a preexisting picture), for this woman, activating the will power and concentration to execute or copy a picture that she could not afford to buy, so as to have the product, was an empowering experience that connected her intensely to the art experience. It seems that the autonomy and intimacy inherent in the exclusive interaction between the drawer and her drawing enabled the woman to pursue her aims rather than to comply with our directives (Hogan, 1997). The woman’s self-directedness is a good example of a negotiation of power as against the dominant culture represented by our suggestions.

Another example of the complex interplay of power between the researcher and women follows. For example, although each of the women in the early childhood training group had 5 to 10 children and were very knowledgeable about early childhood, when I asked them what they would like to focus on in the drawings, they answered with questions conveying helplessness, such as what should be done with a crying child, what games to play, how to connect to the children, and what to feed them. Conversely, they were very clear and confident about the contents of their drawings in relation to early childhood. The art seemed to be express power and knowledge, whereas their words expressed helplessness. Perhaps the drawing enabled a simultaneous double transference: Words were used to express helplessness toward representatives of the dominant culture, but confidence and knowledge were expressed through their drawings. The multifaceted component of the drawing and then talking about it, simultaneously expressed and overcame the disempowerment of learning within the context of the dominant culture.

The discussion stage

After completing the artwork, we laid them out in a circle on the floor at the drawers’ feet, facing toward the group, both clearly connected to their creator, and also creating a group exhibition. The participants ask one another questions about their art work, and the women explain or connect to other’s art work in a free discussion.

The following sketch illustrates the complexity and multiple interactions that occur simultaneously in this situation.

Thus, the art work, group interaction, and so on cannot be analyzed separately, out of context with the other elements.

For example, one young woman was too shy to talk about her drawing of a black circle (Figure 5 ).

“I think you are drawing that you feel closed in a circle you can’t get out of because there are so many people in your small house.” (Friend)

Her friend sitting next to her said that she thought the girl was sad there were so many people in her small house that is like a closed circle that one cannot get out of. The woman nodded in agreement.

The interaction between the two friends is similar to Shvadren’s (1992) analogy of observing an art work as two people, (the creator and the observer) gazing into a lighted window and both seeing new things within the room. Within feminist theory, this emphatic understanding of another person has been termed a relational form of interaction that focuses on empathy and is characteristic of female interactions (Goldberger & Veroff, 1995). Feminist theory suggests that words, as power structures that define reality, are created by men and thus do not describe women’s experiences within this male-dominated world. For example, De-Vault (1999), a feminist theorist, claimed that we “need to interview in ways that allow the exploration of unarticulated aspects of woman’s experiences” (p. 65). The black circle described above and its ensuing dialogue might be such an “interview.” In terms of the art product, we see a simple black circle that is not rich in terms of crafts or in terms of Western art but is an art form used in art therapy, focusing on receptive or connective elements that emphasize thoughts, emotions, and relationships.

An intercultural term for this emotional understanding is Steinberg and Bar-On’s (2002) concept of a dialogic moment. Observing Arab-Jewish conflict resolution groups, they noted that these moments of empathy and understanding between Jewish and Arab students occur when a specific story or personal detail is expressed rather than when generalized ideologies are expressed. Drawing seems to encourage the description of a specific or personal instant and a specific way of “telling” or interpreting that instant, creating, in Abu-Lughod’s (1991) terms, “ethnographies of the particular … [that] capture the cultural and social ‘forces’ that are only embodied in the actions of individuals in time and space” (p. 156).

The visual stimuli themselves can also encourage engagement beyond the areas of conflict. For example, the Bedouin social worker who facilitated art with the group of single mothers stated in her summary of the experience that for the first time (with many years experience working with the women), she felt flooded and disturbed by their suffering. This might be what Finley (2003) defined as the purpose of arts-based inquiry, to contribute to deeper relationships between researcher and research participant.

Within the context of the group discussion, the picture creates a concrete anchor (to use yet another metaphor!) that can be related to on many different levels of language, with everyone seeing or reacting to the same trigger (the picture being discussed). It becomes a transitional space that is a useful mediator for people from different cultures, who formulate their stories along different types of narrative. The meanings of the picture can be negotiated and clarified through both people’s observing the same object. Drawing, and then discussing the drawings, serves as a form of self-interpretation, or validation, of the subject drawn, that is important with intercultural communication. In terms of art therapy, it is congruent with the feminist and phenomenological stands that stress the artist’s understandings of the art work.

For example, one woman drew a cupful of flowers (a traditional subject in Islamic art), then said that her life is empty and boring, not like the flowers, expressing an opposite relationship to the picture. Alternatively, another woman drew a fish in a stormy sea (Figure 6 ) to express her loneliness, far from her maternal family, using a metaphor from the natural world—expressing silence, loneliness, and the turbulence of her circumstances. Another woman used a metaphor of a black cloud, stating that that was the feeling of being a Bedouin woman without a husband.

One woman took this feeling as a confrontation, asking “Why did God give us [women] hands, if hen does not allow us to use them?” She then drew a picture of the modern and the traditional women holding hands and making a connection, stating that the modern women is pulling the traditional women in her direction, as can be seen in her picture (Figure 7 ). Another woman drew a television and said that all day she sits crying in front of the TV, bored and lonely, thus creating a metonym (Figure 8 ).

One woman, whose shack is going to be pulled down because she does not have a building permit, drew a steep slope, with a house at the end. She said that she feels the energy needed to keep her house is too steep a slope for her to climb, juxtaposing a concrete situation and a metaphor.

(top to bottom)

The above words describe different personal and cultural “entrances” to the pictures. Discussing the contents of the pictures thus helps clarify the participant’s stand toward her picture.

The art directive itself can also disclose cultural differences. For example, we asked all the participants to draw a symbol of themselves as an introduction (a common exercise in art therapy). However, they all drew a wish, something that they wanted, or something abstract. At first, it seemed that they had not understood or ignored the request for a symbol of self. However, a wish can also be understood as an abstract symbol of self extended into time and space outside or beyond the self. This might relate to collective identity, which extends beyond the individual, and to the aesthetics of Islamic art, aiming to cheer and express wishes for a better future. We see that basic concepts, such as symbols, constitute different formulations or “shapes” within different cultures. The concrete element of drawing makes the specific characteristics of concepts such as a symbol, wish, or moment less abstract and thus more overt. The dual activity of both concretely drawing or enacting these concepts, and then explaining them as they appear in the picture helps access these subtle differences that are lost in verbal interaction, where we can mistakenly assume that by using the same concept (such as a symbol) we mean the same thing. Bhaba’s (1994) statement that concepts, such as death, mothering, and aging, cannot be translated, having different values and meaning different things in different cultures. Thus, it is not possible to “translate” one culture into another.

Art can contain different elements simultaneously.

One young woman said about the blue-and-white abstract silkscreen made in the arts and crafts group, that the brooch’s colors reminded her of the sea, with a boy standing in the distance. Everyone laughed and she said that she wanted to get married, although marriage is the end of freedom: You stay at home and do not go to the sea anymore. Thus, the picture enabled a dialogue of ambivalence. When people live in more than one culture and are undergoing acculturation, the ability to integrate different cultural or personal understandings, or even opposing feelings as part of a whole, is considered beneficial to the acculturation process. Talking in a linear sequence seems to invite a more unified dialogue, as each point has to come after the last, rather than being shown simultaneously. The art as a trigger for discussion enabled a complex version of reality that is not reduced to one truth.

Examples of the Magen David (A woman’s wishes). “ I wish for a house.” (Below) “ I wish for peace.”

Another example is of a young teenage girl from this group with no head cover wearing jeans and a large Jewish and national symbol that is currently part of the teen fashion in necklaces in Israel, who drew a picture of a Bedouin tent and said that she liked the traditional Bedouin culture best (perhaps also expressing a wish for less complicated times in terms of identity). This is similar to Abu-Lughod’s (1991) suggestion that specific, individual examples negate cultural stereotypes. For instance, she describes a woman swearing and citing from the Koran in the same sentence, thus refusing to be reduced to one truth (Abu-Lughod, 1991).

One woman drew a picture of a bus (driving accidents are a major problem within Israel in general and within the Bedouin villages and townships in particular). She described how, after many failures, she had just completed her driving theory test but must now find the money for driving lessons; otherwise, the theory would be out of date. She stated that, like the traffic light, when there is war, one needs to stop. She continued about how important her driving license was for her, as it would enable her to take the children to different places. She said her brothers were helping her to pay for the lessons, because she had left school at the age of 8 to look after them. She had written the words “ derech shalom-ve lo lemilhama ” above the bus, “a journey of peace and not war.” She explained, “I want there to be peace—inside me, between people, and between countries.” This is an example of the multiple levels of future and present, particularity and generalness, concreteness and abstractness, that can be contained within one picture, making it especially suitable for people undergoing cultural (and physical) transitions within their lives, incorporating different cultures.

To summarize, the reflective dialogue between drawer and drawing, and the interactive elements of the group dynamics combine to create a triangular situation with many different types of interactions, for instance between a drawer and her own drawing, between a drawer and other people’s drawings, and between a drawer and other people. In the following section, I illustrate the complexity and multiple interactions of this situation, showing the different types of interactions between the words and the art, and explaining the art creates a multifaceted level of content that refuses to be reduced to a simple entity.

Group stage, the whole picture

The third stage can be observing the art works as a unified exhibition or group statement. Recurring themes become overt both to the group itself and to an outsider, such as the researcher (Campbell, 1999; Hiscox & Calisch, 1998). Cultural stands or beliefs are often so embedded that we are usually not aware of them ourselves. Observing the meanings within the drawings of other people from the same culture strengthens and defines these messages, creating a type of critical pedagogy.

For example, when observing all the pictures of “what a child needs,” we noticed that the children always played outside and were depicted in rich color. The caretakers inside were depicted without color and in minimal pencil lines. Thus, outside was defined as the focus for exploration—having implications for creating a culturally sensitive early childhood curriculum for Bedouin children (Dosmantes-Beaudry, 1999).

This is also congruent with feminist group therapy, which defines problems as outside the individual, related to context, and experienced by anyone within that context (rather than defined as a personal pathology). In terms of art therapy, art work can become “embodied” with meanings that hold symbolic meaning for the whole group.

For example, houses were a strong theme with the single mothers, and we devoted a session to drawing more houses so as to understand their implications. This led to the following, last stage of this method.

Validating or deepening understandings through additional words or drawings

The fourth stage of the drawing process entails re-viewing pictures and re-drawing issues that it is felt need more clarification.

In terms of arts-based research, this serves as a type of validating mechanism, in that the group exhibition gives a chance for themes to be discussed and verified on the spot through the multiple voices or comments of the group. One of the advantages of drawings is that they are constant and permanent fixtures that can be re-viewed and additional meanings gained with each viewing. At the same time, the meanings can constantly shift, enabling different words or associations at different viewings (just as we enjoy observing a work of art again and again, giving it additional or different meanings).

Within art therapy, the observation of former pictures is used as a way to enhance self-reflection and emotive involvement with (or projection onto) the picture. Schaverien (1992) has discussed how a picture can become temporarily infused with much emotional meaning for the viewer, whereas at a later stage, the picture as a talisman is relinquished.

In this article, I attempted to combine the theories of art therapy and of art-based research concerned with working with a different culture. Canclini (1996) stated that we are used to the fusion of different cultural elements, such as modern art books sitting together with crafts books on our coffee tables, to multimedia reproductions of “high” culture, to foods that combine different cultural traditions, but that we mistakenly shy away from creating “hybrid” mixes of academics and of clinical practice.

This article can be seen as a double meeting between art as therapy or empowerment, and art as research, and between Bedouin women and Jewish Western art therapy. This combination was used to create an art activity that, I hope, is both informative as research and empowering as self-expression and enrichment.

It seems that art as research can enhance understanding between the Bedouin women and the dominant Israeli culture by offering a complex, multifaceted expression of the Bedouin women’s concerns, together with their understanding of these concerns. Feminist researchers have stated, “to hear women’s perspectives accurately, we have to learn to listen in sterio, receiving both the dominant and the muted channels clearly, and understanding the relationship between them” (Anderson & Jack, 1991, p. 11).

Similarly, art as therapy or empowerment can offer the transformative, enriching, and empowering elements of creating art, making it a worthwhile endeavor for the women. Both uses do not exclude the need for constant reflexivity in understanding the cultural meanings implied by different art interventions.

Thus, the research context becomes of direct potential benefit to the women, uniting research and therapy aims—observation and self-observation, action and reaction.

Spivak addresses the difficulty in “admitting non-Western cultural production into the Western academy without side-stepping its challenges to metropolitan canons and thus perpetuating the ‘subalterization’ of third world culture” (p. 254). This difficulty in accepting different forms of art—both Bedouin women’s art, such as crafts, and art within psychology, such as in art therapy (rather than art as diagnostics) and art within research (rather than words only)—challenges Western classic conceptions of art and its roles (and, thus, of Bedouin women, of psychology, and of research). The limitation of this article is that I did not fully explore the meanings of the art experience for the women. Another limitation is the paradox built into the method, and mentioned above, of trying to access non-Western experience, through Western methods.

When working with art materials, the narrative is developed through the interaction of doing and reflecting on one’s actions, in a constantly modifying activity. For example, wet paint makes the paper too wet, and so pencil can be tried, but then the shapes are too defined and have lost their essence and vitality. Oil pastels can be used as a compromise, although this might result in the loss of some of the essence of both vitality and definition, and so on, until a “good enough” solution is created. This constant negotiation and renegotiation of actions and their meanings seems an inherent part of any intercultural communication made concrete and visible through using art.

Abu-Lughod, L. (1991). Writing against culture. In R. Fox (Ed.), Recapturing anthropology: Working in the present (pp. 138-161). Santa Fe, NM: School of American Research.

Abu-Rabia-Abu-Kuider, S. (1994). Girl’s school drop-outs from the Bedouin educational system. Notes on the Bedouin, 34, 6-23.

Acton, D. (2001). The color blind therapist. Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 18(2), 109 113.

Allen, P. (1995). Art is a way of knowing. Boston: Shambhala.

Anderson, K., & Jack, D. (1991). Learning to listen: Interview techniques and analysis. In S. Berger & D. Patei (Eds.), Women’s words: The feminist practice of oral history (pp. 11-26). New York; Routledge.

Arnheim, R. (1996). The split and the structure: Twenty-eight essays. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Barone, T. (2003). Challenging the educational imaginary. Qualitative Inquiry, 9(2), 202-218.

Bhabha, H. (1994). The location of culture. London: Routledge.

Bowler, M. (1997). Problems with interviewing, experiences with service providers and clients. In G. Miller & R. Dingwall (Eds.), Context and method in qualitative research (pp. 66-77). London: Basic Books.

Burt, H. (1996). Beyond practice, a postmodern and feminist perspective on art therapy research. Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 13(2), 34-36.

Campanelli, M. (1991). Ethno-cultural considerations in art therapy. American Journal of Art Therapy, 30(2),

Campbell, J. (Ed.). (1999). Art therapy, race and culture. Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley.

Canclini, N. (1996). Strategies for entering and leaving modernity. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Cwikel, J. (2002). Health and wellbeing of Bedouin women in the Negev. Be’er Sheva, Israel: Center for Researching Bedouin Society and Center for Research and Promotion of Women’s Health.

Cwikel, J., Wiesel, R., &Al-Krenawi, A. (2003). The physical and psychosocial health of Bedouin Arab women of the Negev area of Israel. Violence Against Women, 9(2), 240-257.

Davis, L., & Srinivasan, M. (1994). Feminist research within a battered women’s shelter. In E. Sherman & W. Reid (Eds.), Qualitative research in social work (pp. 347-348). New York: Columbia University Press.

Denzin, K., & Lincoln, Y. (1998). Collecting and interpreting qualitative materials. London: Sage.

De-Vault, M. (1999). Liberating method: Feminism and social research. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.

Dokter, D. (1998). Arts therapists, refugees and migrants: Reaching across borders. London: Jessica Kingsley.

Dosamantes-Beaudry, M. (1999). Divergent cultural self-construals: Implications for the practice of dance/movement therapy—The psychology of control in America and Japan. Arts in Psychotherapy, 26(4), 225-231.

Eisner, E. (1997). The promises and perils of alternative forms of data representation. Educational Researcher, 26(6), 4-20.

Finley, S. (2003). Arts based inquiry in QI: Seven years from crises to guerrilla warfare. Qualitative Inquiry, 9(2), 281-297.

Gerity, L. (2000). The subversive art therapist: Embracing cultural diversity in the art room. Journal of the American Art Therapists Association, 7, 35-46.

Goldberger, N., & Veroff J. (1995). Culture and psychology reader. New York: New York University Press.

Hijab, N. (1988). Women-power: The Arab debate over women and work. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Hiscox, A., & Calisch, C. (1998). Tapestry of cultural issues in art therapy. London: Jessica Kingsley.

Hocoy, D. (2002). Cultural issues in art therapy theory. Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 19(4), 141-146.

Hogan, S. (1997). Feminist approaches to art therapy. London: Routledge.

Hogan, S. (2003). Gender issues in art therapy. London: Jessica Kingsley.

Kramer, E. (1971). Art therapy with children. New York: Schoken.

Lawler, M. (2002). Narrative in social research. In T. May (Ed.), Qualitative research in action (pp. 242-259). London: Sage.

Liebmann, M. (1996). Arts approaches to conflict. London: Jessica Kingsley.

Mahon, M. (2000). The visible evidence of cultural producers. Annual Review of Anthropology, 29, 467-492.

Mason, J. (2000). Qualitative researching. London: Sage.

Mason, J. (2002). Qualitative interviewing: Asking, listening and interpreting. In T. May (Ed.), Qualitative research in action (pp. 225-242). London: Sage.

McNiff, S. (1995). Art based research. Boston: Shambhala.

Meir, A. (1997). As nomadism ends. Boulder, CO: Westview.

Moon, B. (2000). Ethical issues in art therapy. Springfield, IL: Charles Thomas.

Moon, H. (2002). Studio art therapy. London: Jessica Kingsley.

Mullen, C. (2003). A self fashioned gallery of aesthetic practice. Qualitative Inquiry, 9(2), 165-182.

Pink, S. (2001). Doing visual ethnography. London: Sage.

Ried, P. (1993). Poor women in psychological research: Shut up and shut out. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 17, 133-150.

Sabbagh, S. (1997). Arab women. Brookline, MA: Olive Branch.

Sarasema, T. (2003). Bereavement and the healing power of arts and writing. Qualitative Inquiry, 9(4), 603-621.

Save, I., & Nuutinen, K. (2003). At the meeting place of word and picture: Between art and inquiry. Qualitative Inquiry, 9(4), 515-535.

Savneet, T. (2003). Decolonization: Third World women and conflicts. In S. Hogan (Ed.), Gender issues in art therapy (pp. 185-193). London: Jessica Kingsley.

Schaverien, J. (1992). The revealing image: Analysitcal art psychotherapy in theory and in practice. London: Routledge.

Sclater, D. (2003). The arts and narrative research. Qualitative Inquiry, 9(4), 621-625.

Silverman, D. (2000). Doing qualitative research: A practical handbook. London: Sage.

Spivak, G. (1987). In other worlds: Essays in cultural politics. New York: Methuen.

Steinberg, S., & Bar-On, D. (2002). An analysis of the group process in encounters between Jews and Palestinians using a typology for discourse classification. Pergamon, 26, 199-214.

Talbot Green, M. (1989). Feminist scholarship: Spitting into the mouths of the gods. Arts in Psychotherapy, 16(4), 253-261.

Wang, C., & Burris, M. (1994). Empowerment through photo-novella. Health Education Quarterly, 21, 172-185.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

White, R.E., Cooper, K. (2022). Arts-Based Research. In: Qualitative Research in the Post-Modern Era. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85124-8_8

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85124-8_8

Published : 29 September 2022

Publisher Name : Springer, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-030-85126-2

Online ISBN : 978-3-030-85124-8

eBook Packages : Education Education (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

• Tools and Resources
• Customer Services
• Original Language Spotlight
• Alternative and Non-formal Education 
• Cognition, Emotion, and Learning
• Curriculum and Pedagogy
• Education and Society
• Education, Change, and Development
• Education, Cultures, and Ethnicities
• Education, Gender, and Sexualities
• Education, Health, and Social Services
• Educational Administration and Leadership
• Educational History
• Educational Politics and Policy
• Educational Purposes and Ideals
• Educational Systems
• Educational Theories and Philosophies
• Globalization, Economics, and Education
• Languages and Literacies
• Professional Learning and Development
• Research and Assessment Methods
• Technology and Education
• Share This Facebook LinkedIn Twitter

Article contents

Arts-based research.

• Janinka Greenwood Janinka Greenwood University of Canterbury
• https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264093.013.29
• Published online: 25 February 2019

Arts-based research encompasses a range of research approaches and strategies that utilize one or more of the arts in investigation. Such approaches have evolved from understandings that life and experiences of the world are multifaceted, and that art offers ways of knowing the world that involve sensory perceptions and emotion as well as intellectual responses. Researchers have used arts for various stages of research. It may be to collect or create data, to interpret or analyze it, to present their findings, or some combination of these. Sometimes arts-based research is used to investigate art making or teaching in or through the arts. Sometimes it is used to explore issues in the wider social sciences. The field is a constantly evolving one, and researchers have evolved diverse ways of using the communicative and interpretative tools that processes with the arts allow. These include ways to initially bypass the need for verbal expression, to explore problems in physically embodied as well as discursive ways, to capture and express ambiguities, liminalities, and complexities, to collaborate in the refining of ideas, to transform audience perceptions, and to create surprise and engage audiences emotionally as well as critically. A common feature within the wide range of approaches is that they involve aesthetic responses.

The richness of the opportunities created by the use of arts in conducting and/or reporting research brings accompanying challenges. Among these are the political as well as the epistemological expectations placed on research, the need for audiences of research, and perhaps participants in research, to evolve ways of critically assessing the affect of as well as the information in presentations, the need to develop relevant and useful strategies for peer review of the research as well as the art, and the need to evolve ethical awareness that is consistent with the intentions and power of the arts.

• multisensory
• performance

Introduction

The term arts-based research is an umbrella term that covers an eclectic array of methodological and epistemological approaches. The key elements that unify this diverse body of work are: it is research; and one or more art forms or processes are involved in the doing of the research. How art is involved varies enormously. It has been used as one of several tools to elicit information (Cremin, Mason, & Busher, 2011 ; Gauntlett, 2007 ; Wang & Burns, 1997 ) and for the analysis of data (Boal, 1979 ; Gallagher, 2014 ; Neilson, 2008 ), and so it serves as an enrichment to the palette of tools used in qualitative research. It has been used in the presentation of findings (Bagley & Cancienne, 2002 ; Conrad, 2012 ; Gray & Sinding, 2002 ) and so occupies a space that could be responded to and evaluated as both art and research. It has been used to investigate art and the process of art-making. The emergence of the concept and practice of a/r/tography (Belliveau, 2015 ; Irwin, 2013 ; Springgay, Irwin, & Kind, 2005 ), for example, places art-making and its textual interpretation in a dynamic relationship of inquiry into the purpose, process, and meaning of the making of an artwork.

The field is multifaceted and elusive of definition and encompassing explanation. This article does not attempt such definitions. But it does risk describing some well-trodden pathways through the field and posing some questions. Illustrative examples are offered from the author’s work, as well as citing of works by other researchers who use arts-based approaches.

My own explorations of arts-based research began many years ago, before the term came into usage. I was commissioned to develop a touring play for a New Zealand youth theater, and I chose to write a docudrama, Broadwood: Na wai te reo? (Greenwood, 1995 ). The play reported the case of a remote, rural, and predominantly Maori school that made Maori language a compulsory subject in its curriculum. The parents of one boy argued against the decision, claiming the language held no use for their son. The dispute was aired on national television and was debated in parliament. The minister agreed that the local school board had the right to make the decision after consultation with parents and community. The dispute ended with the boy being given permission to do extra math assignments in the library during Maori language classes. To develop the script, I interviewed all the local participants in the case and sincerely sought to capture the integrity of their views in my dialogue. I accessed the minister of education’s comments through public documents and media and reserved the right to occasionally satirize them. Just a week or two before final production, the family’s lawyer officially asked for a copy of the script. To my relief, it was returned with the comment that the family felt I had captured their views quite accurately. The youth theater was invited to hold its final rehearsal on the local marae (a traditional tribal Maori ground that holds a meeting house and hosts significant community occasions), and a local elder offered the use of an ancestral whalebone weapon in the opening performance, instead of the wooden one made for the production. The opening performance took place in the school itself, and the boy, together with his parents and family friends, sat in the audience together with hundreds of community people. The play had an interactive section where the audience was asked to vote in response to a survey the school had originally sent out to its community. The majority of the audience voted for Maori language to be part of the mandatory curriculum. The boy and his family voted equally emphatically for it not to be. The play then toured in New Zealand and was taken to a festival in Australia.

At the time I saw the work purely in terms of theater—albeit with a strongly critical social function. Looking back, I now see it was a performative case study. I had carefully researched the context and respectfully interviewed participants after gaining their informed consent. The participants had all endorsed my reporting of the data. The findings were disseminated and subject to popular as well as peer review. The performances added an extra dimension to the research: they actively invited audience consideration and debate.

This article discusses the epistemology that underlies arts-based approaches to research, reviews the purposes and value of research that involves the arts, identifies different stages and ways that art may be utilized, and addresses questions that are debated in the field. It does not seek to disentangle all the threads within this approach to research or to review all key theorizations and possibilities in the field. The arena of arts-based research is a diverse and rapidly expanding one, and it is only possible within this discussion to identify some of the common underlying characteristics and potentialities and to offer selected examples. Because this discussion is shaped within an essay format, rather than through a visual or performative collage, there is the risk of marking a limited number of pathways and of making assertions. At the same time, I acknowledge that the discussion might have alternatively been conducted through arts-based media, which might better reflect some of the liminalities and interweaving layers of art-based processes (see further, Greenwood, 2016 ).

The term art itself compasses a wide and diverse spectrum of products and process. This article focuses particularly on dramatic and visual art, while acknowledging that the use of other art forms, such as poetry, fiction, dance, film, and fabric work, have been variously used in processes of investigation. The word art is used to indicate the wider spectrum of art activities and to refer to more specific forms and processes by their disciplines and conventions.

Why Use Art?

One of the main reasons for the growth of arts-based approaches to research is recognition that life experiences are multi-sensory, multifaceted, and related in complex ways to time, space, ideologies, and relationships with others. Traditional approaches to research have been seen by increasing numbers of researchers as predominantly privileging cerebral, verbal, and linearly temporal approaches to knowledge and experience. The use of art in research is one of many shifts in the search for truthful means of investigation and representation. These include, among others, movements toward various forms of narratives (Riessman, 2008 ), recognition of indigenous knowledges, and indigenous ways of sharing and using knowledge (Bharucha, 1993 ; Smith, 2014 ), auto-ethnographies (Ellis, 2004 ), conceptualizations of wicked questions (Rittel & Webber, 1973 ), processes of troubling (Gardiner, 2015 ), and queering (Halperin, 2003 ). Preissle ( 2011 ) writes about the “qualitative tapestry” (p. 689) and identifies historic and contemporary threads of epistemological challenges, methods, and purposes, pointing out the ever-increasing diversity in the field. Denzin and Lincoln ( 2011 ) describe qualitative research as a site of multiple interpretative practices and, citing St. Pierre’s ( 2004 ) argument that we are in a post “post” period, assert that “we are in a new age where messy, uncertain multi-voiced texts, cultural criticism, and new experimental works will become more common, as will more reflexive forms of fieldwork, analysis and intertextual representation” (p. 15). Springgay, Irwin, and Kind ( 2005 ) assert that a/r/tography is not a new branch of qualitative research but a methodology in its own right, and that it conceptualizes inquiry as an embodied encounter through visual and textual experiences. The use of art in research is a succession of approaches to develop methodology that is meaningful and useful.

Art, product, and process allow and even invite art-makers to explore and play with knowing and meaning in ways that are more visceral and interactive than the intellectual and verbal ways that have tended to predominate in Western discourses of knowledge. It invites art viewers to interact with representations in ways that involve their senses, emotions, and ideas. Eisner ( 1998 , 2002 ) makes a number of significant assertions about the relationship between form and knowledge that emphasize the importance of art processes in offering expanded understandings of “what it means to know” (Eisner, 1998 , p. 1). He states: “There are multiple ways in which the world can be known: Artists, writers, and dancers, as well as scientists, have important thongs to tell about the world” (p. 7). Like other constructivists (Bruner, 1990 ; Guba, 1996 ), he further argues that because human knowledge is a constructed form of experience, it is a reflection of mind as well as nature, that knowledge is made, not simply discovered. He then reasons that “the forms through which humans represent their conception of the world have a major influence on what they are able to say about it” (p. 6), and, making particular reference to education, he states that whichever particular forms of representation become acceptable “is as much a political matter as an epistemological one” (p. 7). Eisner’s arguments to extend conceptualizations of knowledge within the field of education have been echoed in the practices of art-based researchers.

Artists themselves understand through their practice that art is way of coming to know the world and of presenting that knowing, emergent and shifting though it may be, to others. Sometimes the process of coming to know takes the form of social analysis. In Guernica , as a well-known example, Picasso scrutinizes and crystallizes the brutal betrayals and waste of war. In Caucasian Chalk Circle , Brecht fractures and strips bare ideas of justice, loyalty, and ownership. Their respective visual and dramatic montages speak in ways that are different from and arguably more potent than discursive descriptions.

In many indigenous cultures, art forms are primary ways of processing and recording communally significant information and signifying relationships. For New Zealand Māori, the meeting house, with its visual images, poetry, song, oratory, and rituals, is the repository library of mythic and genealogical history and of the accumulated legacies of meetings, contested positions, and nuanced consensual decisions. Art within Māori and other indigenous culture is not an illustrative addition to knowledge systems, it is an integral means of meaning making and recording.

One of the characteristics of arts and arts-based research projects is that they engage with aesthetic understandings as well as with discursive explanations. The aesthetic is a contested term (Greenwood, 2011 ; Hamera, 2011 ). However, it is used here to describe the engagement of senses and emotion as well as intellectual processes, and the consequent collation of semiotics and significances that are embedded in cultural awareness and are variously used by art makers and art viewers to respond to works of art. An aesthetic response thus is a visceral as well as rational one. It may be comfortable with ambiguities, and it may elude verbalization.

The processes of art-making demand a commitment to a continuous refinement of skills and awareness. Art-viewers arguably also gain more from an artwork as they acquire the skills and literacies involved with that particular art form and as they gain confidence to engage with the aesthetic. However, viewers may apprehend meaning without mastery of all the relevant literacies. I recall an experience of watching flamenco in El Puerto de Santa Maria, a township outside Cadiz. My senses drank in the white stone of former monastery walls and the darkening sky over an open inner courtyard. My muscles and emotions responded spontaneously to the urgency of the guitar and the beaten rhythms on a packing case drum. My nerves tensed as the singer’s voice cut through the air. The two dancers, both older and dressed in seemingly causal fawn and grey, riveted my attention. I was a stranger to the art form, and I did not know the language of the dance and could not recognize its phases or its allusions. I did feel the visceral tug of emotion across space. My heart and soul responded to something urgent, strangely oppressive, but indefinable that might have an apprehension of what those who understand flamenco call duende . If I was more literate in the art form, I would no doubt have understood a lot more, but the art, performed by those who did know and had mastered its intricacies, communicated an experience of their world to me despite my lack of training. In that evening, I learned more about the experience of life in southern Spain than I had in my earlier pursuit of library books and websites.

Art, thus, is positioned as a powerful tool that calls for ever-refining expertise in its making, but that can communicate, at differing levels, even with those who do not have that expertise. Researchers who use art draw on its rich, and sometimes complex and elusive, epistemological bases to explore and represent aspects of the world. The researchers may themselves be artists; at the least, they need to know enough of an art form to be aware of its potential and how to manipulate it. In some cases intended participants and audiences may also be artists, but often they are not. It is the researcher who creates a framework in which participants join in the art or in which audiences receive it.

Art, Research Purpose, and Research Validity

So far, the argument for the value of art as a way of knowing is multifarious, embodied, and tolerant of ambivalences and ambiguities. Where then are the rigors that are widely held as essential for research? It can be argued that arts-based research, to be considered as research, needs to have explicit research purpose and needs to subject itself to peer critique.

As has been widely noted (Eisner, 1998 ; Leavy, 2017 ; Sullivan, 2010 ), the making of art involves some investigation, both into the process of making and into some aspect of the experiential world. In research, that purpose needs to be overt and explicit. When the purpose is identified, then the choice of methods can be open to critical scrutiny and evaluation. The design of an arts-based research project is shaped, at its core, by similar considerations as other research.

Arts-based research needs to be explicit about what is being investigated. If the objective is not clear, then the result may still be art, but it is hard to call it research. Purpose determines which of the vast array of art strategies and processes will be selected as the research methods. The trustworthiness of any research depends on a number of factors: at the design stage, it depends on a clear alignment between the purpose of the research and the methods selected to carry out the investigation. In arts-based research, as in other research, it is vital that the researcher identifies the relationship between purpose and selected art tools, and offers recipients of the research clear means to evaluate and critique the reliability and usefulness of the answers that come from the research. This is where choices about strategies need to be clearly identified and explained, and both the aims and boundaries of the investigation need to be identified.

This does not imply need for a rigid and static design. Art is an evolving process, and the research design can well be an evolving one, as is the case with participatory action research (Bryndon-Miller, Karl, Maguire, Noffke, & Sabhlok, 2011 ), bricolage (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011 ), and a number of other research approaches. However, the strategic stages and choices of the emergent design donot need to be identified and explained. Nor does it imply that all data or findings need to be fully explicable verbally. One of the reasons for choosing arts-based methods, although not the only one, is to allow the operation of aesthetic and subconscious understandings as well as conscious and verbalized ones. That is part of the epistemological justification for choosing an arts-based approach. The ambivalences and pregnant possibilities that result may be considered valued gains from the choice of research tools, and their presence simply needs to be identified, together with explication of the boundaries of how such ambivalence and possibilities relate to the research question.

Different Kinds of Purpose

The sections of this article examine common and different areas of purpose for which arts-based research is frequently used, arranging them into three clusters and discussing some of the possibilities within each one.

The first, and perhaps largest, cluster of purposes for using arts-based research is to investigate some social (in the broadest sense of the word) issue. Such issues might, for example, include woman’s rights, school absenteeism, gang membership, cross-cultural encounters, classroom relationships, experiences of particular programs, problems in language acquisition. The methodological choices involved in this group of purposes have been repeatedly addressed (e.g., Boal, 1979 ; O’Brien & Donelan, 2008 ; Finley, 2005 ; Leavy, 2017 ; Prosser, 2011 ; Wang & Burns, 1997 ) in discussions of the use of arts-based approaches to the social sciences. The intention for using arts-based tools is to open up different, and hopefully more empowering, options for exploring the specific problem or issue, and for expressing participants’ perspectives in ways that can bypass participants’ discomfort with words or unconscious compliance with dominant discourses, or perhaps to present findings in ways that better reveal their dynamics and complexity than written reports.

Another smaller, but important, cluster of purposes is to research art-making processes or completed art works. For example, a theater director (Smithner, 2010 ) investigates the critical decisions she made in selecting and weaving together separate performance works into a theatrical collage. Or, a researcher (O’Donoghue, 2011 ) investigates how a conceptual artist working with film and video enquires into social, political, and cultural issues and how he shapes his work to provoke viewers to develop specific understandings. These kinds of studies explore the how and why of art-making, focusing on the makers’ intentions, their manipulation of the elements and affordances of their specific art field, and often engage with aesthetic as well as sociocultural dimensions of analysis. Often such studies are presented as narratives or analytic essays, and it is the subject matter of the research that constitutes the arts basis. Sometimes, such studies find expression in new artworks, as is the case in Merita Mita’s film made about the work of painter Ralph Hotere (Mita, 2001 ), which interlays critical analyses, documentation of process, interviews, and pulsating images of the artworks.

The third cluster involves research about teaching, therapy, or community development through one or more of the arts. Here arts are primarily the media of teaching and learning. For example, when drama is the teaching medium, the teacher may facilitate the class by taking a fictional role within the narrative that provokes students to plan, argue, or take action. Students may be prompted to use roles, create improvisations, explore body representations of ideas or conflicts, and explore contentious problems in safely fictitious contexts. Because it examines both work within an art form and changes in learners’ or community members’ understandings of other issues, this cluster overlaps somewhat with the two previous clusters. However, it is also building a body of its own traditions.

One strong tradition is the documentation of process. For example, Burton, Lepp, Morrison, and O’Toole ( 2015 ) report two decades of projects, including Dracon and Cooling Conflict , which have used drama strategies as well as formal theoretical teaching to address conflict and bullying. They have documented the specific strategies used, discussed their theoretical bases, and acknowledged the evidence on which they base their claims about effectiveness of the strategies in building understanding about and reducing bullying. The strategies used involved use of role and improvisation and what the authors call an enhanced form of Boal’s Forum Theatre. Other examples include the Risky Business Project (O’Brien & Donelan, 2008 ), a series of programs involving marginalized youth in dance, drama, music, theater performance, stand-up comedy, circus, puppetry, photography, visual arts, and creative writing; explorations of cross-cultural understandings through drama processes (Greenwood, 2005 ); the teaching of English as a second language in Malaysia through teacher-in-role and other drama processes (Mohd Nawi, 2014 ); working with traditional arts to break down culturally bound ways of seeing the world (Stanley, 2014 ); and the training of a theater-for-development team to use improvisational strategies to address community problems (Okagbue, 2002 ). While the strategies are arts processes and the analysis of their effect addresses aesthetic dimensions of arts as well as cognitive and behavioral ones, the reporting of these projects is primarily within the more traditional verbal and discursive forms of qualitative research.

Sometimes the reporting takes a more dramatic turn. Mullens and Wills ( 2016 ) report and critically analyze Re-storying Disability Through the Arts , an event that sought to create space for dialogue between students, researchers, artists, educators, and practitioners with different involvements or interests in disability arts. They begin their report by re-creating a scene within the workshop that captures some of the tensions evoked, and follow this with a critical commentary on three community-based art practices that engage in a strategy of re-storying disability. They present arts as means to “counter powerful cultural narratives that regulate the lives and bodies of disabled people” (Mullens & Wills, 2016 , p. 5). Barrett ( 2014 ) reports a project, informed by an a/r/tography methodology, which utilized the classroom teaching of the prescribed arts curriculum to allow students to explore evolving understandings of identity and community. Montages of photographs are a central component in the report, as is a series of images that illustrate Barrett’s reflections on her own role within the investigation.

Using Art to Research Social Issues: Collecting Data

Within a social science research project, art processes might be used to collect data, to carry out analysis and interpretation, or to present findings. Perhaps the most common use is to collect data. The process of photovoice (Wang & Burns, 1997 ), for example, gives participants cameras and asks them to capture images that they consider as significant elements of the topic being investigated. Graffiti might be used to prompt absentee students to discuss their perceptions of schooling. Body sculptures, freeze frames, and hot seating are examples of drama strategies that could be used to facilitate reflection and debate about cross-cultural encounters, feelings about hospitalization, experiences of domestic violence, or an array of other topics.

In each case the art produced becomes the basis for further discussion. This process is quite different from historical concepts of art therapy, where the therapist would give expert insight into what a patient’s artwork means; here it is the participants who give the explanation, perhaps independently or perhaps through dialogue with other participants and the researcher. The embodied experience of construction provides a platform and a challenge to talking in ways that are more thoughtful and more honest than through a conventionally structured verbal interview. The talk after making is important, but the art products are not merely precursors to verbal data, they are concrete points of references to which both participants and researchers can refer and can use to prompt further introspection or deconstruction. The process of making, moreover, is one that allows time for reflection and self-editing along the way and so may yield more truthful and complex answers than those that might be given instantly in an interview. Participants who are second language speakers or who lack the vocabulary or theoretical constructs to express complex feelings, reactions, or beliefs can be enabled to use physicalization to create a bridge between what they know or feel wordlessly inside them and an external expression that can be read by others.

The art tools available for such data gathering are as varied as the tools used by artists for making art. They might include drawing, collage, painting, sculpting materials or bodies, singing, orchestration, Lego construction, movement improvisation, creation of texts, photography, graffiti, role creation, and/or spatial positioning.

Art Processes as Tools for Analysis

Art processes can also be used to analyze and interpret data. Within qualitative paradigms, the processes of collecting and interpretation of data often overlap. This is also true of arts-based research. For instance, Greenwood ( 2012 ) reported on a group of experienced Bangladeshi educators who came to New Zealand to complete their Masters. While they were proficient in English, they found colloquial language challenging, struggling often to find words with the right social or emotional connotations at the speed of conversation. In previous discussions, they often looked to each other for translation. A teaching workshop, held as an illustration of arts-based research, addressed the research question: what have been your experiences as international students? A small repertoire of drama strategies, particularly freeze frames with techniques for deconstructing and refining initial offers, short animations, and narrative sequencing were used. These prompted participants to recall and show personal experiences, to critically view and interpret one another’s representations, and to further refine their images to clarify their intended meaning. The participants flung themselves into the challenge with alacrity and flamboyance and created images of eagerness, hope, new relationships, frustration, failed communication, anger, dejection, unexpected learning, and achievement. They also actively articulated ideas as we deconstructed the images and, through debate, co-constructed interpretations of what was being shown in the work and what it meant in terms of their experience, individual and shared, of overseas study. The interweaving of making, reflection, discussion, and further refinement is intrinsic to process drama; as a research method, it affords a means of interweaving data collection and collaborative analysis. In this case the participants also debated aspects of the validity of the process as research, raising questions about subjectivity in interpretation, about the nature of crystallization (Richardson, 1994 ), about informed consent, and about co-construction of narratives. Analysis shifted from being the task of an outsider researcher to one carried out, incrementally and experimentally, by insider participants. While the researcher held the initial power to focus the work, participants’ physical entry into the work, and their interrogation of the images that were created constituted a choice of how much they would share and contribute, and so they became active and sometimes playful partners in the research. This approach to analysis shares many features with participatory action research (Brydon-Miller et al., 2011 ), both in eliciting the agency of participants and in evolving a process of analysis that is interwoven with the gathering of data from preceding action and with the planning of further investigative cycles of action.

The work of Boal is perhaps one of the best known examples of the use of an art process, in this case theater, as a means of analysis of data. Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed ( 1979 ) details a series of strategies for deconstruction and collaborative analysis. For example, in the process he calls image theatre , participants select a local oppressive problem that they seek to resolve. They create and discuss images that exemplify experience of the problem and their idealized solutions (the data); they then analyze their images to find where power resides and how it is supported. Boal’s theater process calls for experimentation with further images that explore scenarios where power could become shared to some extent and could allow further action by those who experience the oppression. The process finishes with consequential explorations of the first step to be taken by participants as a means to work toward an equilibrium of power. Boal, as the title of his book, Theatre of the Oppressed , acknowledges, draws on the work of his Braziailan compatriot, Freire, and particularly on his concept of conscientization (Freire, 1970 , 1972 ). Boal’s process for analyzing experiences of oppression is not so much a direct action plan as a means of analyzing the mechanisms of specific conditions of oppression and the potential, however limited, for agency to resolve the oppression. The sequenced strategies of creating and discussing alternative images of oppression, power relationships, and action enable participants to deconstruct the socio-cultural reality that shapes their lives and to gain awareness of their capacity to transform it.

Art as a Means to Present Findings

There is a large and growing body of research that presents findings in arts forms. A few examples are briefly discussed.

After collecting data, through interviews and official communications from participants in a case where a district school was being threatened with closure, Owen ( 2009 ) commissioned a composer to write a score for sections of his transcripts and create a community opera. He expressed the hope that this would “transform their tiny stories into noisy histories” (p. 3). Part of the data was sung at a conference I attended. I was struck by the shift in power. What I might have regarded as dull data in a PowerPoint presentation now became a compelling articulation of experiences and aspirations and a dynamic debate between personal lives and authoritarian policy.

The AIDS Memorial Quilt project (Morris, 2011 ; Yardlie & Langley, 1995 ) is frequently described as the world’s greatest piece of community folk art. A claim can be made that, while each panel in the quilt is a product of folk art, the collation of the quilt in its enormity is a work of conceptual art that juxtaposes the fragility and isolation of individual loss with the overwhelming global impact of the AIDS epidemic. The quilt can also be seen as research that visually quantifies the death toll through AIDS in Western world communities and that qualitatively investigates the life stories and values of those who died through the perceptions of those who loved them.

A number of museums throughout the world present visual and kinaesthetic accounts of social and historical research. Well-known examples are the Migration Museum in Melbourne, the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, and the Documentation Center for the History of National Socialism in Munich. A less securely established exhibition is that of images of the Australian Aboriginal Stolen Generation that was collected by the Dumbartung Aboriginal Corporation to educate community and schoolchildren, “but only had the funding to showcase the exhibit for one night” (Diss, 2017 ). These and many other exhibitions create visual and experiential environments where the data of history can be not only seen and read but also felt.

In a similar way to how these exhibitions use actual archival photographs, theater may use the exact words of interviews to re-tell real stories. In making Verbatim , Brandt and Harcourt ( 1994 ) collated the words from 30 interviews with convicted murderers, their families, and the families of murder victims. “We went into the prisons to find out what the story was that we were going to tell, and that was the story that emerged from the material we collected,” Harcourt explained (White, 2013 ). “Not only the content, but also the form emerged from that context. We didn’t go in having decided we were going to make a solo show. Form emerged from the experience of the prison system.”

A frequently used form is that of ethnodrama (Mienczakowski, 1995 ; Saldaña, 2008 ). Ethnodrama presents data in a theatrical form: using stage, role, and sometimes lighting and music. Saldaña ( 2008 ) explains that ethnodrama maintains “close allegiance to the lived experiences of real people while presenting their voices through an artistic medium” (p. 3) and argues that the goals are not only aesthetic, they also possess emancipatory potential for motivating social change within participants and audiences.

Sometimes the ethnographic material is further manipulated in the presentation process. Conrad ( 2012 ) describes her research into the Native program at the Alberta youth corrections center in play form as “an ethnographic re-presentation of the research—a creative expression of the research findings” (p. xii). Her play jumps through time, creating fragments of action, and is interspersed by video scenes that provide alternative endings that could result from choices made by the characters. Conrad explains her choice of medium: “Performance has the potential to reach audiences in ways beyond intellectual understanding, through engaging other ways of knowing that are empathetic, emotional, experiential, and embodied, with the potential for radically re-envisioning social relations” (p. xiii).

Belliveau ( 2015 ) created a performative research about his work in teaching Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing in an elementary school. He interwove excerpts of students’ performances from the Shakespearean text with excerpts of their discussions about the issues of power, pride, love, and other themes in a new performance work that illustrated as well as explained primary students’ response to Shakespeare. He later presented a keynote at the IDEA (International Drama in Education Association) conference in Paris where he performed his discussion of this and other work with young students. Similarly, Lutton’s ( 2016 ) doctoral research explored the work and challenges of selected international drama educators using imagination and role play. In her final performance of her research, she took the role of an archivist’s assistant at a fictitious Museum of Educational Drama and Applied Theatre to provide “an opportunity for drama practitioners to use their skills and knowledge of drama pedagogy to tell their own stories” (Lutton, p. 36). She states that her choice of research tool embraces theatricality, enabling the embodiment of participants’ stories, the incorporation of critical reflection and of aesthetic knowledge (p. 36).

The Cheviot, the Stag, and the Black Black Oil , developed by John McGrath and the 7:84 Theatre Company, recounts the history of economic exploitation of the Scottish people, from the evictions that followed the clearances for the farming of Cheviot sheep, through the development of Highland stag hunts, to the capitalist domination of resources in the 1970s oil boom. Within a traditional ceilidh form it tells stories, presents arguments, and uses caricature, satire, and parody. The play is the result of research and of critical analysis of movements of power and economic interests. It is also a very effective instrument of political persuasion: McGrath gives the dispossessed crofters a language that tugs at our empathy whereas that of the landlords provokes our antagonism. Is this polemics or simple historic truth? Does the dramatic impact of the play unreasonably capture our intellects? And if the facts that are presented are validated by other accounts of history does it matter if it does? What is, what should be, what can be the relationship between research and the evocation, even manipulation of emotions?

Emotion—and Its Power

In as much as arts offer different ways of knowing the world, their use at various stages of research has the power to influence both what we come to know and how we know it. Art tools, strategically used, allow access to emotions and visceral responses as well as to conscious ideas. That makes them powerful for eliciting information. It also makes them powerful in influencing audiences.

The photos of the brutality of the police and of the steadfastness of the activists in the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg are examples of powerfully influencing as well as informing data. As well as the events that are recorded, the faces and the bodies speak through the photos. Their exhibition in blown-up size at eye level together with film footage and artifacts create a compellingly powerful response in viewers. Like many others, I came out of the museum emotionally drained and confirmed, even strengthened, in my ideological beliefs. The power of the exhibition had first sharpened and then consolidated my understandings. Was this because of the power of the facts presented in the exhibition, or was it because of the power of their presentation ? Or was it both? When the issue presented is one like apartheid, I am not afraid of having my awareness influenced in multiple ways: I believe I already have an evidence-informed position on the subject. I also applaud the power of the exhibition to inform and convince those who might not yet have reached a position. But what if the issue was a different one? Perhaps one which I was more uncertain about? Might it then seem that the emotional power of the exhibition gave undue weight to the evidence?

The issue here is not a simple one. The presentation is not only the reporting of findings: it is also art. The researcher (in the artist) stays true to the data; the artist (in the researcher) arranges data for effect and affect. Conrad explicitly states her hope that her choice of presentation mode will add impact to her research findings: she wants the presentation of her research about youth in detention centers to engender more empathetic understandings of their experiences and lead, in turn, to more constructive attitudes toward their needs. By putting their words to music, Owen wants his audience to listen more attentively to opinions of the stakeholders in the schools threatened with closure. McGrath wants his audience to side with those dispossessed by the combined power of capital and law. The Dumbartung Aboriginal Corporation plans to emotionally move as well as to inform its community. In writing Broadwood , I meticulously presented both sides of the dispute, I deliberately placed music and metaphor at the service of Maori language, and I deliberately used the spatial suggestiveness of the stage to evoke possibilities in the ending. The boy is alone in the library while his classmates are on the marae listening to an elder explain the history of their meetinghouse. The elder gives them an ancient whalebone weapon to hold, the students pass it among themselves, then hold it out across space to the boy. The boy stands, takes half a cautious step toward them and then stops; the lights go down. I intended the audience to complete the action in their subconscious.

In each of these cases, the art form of the presentation allows the artist/researcher to manipulate affect as well as critical cognition. To my mind, this is not simply another iteration of the argument between subjectivity and objectivity in research. Many contemporary approaches to research openly recognize that knowledge is mediated by context, experience, and social and historical discourses as well as by individuals’ personal interpretation (Denzin & Lincoln, 2011 ; Ellis, 2004 ). It is shaped by what is left out as well as by what is included. The practice of careful and scrupulous reflexivity is a way of acknowledging and bounding the subjectivity of the researcher (Altheide & Johnson, 2011 ; Ellingson, 2011 ). The researcher-who-is-artist draws on a subconscious as well as a conscious sense of how things fit together, and constructs meaning subconsciously as well as consciously, manipulating affect and effect in the process. Perhaps all researchers do so to some extent. For instance, the deliberately invisible authors of much quantitative research, who allow the passive voice to carry much of the reporting, who triangulate and define limitation, create an effect of fair-minded and dependable authority. The affect is not necessarily misleading, and it is something that readers of research have learned to recognize. However, the researcher-who-is-artist can draw on the rich repertoire of an art field that already operates in the domain of the aesthetic as well as of the critically cognitive, in spaces that are liminal as well those that are defined. It is arguable that readers of research still need to recognize and navigate through those spaces. Arguably, the challenge exists not only in the field of research: it is present in all the media that surrounds our daily lives.

A/r/tography and Examination of Places Between

The challenge of exploring liminal spaces of intention, process, explanation, effect, and affect is seriously taken up by the emergent discipline of a/r/tography . The backslashes in the term speak of fracture; they also denote the combined authorial roles of artist, researcher, and teacher. Springgay, Irwin, and Kind ( 2005 ) explain that a/r/tography is deliberately introspective and does not seek conclusions: rather it plays with connections between art and text and seeks to capture the embodied experience of exploring self and the world. Irwin et al. ( 2006 ) state: “Together, the arts and education complement, resist, and echo one another through rhizomatic relations of living inquiry” (p. 70). A/r/tography is explicitly positioned as a practice-based and living inquiry: it explores but resists attempting to define the spaces between artist, teacher, and researcher, and so implicitly rejects boundaries between these roles. It conceptualizes inquiry as a continuing experiential process of encounter between ideas, art media, context, meaning, and evolving representations. At the same time as it blurs distinctions, it teases out interrelationships: it offers art inquiry as something that is purposeful but unfixed, and art knowing as something that is personally and socially useful, but at best only partially and temporarily describable, never definable. This is one reason why its proponents explain it as a substantively different and new methodology outside the existing frameworks of qualitative research.

A/r/tography emerged out of the field of art education, with the explicit aim to extend the opportunities afforded by education in the arts, and to develop means to record and report the complex facets of learning and teaching in the arts. Consequently its language may be experienced, by readers who are outside the discipline, as highly abstract, deliberately ambiguous, and even esoteric: it seems to speak, as many research disciplines do, primarily to others in its own field. However, its broad principles have been picked up, and perhaps adapted, by practitioners who seek to explore the processes of their students’ learning through the arts and the evolving understandings they develop. For instance, Barrett and Greenwood ( 2013 ) report exploration of the epistemological third space through which place-conscious education and visual arts pedagogy can be interwoven and through which students, many of whom do not aspire to become artists, can use art-making to re-imagine and re-mark their understandings of their physical and social context and of their relationship with community. The value of this kind of research is posed in terms of the insights it affords rather than its capacity for presenting authoritative conclusions.

A Conference Debate, and the Politics of Research

Whether the provision of insights is enough to make art-making into research is a question that is frequently and sometimes fiercely contested. One such debate took place at a European conference I recently attended. It occurred in an arts-based research stream, and it began with the presentation of two films. The films were relatively short, and a discussion followed and became increasingly heated. Personally, I liked the films. The first reported a dance process that became an undergraduate teaching text. The second, in layers of imagery and fragments of dialogue, explored the practice of two artists. However, I was not sure what the added value was in calling either research. I saw art responding to art, and that seemed valuable and interesting enough. Why was the construct of research being privileged? The filmmakers defended the claim to research on the grounds that there was inquiry, on the grounds that art spoke in languages that were best discussed through art, and on the grounds that research was privileged in their institutions. Then a respected professor of fine arts put forward more direct criticism. Research, he argued, needed to make explicit the decisions that were made in identifying and reporting findings so that these would be accessible for peer review. Neither film, he said, did so. Defenses from the audience were heated. Then another senior art educator argued that art itself could not just be self-referential: it had to open a space for others to enter. The debate continued in corridors long after the session ended.

That the criticisms were unrelenting seemed an indication of how much was at stake. The space held by arts-based research within the European academic congregation is still somewhat fragile. The arts-based network was formed because of advocates’ passionate belief in the extended possibilities that arts-based methods offer, and this year again it expressed its eagerness to receive contributions in film and other art media as well as PowerPoint and verbal presentations. However, the network also saw itself as a custodian of rigor.

The participants in the session re-performed an argument that lingers at the edges of arts-based research. At the far ends of the spectrum, art and research are readily recognizable, and when art is borrowed as a tool in research, the epistemological and methodological assumptions are explicable. But the ground is more slippery when art and research intersect more deeply. When is the inquiry embedded within art, and when does it become research? Is it useful to attempt demarcations? What is lost from art or from research if demarcations are not attempted? The questions, as well as possible answers, are, as Eisner suggested, political as well as philosophical and methodological.

The doing of research and its publication have become big academic business. Universities around the world are required to report their academics’ research outputs to gain funding. My university, for example, is subject to a six-yearly round of assessment of research performance, based primarily on published and on funded research outputs. Each academic’s outputs are categorized and ranked, and the university itself is ranked and funded, in comparison with the other universities in the country. There is pressure on each academic to maximize research publications, even at the cost, it often seems, of other important academic activities, such as teaching. The competitive means of ranking also increases contestations about what is real research, serving both as a stimulus for positioning differing forms of inquiry as research and as a guarded gateway that permits some entries and denies others. Politicians and policymakers, in their turn, favor and fund research that can provide them with quotable numbers or clear-cut conclusions. Arts-based research still battles for a place within this politico-academic ground, although there appears to be growing acceptance of the use of art tools as means to elicit data.

Site for Possibilities—and Questions

The politics of research do matter, but for researchers who are committed to doing useful research, there are other factors to consider when choosing research approaches. These include the potentialities of the tools, the matter that is to be investigated, and the skills and practice preferences of the researcher.

The emergence and development of processes of arts-based research are grounded in belief that there are many ways of knowing oneself and the world, and these include emotions and intuitive perceptions as well as intellectual cognition. The epistemology of arts-based research is based on understandings that color, space, sound, movement, facial expression, vocal tone, and metaphor are as important in expressing and understanding knowledge as the lexical meanings of words. It is based on understandings that symbols, signs, and patterns are powerful means of communication, and that they are culturally and contextually shaped and interpreted. Arts-based research processes tolerate, even sometimes celebrate, ambiguity and ambivalence. They may also afford license to manipulate emotions to evoke empathy or direct social action.

The use of arts-based processes for eliciting participants’ responses considerably increases researchers’ repertoire for engaging participants and for providing them with means of expression that allow them to access feelings and perceptions that they might not initially be able to put into words as well as giving them time and strategies for considering their responses. The use of arts-based processes for analysis and representation allow opportunities for multidimensional, sensory, and often communal explorations of the meaning of what has been researched. It also presents new challenges to receivers of research who need to navigate their way not only through the overt ambiguities and subjective expression, but also through the invisible layers of affect that are embedded in art processes.

The challenges signal continuing areas of discussion, and perhaps work, for both arts-based researchers and for the wider research community. Does the use of art in representation of research findings move beyond the scope of critical peer review? Or do we rather need to develop new languages and strategies for such review? Do we need critical and recursive debate about when art becomes research and when it does not? Are the ambiguities and cognitive persuasions that are inherent in arts-based representations simply other, and useful, epistemological stances? Does the concept of research lose its meaning if it is stretched too far? Does art, which already has a useful role in interpreting and even shaping society, need to carve out its position as research? Does the entry of arts-based research into the arena of research call for revisions to the way we consider ethics? How do the procedures of institutional ethics committees need to be adapted to accommodate the engagement of the human body as well as the emergent design and ambiguities of the arts-based research processes? What are the more complex responsibilities of arts-based researchers toward their participants, particularly in terms of cultural protocols, reciprocity of gains, and the manipulation of emotions and cognition through visually or dramatically powerful presentations?

The already existing and expanding contribution of arts-based researchers argues vigorously for the place of arts processes in our congregations of research discussion and production. Quite simply, the arts address aspects of being human that are not sufficiently addressed by other methodologies. They are needed in our repertoire of tools for understanding people and the world. However, like other research approaches, they bring new challenges that need to be recognized and debated.

Further Reading

• Belliveau, G. (2015). Research-based theatre and a/r/tography: Exploring arts-based educational research methodologies . p-e-r-f-o-r-m-a-n-c-e , 2 (1–2).
• Bharucha, R. (1993). Theatre and the world: Performance and the politics of culture . London, U.K.: Routledge.
• Boal, A. (1979). Theatre of the oppressed . London, U.K.: Pluto Press.
• Brandt, W. S. , & Harcourt, M. (1994). Verbatim . Wellington: Victoria University Press.
• Conrad, D. (2012). Athabasca’s going unmanned . Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.
• Eisner, E. (2002). The arts and the creation of mind . New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
• Greenwood, J. (2012). Arts-based research: Weaving magic and meaning . International Journal of Education & the Arts 13 (Interlude 1).
• Greenwood, J. (2016). The limits of language: A case study of an arts-based research exploration . New Zealand Journal of Research in Performing Arts and Education: Nga Mahi a Rehua , 6 , 88–100.
• Irwin, R. (2013). Becoming/tography. Studies in Art Education , 54 (1), 198–215.
• Leavy, P. (Ed.). (2017). Handbook of arts-based research . New York, NY: Guilford Press.
• Margolis, E. , & Pauwels, L. (Eds.). (2011). The SAGE handbook of visual research methods . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
• O’Brien, A. , & Donelan, K. (2008). Creative interventions for marginalised youth: The Risky Business project . Monograph 6. City East, Queensland: Drama Australia.
• Saldaña, J. (2008). Ethnodrama and ethnotheatre. In J. Knowles & A. Cole (Eds.), Handbook of arts in qualitative research (pp. 195–207). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
• Wang, C. , & Burns, M. (1997). Photovoice: Concept, methodology, and use for participatory needs assessment. Health Education & Behavior , 24 (3), 369–387.
• Altheide, D. , & Johnson, J. (2011). Reflections on interpretive adequacy in qualitative research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (4th ed., pp. 581–594). London, U.K.: SAGE.
• Bagley, C. , & Cancienne, M. (Eds.). (2002). Dancing the data . New York, NY: Peter Lang.
• Barrett T. , & Greenwood, J. (2013). Betwixt sights and sites: A third space for understandings and engagement with visual arts education. International Journal of Arts Education , 7 (3), 57–66.
• Barrett, T.-A. (2014). Re-marking places: An a/r/tography project exploring students’ and teachers’ senses of self, place, and community . (Doctoral thesis). University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
• Brecht, B. (1960). The Caucasian chalk circle . London, U.K.: Methuen.
• Bruner, G. (1990). Acts of meaning . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
• Brydon-Miller, M. , Karl, M. , Maguire, P. , Noffke, S. , & Sabhlok, A. (2011). Jazz and the banyan tree: Roots and riffs on participatory action research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (4th ed., pp. 387–400). London, U.K.: SAGE.
• Burton, B. , Lepp, M. , Morrison, M. , & O’Toole, J. (2015). Acting to manage conflict and bullying through evidence-based strategies . London, U.K.: Springer.
• Cremin, H. , Mason, C. , & Busher, H. (2011). Problematising pupil voice using visual methods: Findings from a study of engaged and disaffected pupils in an urban secondary school. British Education Research Journal , 33 (4), 585–603.
• Denzin, N. , & Lincoln, Y. (Eds.). (2011). The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (4th ed.). London, U.K.: SAGE.
• Diss, K. (2017). Stolen Generation picture collection in WA looking for new home . ABC News.
• Eisner, E. (1998). The enlightened eye: Qualitative inquiry and the enhancement of educational practice . Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
• Ellingson, L. (2011). Analysis and representation across the curriculum. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (4th ed., pp. 595–610). London, U.K.: SAGE.
• Ellis, C. (2004). The ethnographic I: A methodological novel about autoethnography . Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira.
• Finley, S. (2005). Arts-based inquiry: Performing revolutionary pedagogy. In N. K. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 681–694). London, U.K.: SAGE.
• Freire, P. (1970). Cultural action for freedom . Cambridge, MA: Harvard Educational Review.
• Freire, P. (1972). Pedagogy of the oppressed ( M. B. Ramos , Trans.). Middlesex, U.K.: Penguin Education.
• Gallagher, K. (2014). Why theatre matters: Urban youth, engagement and a pedagogy of the real . Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press.
• Gardiner, R. (2015). Troubling method. In Gender, authenticity, and leadership (pp. 108–129). London, U.K.: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Gauntlett, D. (2007). Creative explorations: New approaches to identities and audiences . New York, NY: Routledge.
• Gray, R. , & Sinding, C. (2002). Standing ovation: Performing social science research about cancer . Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.
• Greenwood, J. (1995). Broadwood: Na wai te reo? Performance. Northland Youth Theatre. Whangarei, New Zealand.
• Greenwood, J. (2005). Journeying into the third space: A study of how theatre can be used to interpret the space between cultures. Youth Theatre Journal , 19 , 1–16.
• Greenwood J. (2011). Aesthetic learning and learning through the aesthetic. In S. Schonmann (Ed.), Key concepts in theatre/drama education (pp. 47–52). Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.
• Guba, E. (1996). What happened to me on the road to Damascus. In L. Heshuius & K. Ballard (Eds.), From positivism to interpretivism and beyond: Tales of transformation in educational and social research (pp. 43–49). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
• Halperin, D. (2003). The normalization of queer theory. Journal of Homosexuality , 45 (2–4), 339–343.
• Hamera, J. (2011). Performance ethnography. In N. K. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (4th ed., pp. 317–329). London, U.K.: SAGE.
• Irwin, R. (2013). Becoming a/r/tography. Studies in Art Education , 54 (1), 198–215.
• Irwin, R. , Beer, R. , Springgay, S. , Grauer, K. , Xiong, G. , & Bickel, B. (2006). The rhizomatic relations of a/r/tography . Studies in Art Education , 48 (1), 70–88.
• Lutton, J. (2016). In the realms of fantasy: Finding new ways to tell our stories . New Zealand Journal of Research in Performing Arts and Education: Nga Mahi a Rehua , 6 , 27–37.
• Mienczakowski, J. (1995). The theater of ethnography: The reconstruction of ethnography into theater with emancipatory potential. Qualitative Inquiry , 1 (3), 360–375.
• Mita, M. (2001). Hotere . Documentary film. Christchurch, New Zealand: Paradise Films.
• Mohd Nawi, A. (2014). Applied drama in English language learning (Doctoral thesis). University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
• Morris, C. (Ed).(2011). Remembering the AIDS quilt . East Lansing: Michigan State University Press.
• Mullens, M. , & Wills, R. (2016). Re-storying disability through the arts: Providing counterpoint to mainstream narratives. New Zealand Journal of Research in Performing Arts and Education: Nga Mahi a Rehua , 6 , 5–16.
• Neilson, A. (2008). Disrupting privilege, identity, and meaning: A reflexive dance of environmental education . Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense.
• O’Donoghue, D. (2011). Doing and disseminating visual research: Visual arts-based approaches. In E. Margolis & L. Pauwels (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of visual research methods (pp. 638–650). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
• Okagbue, O. (2002). A drama of their lives: Theatre‐for‐development in Africa, Contemporary Theatre Review , 12 (1–2), 79–92.
• Owen, N. (2009). Closing schools for the future . Paper presented at the International Conference on Educational Research for Development, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, May 13–15.
• Picasso, P. (1937). Guernica . Painting. Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid, Spain.
• Preissle, J. (2011). Qualitative futures: Where we might go from where we’ve been. In N. K. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (4th ed., pp. 685–698). London, U.K.: SAGE.
• Prosser, J. (2011). Visual methodology: Towards a more seeing research. In N. K. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (4th ed., pp. 479–495). London, U.K.: SAGE.
• Richardson, L. (1994). Writing, a method of inquiry. In N. K. Denzin & Y. Lincoln (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed., pp. 516–529). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
• Riessman, C. (2008). Narrative methods for the human sciences . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
• Rittel, H. , & Webber, M. (1973). Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy Sciences , 4 , 155–159.
• Saldaña, J. (2008). Ethnodrama and ethnotheatre. In J. Knowles & A. Cole (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of arts in qualitative research (pp. 195–207). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
• Smith, L. (2014). Social justice, transformation, and indigenous methodologies. In R. E. Rinehart , K. Barbour , & C. Pope (Eds.), Ethnographic worldviews: Transformations and social justice (pp. 15–20). London, U.K.: Springer.
• Smithner, N. (2010). The women’s project: A director’s perspective on creating a performance collage. ArtsPraxis , 2 , 12–21.
• Springgay, S. , Irwin, R. , & Kind, S. (2005). A/r/tography as living inquiry through art and text. Qualitative Inquiry , 11 (6), 897–912.
• St. Pierre, E. (2004). Refusing alternative: A science of contestation. Qualitative Inquiry , 10 (1), 130–139.
• Stanley, F. (2014). Re-framing traditional arts: Creative process and culturally responsive learning (Doctoral thesis). University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
• Sullivan, G. (2010). Art practice as research: Inquiry in visual arts (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks CA: SAGE.
• Wang, C. , & Burns, M. (1997). Photovoice: Concept, methodology, and use for participatory needs assessment. Health, Education, & Behaviour , 24 (3), 369–387.
• White, D. (2013). Inside looking out: Miranda Harcourt on “Verbatim” and “Portraits” . The Pantograph Punch .
• Yardlie, A. , & Langley, K. (1995). Unfolding: The story of the Australian and New Zealand AIDS quilt projects . Carlton: McPhee Gribble.

Related Articles

• Music Education Research
• Creative Writers as Arts Educators
• A/r/tography
• Intercultural Arts
• Aesthetics and Education

Printed from Oxford Research Encyclopedias, Education. Under the terms of the licence agreement, an individual user may print out a single article for personal use (for details see Privacy Policy and Legal Notice).

date: 04 September 2024

• Cookie Policy
• Privacy Policy
• Legal Notice
• Accessibility
• [109.248.223.228]
• 109.248.223.228

Character limit 500 /500

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Arts-based research approaches to studying mechanisms of change in the creative arts therapies.

• 1 Department of Creative Arts Therapies, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, United States
• 2 Department of Art Education, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, United States
• 3 Mary Pappert School of Music and School of Nursing, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, United States

The purpose of this preliminary qualitative research study is to explore the role and function of multiple dynamic interactive aesthetic and intersubjective phenomena in the creative arts therapies process relative to transformation in perception, behavior, relationship, and well-being. A group of doctoral students and faculty studied these phenomena in an analogous creative arts therapies laboratory context using a method called Intrinsic Arts-Based Research. Intrinsic Arts-Based Research is a systematic study of psychological, emotional, relational, and arts-based phenomena, parallel to those emergent in the creative arts therapies, using individual and collective intrinsic immersive and reflective experience in combination with qualitative and arts-based research methods. Our primary goal was to simulate the creative arts therapies experience in order to identify, document, and describe the complex transformative phenomena that occur at the nexus of arts-based expression, reflection, and relationships in the arts therapies. For the purposes of this paper transformation is defined as “…. a significant reconfiguration of perception and thought resulting in the lessening of psychic restraint and pain, allowing for the emergence of new psychological perspectives that contribute to living a more creative life” ( Gerber et al., 2012 , p. 45). Through a deductive thematic analysis of written accounts of these simulated creative arts therapies experiences by participant/researchers in the laboratory we identified three primary dynamic and interactive broad constructs that together, with more specific modifying themes, might account for and describe change within the creative arts therapies. These broad dynamic interactive themes are: ruptures, resolutions, and transformation; relationship and intersubjectivity; and, arts-based expressive processes. The more specific modifying themes include: dialectical rupture and resolution, relational attunements and ruptures, imaginational flow, transcendence and ruptures, sensory/kinesthetic/embodied ways of knowing, and intersubjective transcendence . We propose that change in the creative arts therapies is driven more by a dynamic system of interactive phenomena the varying combinations of which create conditions for relational attunement, imagination, dialectical tensions and creative resolutions, and the ultimately creative transformation.

Introduction

“ In the experience of art we see a genuine experience… induced by the work which does not leave him who has it unchanged… so we hope to better understand what kind of truth it is that encounters us there” ( Gadamer, 1975/2003 , p. 100).

The purpose of this preliminary qualitative research study is to explore the role and function of multiple dynamic aesthetic and intersubjective phenomena in the creative arts therapies that might be considered mechanisms of change. A group of doctoral students and faculty have been studying these phenomena in an analogous creative arts therapies laboratory context using a method called Intrinsic Arts-Based Research. Intrinsic Arts-Based Research is a systematic study of psychological, emotional, relational and arts-based phenomena using individual and collective intrinsic immersive and reflective experience in combination with qualitative and arts-based research methods. Our primary goal is to simulate the creative arts therapies experience in order to identify, document, and describe the complex transformative phenomena that occur at the nexus of arts-based expression, reflection, and relationships in the arts therapies. For the purposes of this paper transformation is defined as “…. a significant reconfiguration of perception and thought resulting in the lessening of psychic restraint and pain, allowing for the emergence of new psychological perspectives that contribute to living a more creative life” ( Gerber et al., 2012 , p. 45).

Since the beginning of this project 8 years ago, we have continually engaged in an ongoing critical reflection and evaluation of our underlying philosophical assumptions about the nature of reality and knowledge for our creative arts therapies fields. Through the examination of our philosophical assumptions we created and adopted an aesthetic intersubjective paradigm ( Chilton et al., 2015 ). This worldview is predicated upon the philosophical assumptions that our perceptions, relationships, and behavior are conceived and reside in dynamic co-constructed pluralistic intersubjective realities in which an aesthetic epistemic comprises the knowledge and communication. We define aesthetics as pre-verbal sensory-based, embodied perceptual and imaginal knowledge that emerges and acquires meaning in intersecting historical and current intersubjective narratives ( Cooper, 1997 ; Harris-Williams, 2010 ; Brown, 2011 ; Chilton et al., 2015 ). Intersubjectivity is defined as a pre-verbal unconscious phenomenon wherein “jointly constructed narrative… ascribes meaning to experience for which no language previously existed” ( Brown, 2011 , p. 1) and “communication and meaning making between two intrapsychic worlds… results in changes within each member…” ( Brown, 2011 , p. 109). Intersubjectivity emphasizes the shared lived experience in which heightened empathy and attunement allows one to enter the emotional experience of another in order to co-construct a new, re-imagined, and often transformative life narrative ( Stern, 2005 ).

These ontological and epistemic foundations of the creative arts therapies represent the archeology of the most profound human emotional and relational constructs essential to understanding the nuances and complexities of the human experience. Implicit in the creative arts therapies worldview is that aesthetic intersubjective ways of being and knowing exist on the periphery of consciousness inaccessible through traditional investigative methods or verbal discourse. In creative arts therapies practice we use our arts forms to elicit the expression of these most profound experiences, construct personal narratives, and enhance self-awareness within a carefully constructed and emotionally held relationship; while in research, we use arts-based methods for purposes of systematic inquiry into creative arts therapies phenomena.

Based upon our adopted worldview and our objectives to study transformative processes in the creative arts therapies, we selected a comparable arts-based research philosophical and methodological approach to investigate these complex aesthetic intersubjective human phenomena. The arts-based research approach we adopted is one in which the arts are used as the primary method of systematic investigation and analysis throughout the research process ( Hervey, 2000 ; McNiff, 2008 ; Kossak, 2012 ; Viega, 2016 ) “…as a primary way of understanding and examining experience…” ( McNiff, 2008 , p. 29) in the study of the multi-dimensional psychological and socio-cultural human condition ( Gerber and Myers-Coffman, 2017 ). Furthermore, Barone and Eisner (2012) assert that “[arts] based research is an effort to extend beyond the limiting constraints of discursive communication in order to express meanings that otherwise would be ineffable” (1).

To implement our arts-based research study of the therapeutic and transformational phenomena in the creative arts therapies we developed a creative arts therapies laboratory in which a group of doctoral students and faculty simulated the creative arts therapies and studied the parallel individual and collective arts-based intersubjective processes. We created and used what we call an intrinsic arts-based research method ( Hagman, 2005 ; Levine, 2005 ; Gerber et al., 2012 ; Chilton et al., 2015 ; Gerber and Scotti, 2017 ). Within the intrinsic arts-based research approach, we used ourselves as participant/researchers to study arts-based relational phenomena as they emerge organically within the intersubjective context paralleling the creative arts therapies process. As participant/researchers, we navigated between the immersive arts-based intersubjective process and reflective analytic procedures documenting our experiences through arts-based expressions, reflective journaling, group discussions, qualitative and arts-based data analysis. The results of our inquiries were analyzed, synthesized, and documented in culminating textual and arts-based projects at the conclusion of each academic term with a retrospective summative analysis at the end of the year.

This article represents a preliminary qualitative analysis of a sampling of these retrospective culminating projects written by doctoral student participant/researchers over the past 8 years who sought to answer the question: “What are the factors that contribute to therapeutic mechanisms, psychological understanding, meaning making, and transformation within the intersubjective arts therapies process?” in this creative arts therapies laboratory course ( Gerber et al., 2012 ; Gerber and Scotti, 2017 ).

In this preliminary phase of the project we have randomly selected eight retrospective de-identified study records representing student culminating projects from the creative arts therapies laboratory course and adopted a deductive or theoretical thematic analytic approach ( Braun and Clarke, 2006 ) to study patterns of evidence relative to transformative experiences. We selected this approach for the explicit purposes of developing and evaluating a coding system based upon exogenous research and theory about transformative phenomena to compare to the heuristic data generated from our intrinsic arts-based and qualitative investigations. Our aim was to determine how our emergent intrinsic phenomena aligned with extrinsic empirical mechanisms of transformation to further understand what creative arts therapies processes contribute to change. To identify deductive thematic concepts for our study, we conducted a review of the literature focused on the definitions of mechanisms of change in general, and mechanisms of change in psychotherapy and the creative arts therapies.

In contemporary scientific research, particularly within the domains of medicine and the physical sciences, mechanisms of change are defined as causal and measurable variables that statistically account for the relationship between a particular therapeutic intervention and outcome ( Kazdin, 2007 ). Kazdin and Nock (2003) stated that mechanisms of change not only represent the causal relationship but also “reflect the processes through which therapeutic change occurs” or “those processes or events that lead to and cause therapeutic change” (1117). According to Kazdin (2007) mechanisms are evaluated based upon principles of association, plausibility, consistency, experimental manipulation, timeline, and gradient ( Kazdin, 2007 ). Petrik and Cronin (2014 , p. 284) resonate with this definition but add that in psychotherapy mechanisms are the “theory driven reason that change occurs in therapy or the how or why of the therapeutic change.” They add, in addressing mechanisms of change in psychotherapy, that the mechanisms inhabit the dynamic interaction between technique, client-therapist processes, and outcomes.

Mechanisms are interconnected with moderators, which are pre-existing and co-existing conditions, and mediators, which are other intervening variables that influence the causal mechanistic effect ( Kazdin and Nock, 2003 ; Johansson and HØglend, 2007 ; Kazdin, 2007 ). A moderator is considered to be a “pre-treatment variable” that relates to “for whom and under what conditions the effects will occur” ( Johansson and HØglend, 2007 , p. 2) such as gender, illness severity, genetic pre-dispositions, family, medical and psychological history, as well as social constructs such community and culture ( Kazdin and Nock, 2003 , p. 1118; Johansson and HØglend, 2007 ). A mediator is an “intervening variable” ( Kazdin, 2007 , p. 3) that represents processes occurring within the individual such as “abilities, functioning, or capacities” and statistically “accounts for the relation between treatment and outcome” ( Johansson and HØglend, 2007 , p. 2; Kazdin, 2007 ). Mediating variables occupy differing “temporal and causal positions” (p. 2) as well as the “mode of operation (direct or indirect)” ( Kazdin and Nock, 2003 , p. 1118) all of which require consideration, measurement, and correlation with the outcomes. In contrast to the physical sciences, the numerous idiosyncratic variables and intangible dynamic processes in psychotherapy make it challenging and perhaps counterproductive to isolate singular cause and effect relationship between process and outcome ( Hayes et al., 2007 ; Petrik and Cronin, 2014 ).

In reviewing what are considered to be mechanisms of change within the psychotherapy literature there is general agreement that aspects of the therapeutic relationship, elements of self-expression, increased levels of consciousness and memory, dialectical tensions, destabilization, ruptures and resolutions, reconfigured and re-storied self-narratives, and self-reflection act as interactive agents of change ( Ogden, 1992 ; Knill, 2005 ; Hayes et al., 2007 ; Israelstam, 2007 ; Zittoun, 2011 ; Caddy et al., 2012 ; Forster et al., 2014 ; Van Lith, 2015 ; Haas-Cohen and Clyde Findlay, 2015 ; Lane et al., 2015 ; Czamanski-Cohen and Weihs, 2016 ). Additionally, there are numerous theories that identify multiple neurological, psychological, cultural, social, temporal, and intersubjective factors that moderate and mediate the transformation of thought, perception, emotion, and behavior in psychotherapy within and between these identified mechanisms ( Bollas, 2002 ; Hayes et al., 2007 ; Israelstam, 2007 ; Harris-Williams, 2010 ; Brown, 2011 ; Zittoun, 2011 ; Forster et al., 2014 ; Haas-Cohen and Clyde Findlay, 2015 ; Czamanski-Cohen and Weihs, 2016 ).

The research in the creative arts therapies related to mechanisms of change is limited in scope and methodology although there are some formative related to mechanisms or phenomena of change. These preliminary theories, in many cases, intersect with those of psychotherapy, suggesting that change occurs within an emotionally attuned therapeutic relationship in which individuals can express themselves through the arts, access and revive memories through sensory and embodied knowledge, gain a sense of safety and relief from tension, reflect and learn about themselves through the therapist/client/arts triadic dialog, progress incrementally through developmental stages, transcend their mental suffering, and enhance their overall psychological and social well-being ( Hayes et al., 2007 ; Israelstam, 2007 ; Zittoun, 2011 ; Caddy et al., 2012 ; Forster et al., 2014 ; Haas-Cohen and Clyde Findlay, 2015 ; Lane et al., 2015 ; Van Lith, 2015 ; Czamanski-Cohen and Weihs, 2016 ). Additionally, self-reflection, enhanced levels of consciousness, the necessity for tension, rupture and resolution within a “dialectically attuned” ( Israelstam, 2007 ) therapeutic relationship and the resultant re-imagining and re-creation of personal narratives are all constructs that intersect with the emergent mechanisms of change in the creative arts therapies.

Although creative arts therapies processes associated with transformation may be congruent with those of psychotherapy, differences may be noted in the primacy and value assigned to certain transformational processes associated with the arts-based relational epistemic. For instance in the creative arts therapies the sensory/embodied experiences and relational attunement, the transcendent qualities of imagination and creativity, the reenactment of relational histories within the therapeutic relationship, and the communicative, dialogic, and metaphoric qualities of the arts may assume primacy ( Patterson et al., 2011 ; Gerber et al., 2012 ; Haas-Cohen and Clyde Findlay, 2015 ; Van Lith, 2015 ; Czamanski-Cohen and Weihs, 2016 ).

The literature reviewed herein reflects promising emergent trends in identifying mechanisms of change in psychotherapy and the creative arts therapies, however, additional exploration is required to advance our knowledge and establish an epistemically sound evidence base for assessing change as it exists and operates specifically within the creative arts therapies. In this paper we aim to add to the emerging bodies of knowledge about proposed and emergent mechanisms and phenomena of change in the creative arts therapies.

Materials and Methods

The methods for this project included data generation and data analysis phases. These phases included the generation of the records reviewed for the study, the selection of the retrospective study records for coding and analysis, the human subjects ethical institutional board review and approval, the development of the deductive coding system, the organization, coding and categorization of the data, inter-coder alignment, analysis and interpretation, the identification of the primary and modifying themes, synthesis, and presentation of the findings.

In the first part of this section we describe the laboratory context and methods from which the textual data in the study records were generated and, in the second section we present the procedures for our deductive and interpretive coding and thematic analysis of the retrospective data.

Data Generation

The first phase of our investigation was designed to explore questions related to the nature of therapeutic processes and phenomena of change in the creative arts therapies. To address these questions, we developed a creative arts therapies laboratory course designed specifically to simulate and study arts-based, expressive, and intersubjective phenomena parallel to those in the creative arts therapies. The laboratory course ran for four academic quarters or 1 year over a period of 8 years during which we engaged doctoral students in the Ph.D. in Creative Arts Therapies program, from the disciplines of art therapy, dance/movement therapy, and music therapy, as participant/researchers. We used a method called Intrinsic Arts-Based Research. Intrinsic Arts-based Research originates from a psychoanalytic perspective in which the authentic intra- and inter-psychic experiences and data emerge organically through free associative processes within a relational context. In this method, we used and documented our individual and collective intrinsic aesthetic intersubjective experiences as participant/researchers in order to identify and describe the arts-based intersubjective processes that contribute to self/other awareness and narratives, metaphoric expression, insight, and transformation in the creative arts therapies.

The structure of the laboratory experience included a 30-min check-in about afterthoughts and remote reflections from the previous class and discussion of the assigned readings. The second part of the class was 1 h of undirected arts-based exploration in which the students became the participants immersed in all aspects of the intrinsic intersubjective arts-based experience. The goal was to study the authentic experience of the participants as they transitioned in and out of the intersubjective arts-space, experienced the challenges of creating arts-based responses within the intersubjective space. Following this 1 h of authentic intersubjective arts-based exploration, students were asked to step out of their participant role and step into a researcher role devoting 30 min to reflecting upon and documenting their arts-based intersubjective experiences in their journal. Finally, the last portion of the laboratory is a discussion sharing the individual and collective arts-based and intersubjective experiences with the group. Our investigation was designed to answer the following question:

“What are the factors that contribute to therapeutic mechanisms, psychological understanding, meaning making, and transformation within the intersubjective arts therapies process?”

From this simulated creative arts therapies experience students generated multiple types of data which included the arts-based immersive responses, reflective journal entries, group discussions, iterative arts-based reflective responses, and relevant literature. At critical points in the laboratory courses the students would organize, analyze and synthesize these multiple data types through a hybrid of thematic qualitative and arts-based approaches. The results of these analyses were written, arts-based, and performative culminating projects representing the formative findings from each course and summative findings from cumulative courses. These culminating projects became the retrospective records for this research project used to study the mechanisms of transformation.

Participants

In this research project the “participants” were eight de-identified study records from four students who participated in the laboratory course. The study records were the culminating written and arts based projects representing an analysis and synthesis of the intrinsic arts-based, observational, and reflective data collected by the student participant/researchers at the conclusion of each academic quarter in the laboratory course. Although the course has been in existence for 8 years, the records studied were selected for this study from the year 2012–2016 and represented three different student cohorts. The years from 2012 to 2016 were selected in order to include papers written only by students who had completed the course to avoid potential conflicts related to study participation and course evaluation. The laboratory course was conducted over a period of four academic quarters or 10 months per year, thus, in order to explore the progression of thematic trends over time, we selected one paper from the introductory course and one from the advanced course from each student in each cohort. These records were selected randomly, de-identified, given a participant identification number to replace the name, and paired by course and student. This initial sampling de-identification and pairing was conducted solely by the course instructor/primary author to protect the confidentiality of the students during analysis and publication. The study records and their content were used as primarily aggregate data for thematic analysis with the exception of exemplary de-identified excerpts used to amplify the meaning of the thematic results.

We complied with all human subjects ethical guidelines and had the study approved by the Drexel University Institutional Review Board which is the official human subjects research ethics body in the university. In compliance with the human subjects’ ethical guidelines and with respect for the students and graduates of the program who might have records in the project we notified them about the intention of the investigators to use de-identified aggregate and excerpted data from the records in the study and gave them the opportunity to withdraw their records or review their own records for identifiers. One complication with the de-identification, is that the arts-based investigative responses, central to the intrinsic arts-based research process and the culminating projects, had to be excluded, but descriptions of these processes are still very present in the textual data.

Data Organization and Coding

The coding system is a deductive or theoretical qualitative research approach designed to arrive at the identification of patterns of evidence and predominant themes relevant to our topic and research questions. The “ ‘theoretical’ thematic analysis would tend to be driven by the researcher’s theoretical or analytic interest in the area, and is thus more explicitly analyst driven” ( Braun and Clarke, 2006 , p. 84).

We intentionally selected this deductive method for our data analysis to juxtapose and align the extrinsic empirical and theoretical data alongside the inductive data generated in the intrinsic arts based research phase ( Braun and Clarke, 2006 ). Selecting and aligning these two data types and sources was a strategic decision designed to systematically compare, contrast, and integrate the intrinsic and extrinsic perspectives related to transformation for purposes of credibility and authenticity.

To develop the deductive coding system, we conducted a search of the current psychotherapy and creative arts therapies literature from which we identified and extracted the references to mechanisms or phenomena of change and transformation most frequently and consensually reported. We also included emergent evidence based constructs from the course objectives and processes. From these phenomena, we constructed our a priori parent coding categories. The a prior i parent coding categories were then further modified and defined by child codes that contributed to identifying and modifying specific aspects or operations of the parent codes. Our a priori coding categories were organized into the following parent categories for the initial deductive thematic analysis: arts making processes and arts-based research, expression and communication, reflection and awareness, relationships, ruptures, intersubjectivity, and transformation. The child codes and their relationship to their parent codes are presented in Table 1 . A coding book including categories and definitions for parent and child codes was developed provided for the coders to enhance inter-coder alignment.

TABLE 1. A priori parent and child coding categories.

Defining Coding Categories

The family of parent and child codes were defined not only to identify current trends in the literature, but also to increase inter-coder alignment across the three coders. Each parent code category housed modifying child categories that contributed to the defining properties of the parent category. The child categories were explicitly used in the actual coding process with implicit connections to the parent categories as illustrated in Table 1 . Throughout the initial coding process it became apparent, as is the case with most qualitative research coding and analysis, that certain a priori codes were assigned more frequently to excerpts in the textual data while others were not used frequently or at all. The most frequently used and meaningful codes emerged as our preliminary thematic results and are highlighted in Table 1 in bold italics.

Parent Categories

The parent code definitions are included below but space restrictions prohibit the definitions of the child codes here.

Expression/Communication

Methods and modes by which thoughts are made visible or audible within an intersubjective context. Examples might be a sensations, embodiment, and emotions expressed through arts, talking, writing, enacting and discussion that releases tension enhances functionality ( Zittoun, 2011 ; Van Lith, 2015 ; Czamanski-Cohen and Weihs, 2016 ).

Art Making Processes

The process of letting meaning emerge through a dynamic relationship between participants and the art media representing historical and current relational phenomena. Creative activity of making thoughts visible through arts process stimulates complex mind/body interactions contributing to the growth of new neural networks ( Zittoun, 2011 ; Caddy et al., 2012 ; Haas-Cohen and Clyde Findlay, 2015 ; Czamanski-Cohen and Weihs, 2016 ).

Reflection and Awareness

Making thoughts visible and learning how to think about and re-think about them through mentalization ( Forster et al., 2014 ) and/or visualization within the presence of another ( Zittoun, 2011 ; Forster et al., 2014 ). Surrendering to the unconscious, emergent thoughts, sensations, emotions engaging in implicit to explicit processing ( Czamanski-Cohen and Weihs, 2016 ). Creative reflection in the potential space leading to new knowledge and transformation through engagement with and resolution of existential dialectical tensions ( Bollas, 2002 ; Israelstam, 2007 ).

Relationship

An attentive and attuned relational alliance, merging past and present intersubjective narratives, constructed within an emotionally safe space for purposes of facilitating self-expression, self-exploration, reflection, and change. The therapeutic alliance makes room for free talking pre-verbal cognitions, attunement and the emotional space to hold dialectical tensions in the potential space. The potential space allows the individual to: (1) “hear from “his/her “own unconscious”; (2) engage in creative dialectical discourse between me and not-me: and, (3) make the “invisible psychic apparatus of the mind become visible and new narratives to emerge” ( Symington, 1996 ; Bollas, 2002 , p. 10; Knill, 2005 ; Israelstam, 2007 ; Kazdin, 2007 ; Brown, 2011 ; Zittoun, 2011 ; Forster et al., 2014 ).

Intersubjectivity

Joining with others in the unconscious or conscious co-creation of personal and collective narratives. The co-creation of the group narrative based on the sensory, kinesthetic, emotional, embodied and symbolic forms of knowledge. Awareness and relevance of the presence of others, both peers and leaders, and how this awareness informs and appears in the arts process and product ( Knill, 2005 ; Stern, 2005 ; Brown, 2011 ; Zittoun, 2011 ; Schwartz, 2012 ; Czamanski-Cohen and Weihs, 2016 ).

Ruptures include mind/body interactions and ways of thinking that interrupt or rupture repetition compulsion, ritual, beliefs, or routine changing meaning and creating new neural pathways ( Hayes et al., 2007 ; Israelstam, 2007 ; Zittoun, 2011 ; Forster et al., 2014 ; Czamanski-Cohen and Weihs, 2016 ).

Transformation

“A significant reconfiguration of perception and thought resulting in the lessening of psychic restraint and pain allowing for the emergence of new psychological perspectives that contribute to living a more creative life” ( Gerber et al., 2012 , p. 45). Arousal of memories, re-activation of emotions, levels of consciousness resulting in new learning and insight ( Hayes et al., 2007 ; Israelstam, 2007 ; Zittoun, 2011 ; Van Lith, 2015 ; Lane et al., 2015 ; Czamanski-Cohen and Weihs, 2016 ).

Coders and Inter-Coder Alignment

The coders included one alumnus and one current PhD Candidate in addition to the laboratory course instructor. All students and alumni who had participated in and completed the laboratory course were invited to participate in the project. Each student coder had taken the course at a different time and with a different cohort while the instructor had been present for all of the courses. As a result each coder brought a different perspective based upon his/her experiences and roles as participant/researcher in the course factoring into and enriching the assignation and interpretation of the codes. We coded in pairs for each record in attempts to contribute to the credibility of the results by including multiple perspectives and member checks.

Based upon these multiple perspectives we recognized the need to evaluate the inter-coder alignment. Evaluation of the inter-coder alignment occurred in two ways. First, the coders met periodically throughout the coding process to discuss the inter-coder convergences and divergences of the code assignations. Second, we used the analytic functions of the Dedoose cross-platform application which allowed us to view the distribution, frequency, and co-occurrence of codes across coders.

Coding Procedures and Data Analysis

Our procedure for coding and analyzing the data from the eight study records included: (a) importing the a priori codes, definitions, and written texts into a cross-platform application called Dedoose; (b) employing the services of three coders; (c) immersion in the textual data and code assignation process; (d) inter-coder alignment checks; (e) analysis for thematic predominance and “keyness”; (f) interpretation and synthesis ( Braun and Clarke, 2006 ). Initially, we used a semantic method to code excerpts for literal content based upon the definitions for the a priori parent and child categories. “With a semantic approach, the themes are identified within the explicit or surface meanings of the data, and the analyst is not looking for anything beyond what a participant has said or what has been written” ( Braun and Clarke, 2006 , p. 84).

During the semantic analysis we identified the emergence of predominant categorical patterns of evidence from the a priori parent and child categories. We used Dedoose to explore the patterns of evidence and most frequently coded categories. The most frequently coded categories (Table 2 ) were then organized and aggregated with their a priori definitions. We then reviewed and organized the textual excerpts, explored the thematic content of the excerpts, examined co-occurrences of codes and inter-coder alignment, and then re-organized, revised, and collapsed the categories into new but related categories which became or data sets. These data sets were created according to the frequency and contextual predominance, co-occurrences, and textual meaning, resulting re-interpreted and integrated categories representing a merger of the extrinsic and intrinsic data.

TABLE 2. Preliminary data sets with a priori definitions.

From this point, it was natural to move from a semantic analysis into more interpretive work by exploring the latent content ( Braun and Clarke, 2006 ). Within this final interpretive phase we first re-named these new integrated data sets and their meanings which became the three primary themes and the related modifying and defining themes. Then we focused on exploring the relationship between the primary and modifying themes relative to the phenomenon of transformation. We used some arts-based methods (Figure 4 ) and diagrams (Figures 1 – 3 ) for the purposes of conceptualization, visualization, interpretation, and thematic synthesis. In exploring the relationships within and between the thematic constructs, we created dynamic interactive systems of change comprised of these transformative thematic phenomena (Figures 1 – 3 ).

FIGURE 1. Kinetic mobile system for dynamic change.

FIGURE 2. Figure/ground system for dynamic change.

FIGURE 3. Orbital system for dynamic change.

FIGURE 4. Art-based thematic initial conceptualization—dialectical rupture and resolution. Original in color. Created by primary author.

The results of our preliminary analysis yielded the identification of three primary themes modified and defined by interactive sub-themes related to transformational phenomena in the creative arts therapies. In this section we present the themes, define and describe each theme, present exemplars to amplify the meaning, and provide a summary synthesis of the thematic results as related to our research questions. As we present these results we re-emphasize the limitations of this analysis. The limitations became more apparent as we embarked on this project and realized that the scope, depth and breadth of our data might extend beyond the time and space constraints for this article. Our assessment of the data at this point in our analysis is that they are extremely rich and meaningful holding multiple implications for further research, theory building, and practice therefore requiring additional analysis.

Within those limitations, we identified several preliminary thematic patterns of evidence that were distributed throughout and across five of the original a prior i parent categories of arts-making processes and arts-based research, relationship, ruptures, intersubjectivity, and transformation . Within those predominant parent categories, the child categories or sub-themes that emerged included medium, mode and method, imagination flow and transcendence, intersubjective transcendence, sensory, kinesthetic embodied knowing, attunement/alignment, tension and dialectics, imaginal ruptures, relational ruptures, and dialectical rupture and resolution. These categories achieved primacy through both the frequency of occurrence and the relevant meaning or “keyness” to the inquiry. The “…‘keyness’ of a theme is not necessarily dependent on quantifiable measures, but rather on whether it captures something important in relation to the overall research question” ( Braun and Clarke, 2006 , p. 82).

The key categories were aligned with the original definitions (Table 2 ) and then these categories and their excerpts, selected across participants based upon their “keyness” to the inquiry, were analyzed for intersecting meanings, re-arranged and collapsed into data sets to form new integrated categories. These new integrated categories and their meanings were re-organized, collapsed, and rearranged to become the three primary themes and the related modifying and defining themes.

Primary Themes and Modifying Sub-Themes

Through our analysis we identified the following primary thematic phenomena along with their modifying and defining thematic constructs.

(1) Rupture, Resolution, and Transformation: Dialectical Rupture and Resolution, Relational Ruptures and Imaginational Ruptures;

(2) Relationship and Intersubjectivity: Relational Attunement, Dialectical tensions, Intersubjective transcendence

(3) Arts-based expression: Imaginational Flow/transcendence, sensory/kinesthetic/embodied levels of knowing, and intersubjective transcendence, medium mode and method.

Ruptures, Resolutions, and Transformation

Transformation is a major category and central focus for this study. The definition for transformation was the arousal of memories, re-activation of emotions, and levels of consciousness that mediate the new learning and insight through dialectical rupture and resolution ( Hayes et al., 2007 ; Israelstam, 2007 ; Zittoun, 2011 ; Lane et al., 2015 ; Van Lith, 2015 ; Czamanski-Cohen and Weihs, 2016 ). Furthermore transformation includes a “… significant reconfiguration of perception and thought resulting in the lessening of psychic restraint and pain allowing for the emergence of new psychological perspectives that contribute to living a more creative life” ( Gerber et al., 2012 , p. 45). This theme includes the most frequently cited category of dialectical rupture and resolution along with inter-related defining constructs of relational and imaginational ruptures.

Dialectical rupture and resolution was the most frequently coded defining theme describing key transformative actions and moments. This theme increased in the frequency of coding over time during the laboratory course (Table 3 ).

TABLE 3. Progressive thematic coding frequency over time.

Dialectical rupture and resolution is inter-connected to multiple dynamic processes including relational attunement, imaginational flow and transcendence, and intersubjective transcendence and their dialectical counterparts of imaginational and relational ruptures. The dialectic between these relational and imaginational attunements, flow, and ruptures represents contradictions and tensions between the drive for progressive innovation and discovery and the longing for familiar recalcitrance–the known and the unknown. These tensions create the conditions for a system of dynamic change through destabilization and de-construction, reflection, re-construction, and re-stabilization resulting in insight, illumination, psychic growth, and new personal and intersubjective narratives ( Israelstam, 2007 ; Zittoun, 2011 ; Forster et al., 2014 ).

Excerpts dialectical rupture and resolution

Ebbing and Flowing” addresses the natural fluctuations of life. Nothing stays the same – there is a constant flux. In our studio class we became aware of such dichotomies as death and life, distance and closeness, divorce and intimacy, facing a threat and running away from it.

In an attempt to understand my inherent tensions between consonance and dissonance, my ritual of staying in my learned comfort zone and the spontaneity of newness, and my holding onto of the familiar while letting go and growing, I wrote the following musical lyric:

Built up rattled nerves

Lay them flat on the ground, breath the sound in of dissonance

Buzzing flies around your ears

Play beginnings of life, stir the pot, pull the freedom near

It was through this lyrical writing where I helped myself reflect on my tension, embrace the different emotions I was feeling, and come to terms with this tension. I found that through the course, even though this dialectic existed and challenged me, I was more accepting of it as time passed. I understood that this dialectic would become present and the task would simply be adapting around or within it.

However, when we arrive at communal art making, we can face terrors, loss, and trauma and not be broken. We can experience sadness and anger and not fall down. Creating art together allows us to cope with the darkness, make meaning of our experiences, transform our existence, and find hope and peace. Through art we find resilience.

Relational ruptures are inextricably connected to the dynamic between relational attunement and dialectical tensions. The frequency of coding in this category increased over time during the laboratory course (Table 3 ).

Ruptures in the relationship are due to anxiety, fantasies about self/other, internal/external dialogs, and/or the breakdown in the relationship from disappointment and realization ( Knill, 2005 ; Israelstam, 2007 ; Gerber et al., 2012 ; Forster et al., 2014 ). The successful resolution of these ruptures necessarily occurs within an emotionally held or “dialectically attuned” ( Israelstam, 2007 , p. 592) relationship in which creativity is used to re-imagine, explore and resolve the dialectical relational tensions. This process is iterative, hopefully progressive and transformative, but exists along a precarious dialectical edge the navigation of which can lead to either creativity and illumination or destruction and devastation ( Israelstam, 2007 , p. 592).

Excerpts relational rupture

About half way into the class, we were both on the floor, one of my classmates began to tear up and appear visibly upset. At that time I was tending to myself and my own needs, calmly breathing, humming a little melody, and overall in a peaceful state. Her condition aroused an immediate response from me, first one of surprise and helplessness, followed by one to breathe and attune to her. I recognized her stooped position and the passive weight in her body. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a lightness overcame me and my hand approached hers with a playful, non-threatening movement. She responded and we were engaged in a time of short play…

The sunken and hollow body position in my peer (Day 2) confounded me and, while I slowed down my movements and attuned to her, it wasn’t until after everyone had worked their way through sadness that it finally hit me. It was inevitable that it would affect me but the way it did, superficially at first (possibly defending myself by setting boundaries?) with an intense delayed sensation of it, was unexpected.

The spiral of intersubjective relationships among the participants, and the participants’ use of space, represents dynamic changes. We are always positioning ourselves in relation to each other and always sensing where we are and how we are. For example “when we feel open and receptive, we tend to move toward others and reduce or dissolve our physical boundaries” or in comparison “when we feel threatened or in conflict, or there is no trust yet built, we retreat from others and shore up our physical boundaries against them” ( Dosamantes, 1992 , p. 9).

The triangle formation appeared while writing a song and moving in response to the lyrics, as a song and dance gave the participants a creative vehicle for representing the conflict that had appeared between the student-participants and their instructors.

An understanding and empathy for what others in the class were feeling existed, even if their feelings were in opposition of my own. This made it clear that our feelings were on a dialectic continuum within an intersubjective context.

Imaginational ruptures are dialectically related to imaginational flow and transcendence. These themes progressively increased in coding frequency over time during the laboratory course (Table 3 ).

Ruptures in imagination include sensory, embodied, emotional psychic processes that evoke memory and fantasy, cause disruption in states of consciousness, and flow, and collisions between fantasy and reality. Imaginational ruptures are transitions in levels of consciousness requiring relinquishment of control, suspension of familiarity, renouncement of mundanity, and interruptions of rigid modes of thought ( Bollas, 2002 ; Knill, 2005 ; Czamanski-Cohen and Weihs, 2016 ). Transitioning into the world of imagination is a dialectical and dynamic process creating tension between the real and imagined, the present and absent, and the known and unknown resulting in a conflict and resistance to the process ( Knill, 2005 ; Israelstam, 2007 ) and negotiation of a creative resolution. Imaginational ruptures and resolutions are considered to be central to achieving states of flow, transcendence, progressive and creative transformation necessary for insight and growth.

Excerpts imaginational ruptures

The artwork that I created in the initial classes represented the unknown, the muck. The ideas that formed were abstract and unclear. The images from these first classes were of the free flowing ink, and the muck, and the discussion that followed the classes reflected that other group members had a similar experience. It was an important stage because by allowing to freely explore the artistic media, clear symbols started to emerge. It was from the muck, if you wish, that the symbols of the tree and the bird grew.

As the heaviness lifted in the room, a Blues rhythm picked up and we all…engaged in a time of rhythmic movement and music making. I thoroughly enjoyed this and thought I could go on enjoying it when, unexpectedly, I no longer did.

An image of an incoming storm mirrored that experience for [Participant 1]. She wrote in her journal: “I can feel something coming up, taking form. The air is thick with anticipation of a storm. I feel like something is going to happen, resolve, open up, come together. What it is? I don’t know. How? I don’t know. But I can sense a certain tension and an anticipation of something.”

…Observed that while both music and movement evoked a response, they seemed to latch on to different facets of our emotions. This was most noticeable during my moving to Schubert’s “die liebe Farbe,” when movement allowed me to gain an auxiliary dimension of hurt, adding components of confusion and fragmentation.

Relationship and Intersubjectivity

Relationship and intersubjectivity includes the modifying and defining themes of relational attunement and dialectical tensions and intersubjective transcendence (cross referenced in the arts based expressive process theme). These themes progressively increased in coding frequency over time during the laboratory course (Table 3 ).

This theme refers to the attunement to others at the most fundamental emotional and unconscious level and joining in the co-creating, re-imagining, and transforming our personal and intersubjective narratives. The construction of these narratives includes the dialectic between various levels of trust/mistrust, distance and closeness, intimacy and alienation necessary for attunement to the most authentic, emotional, and fundamental of human experience and connection ( Knill, 2005 ; Stern, 2005 ; Brown, 2011 ; Zittoun, 2011 ; Schwartz, 2012 ).

Relational attunement and dialectical tensions emerge and co-exist in the intersubjective arts-based expressive experience and in combination are akin to relational ruptures. Relational attunement and dialectical tensions both increased in coding frequency over time during the laboratory course (Table 3 ).

Relational attunement includes alignment to the other’s emotional life and invisible psychic apparatus ( Bollas, 2002 ) using imagination to facilitate “… the opening of a creative reflective space in which positive transformation can occur” ( Israelstam, 2007 , p. 592). Relational dialectical tensions refer to the dialog between alignment and misalignment, the “me and the not me” creating corollary existential and psychological life/death experiences resulting in the tension necessary for rupture, reflection, new narratives and insight, and creative transformation. The combination of attunement and dialectical tension occurring within the potential space appears to be essential to the construction of authentic relational knowing and attachment.

Excerpts relational attunement

When we create art, all differences melt and become irrelevant. We come together and connect through art. Sometimes coming together may take a while, other times it seems effortless broadly define consonance not just in relation to musical terms, but with relevance to structure, aesthetic appeal, and a person’s inherent, natural tendency.

I tried to anticipate X and Y’s rhythms and movements, trying to stay connected through cognitive awareness…I became part of the movement, the rhythm. I followed, I lead, I existed, interconnected to sounds and feels and raw emotion. It was exhilarating and so calmingly beautiful in the same space.

… seeing an expressive movement, mirroring its essence and feeling a sensation; experiencing an emotion, then moving the body in congruence with it; hearing a musical piece, adjusting the movement to the nature of the music and having an emotional response. In short, the interrelatedness of movement and emotion was present throughout, no matter what initiated what.

Excerpt relationship dialectical tensions

In the same artistic experience, one of us could feel comfort and another could feel discomfort, and we somehow transitioned within and around this space as individuals as well as a group within the experience.

Alternately, dissonance is defined in opposition to these terms, being disorganized, different, and disconnected. Within the consonance and dissonance themes were subthemes of ritual and spontaneity (a dialectical term discussed in Israelstam’s, 2007 article), holding and growing, sameness and difference, and connected and disconnected.”

“The mutual awareness of agreement or disagreement and even the realization of such understanding or misunderstanding” ( Gillespie and Cornish, 2010 , p. 19).

What happened with me when I was moving, that I was reminded of two different types of responses to other people, also informed me of proxemics. It is now clear to me that distances between people differ according to relation (close-distant, personal-professional, or first time-know).

Arts Based Expression

The theme of arts-based expression represents the process of letting meaning emerge through a dynamic triadic relationship between participant/researcher, media/mode/method and the art making. This theme remained constant in coding frequency across time during the laboratory course (Table 3 ). The secondary themes in this category are the sensory/kinesthetic and embodied ways of knowing, imaginational flow and transcendence, and intersubjective transcendence.

The arts-based expression requires the immersion in creative process that makes thoughts visible using the media, modes, and methods of artistic expression ( Levine, 2005 ; Zittoun, 2011 ; Caddy et al., 2012 ; Haas-Cohen and Clyde Findlay, 2015 ; Czamanski-Cohen and Weihs, 2016 ). Immersion in the expressive arts process requires engagement in the dialectic between resistance, rupture, and resolution, surrendering to the imagination, and ultimately entering a transcendent state of consciousness and imaginative flow, acute relational attunement, and empathic intersubjective transcendence.

Sensory/kinesthetic/embodied ways of knowing, are primal unconscious forms of cognition that hold the artifacts of our earliest memories and stimulate emotional systems in the brain without the assignation of language. The arts experience uses sensory/kinesthetic/embodied and imaginal knowledge to transcend time retrieving the primal experience and replicating the original emotional response ( Bollas, 2002 ; Chilton et al., 2015 ; Czamanski-Cohen and Weihs, 2016 ). Just as in infancy, due to its primal nature, sensory/kinesthetic/embodied and imaginal knowledge creates acute relational attunement at the most fundamental emotional level. This theme remained constant over time with a slight decrease in the frequency coding over time in the laboratory course (Table 3 ).

Excerpts sensory/kinesthetic/embodied knowing

Initially the ocean drum and the swaying around me took me to a peaceful place, but over time the feeling shifted in the room. The movements slowed down, all DMTs were on the floor. Harmonies sung in a minor key, combined with the restricted movement and contracted body language around me evoked a state of deep, penetrating sadness. I found myself rocking, crying, remembering. This emotional state was hard to shake, even when I made physical changes (standing up, increasing energy).

Finding Resilience through Art” via movement. With my eyes closed there was little coping, however, as I opened them and began to create with my hands, first in a miniscule manner, but over time more and more elaborately, I was able to gain a new perspective and move outside of myself.

When I was dancing I noticed that my body takes different positions and shapes in space. I noticed that my movements varied. Once I was moving slowly, and other times quickly with more expression. Once I was using just parts of my body, in separation, and other times my whole body was moving. There were times that I was in a low position, and there were times that my body took shapes when I was standing or jumping. After a while, I still wasn’t sure what all of this meant to me, or if it had any meaning at all. I decided to move naturally for a while, warming up my body, as in preparation for deeper exploration.

Imaginational flow/transcendence relates the “desired level of consciousness attained once fully engaged in the arts process… [transcendent]beyond confines of physical world while allowing peripheral awareness of it…” promoting meditation, introspection, reflection, and empathy ( Gerber et al., 2012 , p. 44). Artistic levels of consciousness also refer to a state of imaginational flow bypassing thought rigidity and resulting in the “growth of new neuron networks” ( Caddy et al., 2012 , p. 328). Surrendering to the imaginational flow through free association and attunement to sensory embodied ways of knowing results in restoration of play, loss of time consciousness, transcendence beyond physical and mental strife, and expansion of the perception of possibility ( Knill, 2005 ; Van Lith, 2015 ).

This theme increased in coding frequency over time during the laboratory course (Table 3 ).

Excerpts imaginational flow/transcendence

I lay down on a floor stretching my mind to the limit of its extension to find answers. Themes, themes, themes… like I heard this world all over the place, all the time… I felt like I couldn’t find it. I felt stuck. How I am supposed to find it? I closed my eyes and my mind went somewhere far, far away. In my mind I was levitating over the mountains, rivers, seas, oceans and dessert. I felt relaxed and calm. My breath was stable and my heart beat pretty calm. I stayed there for a while, however, I lost control of time. I think I might have fallen asleep as at one point I felt cold, so cold that I curled up in the embryonic positions shaking and tensing my muscles. I still didn’t want to leave the floor it felt so supporting, however, the emerging cold made me move in a very uncomfortable way. I slowly began to twist, bend, writhe with a extremely bound muscle tension and without any direction. Just shaping my body through space and to adapt to the cold. Suddenly I hear this loud and annoying sound BZZZZZ and I stand up on straight legs. It was so unexpected as a quick unexpected frog coming out of a dark sleepy pool. Dark sleepy pool? Unexpected frog? I stopped myself for a while and wondered if I feel ok. Frog, pool, splash, unexpected… Yes! I have an idea.

Intersubjective transcendence describes the levels of consciousness attained using imagination and immersion in arts-based processes to transcend the physical boundaries of interpersonal separateness and enter the sensory, emotional, and imaginal world of “the other” enhancing attunement, understanding, and empathy ( Symington, 1996 ; Bollas, 2002 ; Gerber et al., 2012 ). This theme increased in coding frequency over time during the laboratory course (Table 3 ).

Excerpt intersubjective transcendence

Through my movement inquiry I noticed that true togetherness, a connecting of the hands, wiped away all the differences. Togetherness and connection in DMT is promoted through the therapist’s mirroring or reflecting of patients’ movement qualities. This results in an increased degree of somatic and emotional understanding as well as empathy.

At the beginning there was a sense of slowness, careful attention and intimate contact among the participants, and deeper exploration of individual problems, however, expressive movement was limited. Later during the session, expressive movement emerged and There was a sense of meditative and trance dance, in relation to expressive and meditative music.

Progressive Thematic Coding

In addition to analysis of the data thematically, we also wanted to explore how these thematic results emerged, sustained, developed, or diminished over time in the laboratory course. The progression of the themes over time was tracked by the frequency with which these thematic categories were coded in the study records from the introductory course (716) to the advanced course (719). Interestingly, all of these coded categories except for two, increased in the coded frequency over the progression of the course. Of particular note is the dramatic increase in the frequency that dialectical rupture and resolution was coded along with imaginational flow, relational attunement, relational and imaginational ruptures and tension and dialectics generally doubled in frequency. Medium mode and method in the arts-based expression category and sensory, kinesthetic and embodied knowledge remained the same over time with the latter dipping by just a few instances. Although there are numerous interpretations of this result, the distinct trends bear noting and further investigation (Table 3 ).

In summary, the primary thematic categories of ruptures, resolution, and transformation, relationship and intersubjectivity, and arts-based expression together with their modifying and defining themes, represent what may be transformative phenomena equivalents to mechanisms of change in the creative arts therapies. Due to the pluralistic intersubjective nature of reality and aesthetic knowledge in the creative arts therapies, these transformative phenomena are conceptualized as interactive dynamic systems of change in contrast to singular, linear, causal mechanisms of change. We have proposed several dynamic systems to illustrate how we envision these thematic phenomena interacting with one another to describe transformation (Figures 1 – 3 ) which are discussed in more detail in the Section “Discussion.”

In this preliminary phase of our research study, we have explored formative phenomena that, taken together, may be descriptive of the ways in which change occurs in the creative arts therapies. In this section we explore the dynamic interactive relationships between the primary and modifying themes and propose how these interactive phenomena might form a system of change. We also address the limitations of the study and how those limitations both elucidate the results and illuminate directions for future research. Finally, we recommend methods of evaluating these formative dynamic constructs of change in research, clinical practice, and the development of an evidence base for the creative arts therapies.

In interpreting the findings for this study, it is essential to re-emphasize that these findings represent a small but in depth sampling of data generated by student participant/researchers from a laboratory course simulating the creative arts therapies experience. Therefore, considering the interpretation and transferability of these constructs to theory building and clinical practice resides within and is limited by that context. With that said, we also may have to re-consider the hegemonic criteria, implicit in that statement, by which we typically evaluate research results. For instance, in this study a method for evaluating the results of this study have to more mindfully include a paradigm shift. In this paradigm shift it may be more useful and relevant to select arts-based or qualitative research evaluative criteria that are more aligned with the aesthetic intersubjective mental model ( Greene, 2007 ) or worldview of the creative arts therapies in contrast to a quantitative research reductive mindset more aligned with physical sciences. Within an aesthetic intersubjective mental model, the themes we identified represent phenomena that are dynamically and spatially inter-related presuming change as related to interaction as opposed to singularly static linear and causal constructs. Consequently, we are exploring the construction of meaning and change through kinetics, dynamics, inter-relatedness, and dialectics reflective of the ontological and epistemic nature of our fields and these thematic phenomena. Contextualized within these paradigmatic and methodological shifts we explore the dynamic systems of change created from these thematic phenomena, their implications for clinical and research theory and practice.

Dynamic Thematic Synthesis

The primary, modifying and defining themes identified in this study represent dynamic phenomena that dialectically adjoin and collide in the arts-based relational context descriptive of qualities of perceptual, emotional, relational, and behavioral experience contributing to change in the creative arts therapies. The primary interactive thematic constructs from our analysis are: (1) ruptures, resolutions, and transformation; (2) relationship and intersubjectivity; and, (3) arts-based expression. These primary thematic constructs are mediated by a dynamic and iterative interaction with the modifying and defining thematic phenomena of dialectical rupture and resolution, sensory/kinesthetic/embodied knowledge, imaginational flow/transcendence and rupture, relational attunement and dialectical tension, relational rupture and intersubjective transcendence . The dynamic interaction between these phenomena occurs in an arts-based expressive and intersubjective holding environment that can tolerate, emotionally regulate, and accommodate the creative and relational dialectical processes of contradiction, tension, and resolution necessary to promote change. We explore these dynamic constructs in more depth, examine different interactive configurations, and consider their relevance as a system of arts-based relational mechanisms of change.

Central to our discussion of mechanisms of change is the operational definition we used for transformation which was the arousal of memories, re-activation of emotions, and levels of consciousness that mediate new learning and insight through dialectical rupture and resolution ( Hayes et al., 2007 ; Israelstam, 2007 ; Zittoun, 2011 ; Lane et al., 2015 ; Van Lith, 2015 ; Czamanski-Cohen and Weihs, 2016 ). Furthermore, transformation is a “… significant reconfiguration of perception and thought resulting in the lessening of psychic restraint and pain allowing for the emergence of new psychological perspectives that contribute to living a more creative life” ( Gerber et al., 2012 , p. 45).

Within the literature and our data dialectical rupture and resolution was identified as one of our most predominant and overarching themes instrumental to transformation. Dialectical ruptures and resolutions are the pervasive ongoing and driving forces central to change, fueling creative, relational, and psychological growth from the friction between seeming contradictions in thought, belief, and experience. Typical dialectical tensions emerge from the existential anxieties and conflicts between the drive for progressive innovation and the gravitational longing for familiar recalcitrance–seeking the known from the unknown, creating something from nothing. In our study, the dialectical rupture and resolution process was mediated primarily by the dynamic interaction between relational attunement, imaginational flow, and intersubjective transcendence and their correlates of relational and imaginational ruptures. These tensions create the conditions for a system of dynamic change through iterative phases of destabilization and de-construction of pre-existing beliefs and narratives, re-construction of new narratives, and relationship re-stabilization resulting in new insight and illumination ( Israelstam, 2007 ; Zittoun, 2011 ; Forster et al., 2014 ).

Essential to the resolution and reparation of these dialectic tensions and ruptures are the interrelated thematic constructs of relationship and intersubjectivity and arts-based expression. In our study and, in the creative arts therapies and psychotherapy literature, the construction of a relationally attuned, emotionally held and responsive intersubjective culture is deemed essential for facilitation of surrender to and engagement in the arts-based expressive processes. Surrendering to the imagination, necessarily includes engagement in dialectic between resistance, rupture, and resolution ultimately allowing for the attainment of the transcendent state of imaginative flow, acute relational attunement, and intersubjective transcendence. Consequently, the intersubjective arts based expressive process juxtaposes imaginational flow and relational attunements and their correlate dialectic ruptures creating an ongoing transformative dialog necessary for resolution and change –jarring fixed and rigid beliefs that impede progressive expression, conceiving, re- imagining and birthing new systems of thought and perception, contributing to reparation, synthesis and transformation within a strong relational attuned emotionally holding environment.

Implicit in and central to these relational, arts-based, and intersubjective processes, is the invisible and influential role of sensory/kinesthetic/embodied knowledge and relational attunement. Sensory/kinesthetic/embodied modes of knowing and communication, originating from the beginning of life, create relational attunement at the most fundamental, poignant, and penetrating levels inaccessible through more traditional means of communication. Sensory/kinesthetic/embodied knowing within the relational or potential space contributes to the fluctuating levels of consciousness essential for imaginational flow and intersubjective transcendence ( Ogden, 1992 ; Hagman, 2005 ; Israelstam, 2007 ). This state of flow facilitates levels of consciousness that transcend the limitations of physical, temporal, and spatial boundaries enhancing interpersonal awareness and empathy and the basis for the construction of authentic emotional relationships that could both withstand and facilitate ongoing ruptures and resolutions.

We propose, therefore, that the dynamic interaction between these thematic phenomena in varying combinations and at varying strategic times, within the therapy and the therapeutic relationship, generates transformative responses. This is a preliminary study with formative qualitative evidence about these transformative phenomena. That evidence combined with the progressive frequency by which our categories were coded across time in the study posits some intriguing ideas and questions. In that finding all but two of the primary and modifying themes increased in the frequency by which they were coded over time (Table 3 ). Of particular interest is dramatic increase in the frequency of coding for the theme of dialectical rupture and resolution, within the overall theme of ruptures, resolutions and transformation, along with modifying themes of relational and imaginal ruptures. This increase along with the concomitant increases in relational attunement, intersubjective transcendence, and imaginational flow suggests that there is perhaps a dynamic interaction between these experiences that create the progressive conditions necessary for facile engagement in the dialectical rupture and resolution process essential for change. In other words, the interactive mechanisms or phenomena from the study progressively contribute to the creation of a relationally attuned intersubjective culture in which imagination, dialectical tensions, and arts-based expressive process develop over time and indeed might be contribute to change and transformation.

In considering the nature, meaning, relationship, and progression of these preliminary and formative interactive dynamic phenomena we revisit the concept of mechanisms of change. With regard to mechanisms of change and how change occurs in the creative arts therapies, we think that our findings necessitate a paradigm shift from a singular causal action to a dynamic interactive system between multiple human phenomena. In this paradigmatic shift and proposed model, in contrast to more traditional definitions and evaluation of mechanisms of change, the relationship of the mechanism and the outcome is not linear and measureable but rather dynamic, multi-dimensional, and descriptive.

Mechanisms of Change: Paradigmatic Considerations

A review of the nature and relationship of our thematic findings relative to the extant concepts of mechanisms of change suggests paradigmatic and methodological reconsiderations. Mechanistic research resides predominantly within a post-positivist paradigm in which a statistical and singular causal relationship is created between the mechanism, intervention, and the outcome as the explanation of how change occurs ( Kazdin and Nock, 2003 ; Kazdin, 2007 ). There are particular bodies of knowledge and domains of scientific research in which this approach is warranted resulting in valuable answers to specific questions. However, due to the nature of reality and forms of knowledge in the creative arts therapies, mechanisms of change may require reconsideration, redefinition, and reconfiguration. As described previously, in the creative arts therapies we deem reality to be pluralistic and intersubjectively co-constructed while the related forms of aesthetic knowledge are necessarily idiosyncratic, circuitous, dialectic, dynamic, and emergent. These basic philosophical differences contraindicate the use of linear models of change evaluation to accurately assess and understand the nature and process of change in the creative arts therapies ( Aigen, 1991 ; Hayes et al., 2007 ; Chilton et al., 2015 ; Archibald and Gerber, 2018 ).

Our contention is reflected in Collins and Sayer’s (as cited in Hayes et al., 2007 , p. 716) assertion that change in psychotherapy is a dynamic system which cannot rely upon more traditional linear methods of research to account for “intra-individual variability which traditionally has been viewed as ‘noise’ or error.” This paradigm shift allows for the inclusion of “dynamic and dialectic interactive process between these multiple intra/inter psychic and intersubjective realities” ( Gerber, 2016 , p. 656) representing the idiosyncratic vigor of pluralistic human phenomena and reliant upon “… the coexistence and dialectical tensions between levels of consciousness, temporality, and spatiality” ( Archibald and Gerber, 2018 , p. 3). This view allows for the creation of more interdependent, multi-dimensional mechanisms that are textural and descriptive rather than reductive and measurable. Such a paradigm “contributes to the development of a creative philosophical frame foundational for both an art[s] therapy theory as well as a research mentality and methodology the purpose of which is the generation of new knowledge ( Johnson and Gray, 2010 ; Johnson, 2015 ; Gerber, 2016 , p. 656).”

Dynamic Systems of Change

Based on our research findings and this suggested paradigm shift we might conceptualize mechanisms of change, within the creative arts therapies, as dynamic systems of relational, imaginative, and dialectical phenomena the interaction of which transforms perception, emotion, relationships, and behaviors. In conceptualizing and visualizing how our primary thematic phenomena jointly form systems of change, we arrived at a few preliminary proposals. We propose three dynamic systems of transformation in which the primary and modifying thematic phenomena are aligned in different configurations and dynamic relationships (Figures 1 – 3 ). The three systems might be named the kinetic mobile system, the figure/ground system, and the orbital system. Although similar these models do vary with regard to the juxtaposition and inter- relationship of each phenomena, the degree and type of movement and dynamic interaction between and amongst the phenomena, and consideration of the requisite balance between essential chaos and organization related to implications for dynamic change within the creative arts therapies.

Kinetic Mobile System

In the kinetic mobile system of dynamic transformation, the themes are conceptualized as shapes that are connected by bi-directional arrows or invisible hanging wires. Each shape is carefully positioned relative to its the other familial themes and each is considered to be of relative equal weight and size. In this system, all of the parts are in constant motion in relation to one another creating infinite combinations, within and beyond their familial themes, of interactive dynamic encounters, collisions, confrontations, ruptures and ultimately resolutions. The dialectical rupture and resolution shape and the arts-based expression shape are positioned at the top and bottom of the mobile since, although not conceived as linearly related, are often considered to be pivotal as both initiators and holders of change. Relational attunement is positioned as central to moderating between the arts based expressive process and the dialectical rupture and resolution. The kinetic mobile model is multi-dimensional allowing for both this strategic positioning but also the possibilities of infinite other unpredictable juxtapositions in a cycle of change so that each relational and imaginational rupture sets off a new relational, imaginational creative resolutions. In this system the dynamics are emergent, unpredictable and cyclical –at any point in this system the chain reaction will be initiated and move through various phases. This system perhaps most accurately reflects delicate balance between chaos and organization and the potential for destruction or creativity, that is central to the resolution of the inherent dialectical relational arts-based processes contributing to a systems of change in the creative arts therapies.

Figure/Ground System

The figure/ground system of dynamic transformation from our study re-configures the primary and modifying familial themes in terms of contextual or conditional phenomena as the necessary background or holding environment for the more dynamic interactive or moving parts in the foreground. In this model, the two primary themes of arts-based expression and relationship and intersubjectivity are viewed as more contextual conditions essential for the emergence of dialectical rupture and resolution which is, in the intermediary ground, conceived as pivotal to change relative to interaction with the other phenomena. The other phenomena, although grouped in their thematic families, are also conceptualized as active and interactive in and around each other and the contextual conditions. In this model, instead of all of the parts randomly moving there are some phenomena that are conceptualized as stabilizers or holders so that the other parts can freely move around. These factors are the arts-based, relationship and intersubjectivity phenomena which are generally considered to be the essential and constant environmental factors central to change in the creative arts therapies. However, it should be noted that these contextual phenomena include multiple kinetic phenomena that might, under differing conditions, influence the degree of stability or rupture thus effecting the dynamics of the whole system. Relative to our musings about the degree and interaction between chaos and organization, this model attempts to provide a more intentional equanimity and delicate balance between the variability and stability of the phenomena with the understanding that this balance can be disrupted at any moment and under any conditions.

Orbital System

In the orbital system all major thematic phenomena are compressed into larger inclusive categories and visualized as equal in size and proximity from each other orbiting around and mediated by a bi-directional center. In this system, as in the others, there are multiple pathways for these phenomena to interact and influence each other for the purpose of informing change but perhaps in this system the possible combinations are more limited. This system appears simpler and less chaotic with less moving parts and limited pathways of interaction. The question arises as to how the simplification, organization, and restriction of possibilities influences the dynamism of these systems of change. In this case we have to critically evaluate if order and simplification sacrifices the essential ontological and epistemic nature of the phenomena and the value of human experience necessary for change in the creative arts therapies. This is an important consideration as we move toward exploring the most authentic systems of change in creative arts therapies. This lead us into considering methods and approaches to evaluating these findings and emergent systems of change.

Of course, these are very preliminary ideas and conceptualizations ripe for further creative discourse and investigation. The additional creative development might benefit from both construction of three dimensional actual and arts-based models to further study the systems of interaction combined with elicitation and documentation of the experiences of actual humans to contribute to the more totalistic understand these transformative phenomena.

In proposing these dynamic systems of change, which are based both in our data and in psychotherapy and creative arts therapies theory and research, the questions arise as to how we would evaluate these dynamic systems as mechanisms of change; and, if they will contribute to our understanding of what change is and how it occurs in the creative arts therapies. Even though outside of the scope of this phase of the study, these questions warrant a momentary consideration relative to the implications for rigor, credibility, and epistemic authenticity in both research and clinical practice. Implicit in the paradigm shift from a post-positivist to a dialectical aesthetic intersubjective perspective ( Chilton et al., 2015 ; Johnson, 2015 ; Gerber, 2016 ) is the construction of methods to evaluate the nature, qualities, and dynamics of these phenomena individually and interactively using epistemically comparable modes of assessment.

In qualitative research and arts-based research there are approaches to evaluating credibility and authenticity of similarly regarded phenomena ( Barone and Eisner, 2012 ; Leavy, 2015 ). For instance, Barone and Eisner (2012) offer evaluative concepts for arts-based research such as incisiveness, concision, and evocation and illumination all of which relate to the aesthetic, emotional, intuitive, communicative, and relational qualities of arts-based expression while being mindful of rigor and authenticity. Perhaps there are parallel evaluative approaches using such concepts as applied to the evaluation of these phenomenological experiences in both research and clinical practices. Our evaluation processes would most likely consist of critical reflection and discourse, rich textural and textual description, and arts-based responses created and shared amongst participant/researchers and perhaps with an audience. Although these are just very preliminary and nascent ideas which require more thought and development it is necessary to begin thinking about them as we construct this dynamic system of transformative elements and consider ways in which we might understand their implications for research and clinical practice.

Limitations and Implications for Future Research

The results of this study are preliminary and naturally include multiple limitations that both relate to the findings but also illuminate new directions for future research. The limitations and implications for future research cohabit the same dialectical spaces and relate to the nature of the analog study, the diversity, distribution and number of records reviewed, the importance and impact of the multiple perspectives of the coders, the nature and clarity of the coding system, and the noticeable absence of references to the transferential relationships.

The first limitation relates to the analog data which was collected from a laboratory setting simulating conditions parallel to the creative arts therapies experience. Although this is a limitation, since it is not data from actual creative arts therapies treatment, it could also conceivably be a benefit. In this analogous laboratory setting, the participant/researchers still experienced and expressed a range of perceptual, emotional, imaginal, relational, and behavioral phenomena similar to those of an actual therapy session. Additionally, since the key informants were both creative arts therapists and doctoral student participant/researchers, they were accustomed to the psychological repercussions inherent in creative arts therapies encounter. Therefore, they were able to experience, tolerate, and observe the anxieties, uncertainties, frustrations, joys, insights, and resolutions of this parallel situation. In addition, they were also able to document, analyze, articulately describe, and represent their experiences using arts-based and textual methods. The limitation resides in the transferability of these findings to actual creative arts therapies sessions representing multiple disciplines, settings, and populations. Perhaps upon further investigation and refinement of the results these systems of transformation might be studied in varying treatment contexts.

The next limitation relates to the diversity, distribution, and number of records relative to understanding the nature and progression of transformative phenomena over time as well as across and within disciplines. We initially selected 16 study records but ultimately only used eight for this preliminary study. The use of fewer records was based on our decision to conduct this preliminary pilot phase of the study in which we could test and evaluate the coding system, the inter-coder alignment, and adjust both as necessary for the next study phase. The limitation of using the fewer records is that we did not get the distribution we would have liked across the different yearly cohorts, the course progression, and creative arts therapies disciplines. A more even distribution data across cohort and discipline would provide breadth and diversity in all patterns of evidence as well as an analysis of discipline specific patterns of data and progressive responses over time. We did retrieve some promising preliminary data relative to the increasing frequency and appearance of particular phenomena in the progressive courses over time which may be relevant to our study of transformation, however, these data require further exploration. One interesting finding from these progressive frequencies was, that in contrast to the increase in all thematic phenomena, the sensory/kinesthetic/embodied knowledge theme decreased ever so slightly. One interpretation of this change could be that the increase of relationship, intersubjectivity, consciousness and open communication in the group diminished the need for and prevalence of more unconscious modes of knowing and communication—imagination or fantasy about others is transformed into knowledge, creative and open expression. Of course, there are multiple other confounding factors that could explain this finding and require examination before we can affirm this postulation; but, it provides interesting musings for future research.

In reviewing, analyzing and reflecting upon the data for this study, we became acutely aware of an additional limitation as well as a potential source of rich data related to the diverse perspectives of students and instructors. In particular, we were interested in the hierarchical relational phenomena that are parallel and central to transformation within the therapeutic relationship in the creative arts therapies process. Of note is the fact that these data were retrieved from a course in which students have concerns about being evaluated by the instructors, therefore, openly addressing their experience of this relationship in their culminating assignments posed a significant risk. Within this context, it is not surprising that there was minimal explicit reference to the real or imagined relationship between the student participant/researchers and the faculty participant/researchers in the records we reviewed. The stunning absence of reference to this hierarchical relationship is relative to the challenges of articulating these transferential phenomena with their associated real, perceived, and imagined scenarios and implications in both the classroom and psychotherapy setting. Further exploration of the specific ways in which these hierarchical relational mechanisms interact with our dynamic systems of change is warranted.

There were two major limitations relative to the coding system. First the definitions were in some cases awkwardly worded and consequently challenging to interpret which may have influenced the inter-coder alignment. Although we had a relatively high occurrence of inter-coder alignment, fine tuning these definitions might strengthen that alignment and contribute to concision and accuracy. Second, there was significant overlap between some of the coding categories. Therefore, even though some codes were not used frequently or at all, elements of those codes were implicitly represented in other codes (e.g., the parent category of reflection not coded but reflection was central to the resolution of dialectical ruptures). To address this issue, using the results of the first phase of the study we can rework the definitions for purposes of clarity, elimination, or amplification of overlap. We also might want to conduct another review and coding using more of an inductive process to identify additional thematic trends emergent from the text for comparison to and integration with the deductive categories for a more comprehensive and authentic reflection of the data.

Finally, in continuing our investigation into these dynamic interactive systems of transformation we hope to develop methods to evaluate if and how people change relative to these powerful human relational, imaginative, and dialectical experiences within the creative arts therapies. Now that we have defined what we believe are formative transformative phenomena and dynamic interactive systems of change we can begin to involve more stakeholders in interviews, focus groups, and or analog laboratory experiences to explore the credibility and authenticity of these preliminary results.

The purpose of this study was to examine the dynamic and interactive factors that might be considered mechanisms of change in the creative arts therapies. We identified three primary thematic transformative phenomena of change with their interactive modifiers that acting in concert with each other form dynamic systems of change in the arts therapies. We suggest that dynamic systems of change are more relevant to the underlying epistemological and ontological foundations of the arts therapies than linear, causal and measureable mechanistic approaches. As we proceed into our next phase of the study we need to re-evaluate our coding categories and procedures, continue to develop inter-coder alignment protocols, critically evaluate the influence of the differing student/faculty perspectives, and expand on methods of evaluating the authenticity and credibility of these dynamic transformative systems.

Author Contributions

NG conceived, proposed, researched, and wrote the article. KB and NP did the coding for the study. KB and CB worked on the literature review.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge and honor all of the creative courageous students who participated in generating data for this research study. They are all dedicated scholars and creative arts therapists committed to using innovative research methods to study and advance knowledge in their respective creative arts therapies field. These emerging scholars are the future of creative arts therapies so we applaud them and thank them.

Aigen, K. (1991). The Roots of Music Therapy: Towards an Indigenous Research Paradigm. Ph.D. thesis, New York University, New York, NY.

Google Scholar

Archibald, M., and Gerber, N. (2018). Arts and mixed methods research: an innovative methodological merger. Am. Behav. Sci. 62, 956–977. doi: 10.1177/0002764218772672

CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Barone, T., and Eisner, E. W. (2012). Arts Based Research. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Bollas, C. (2002). Free Association. Cambridge: Icon Books.

Braun, V., and Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Q. Res. Psychol. 3, 77–101. doi: 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Brown, L. J. (2011). Intersubjective Processes and the Unconscious. New York, NY: Routledge.

Caddy, L., Crawford, F., and Page, A. C. (2012). Painting a path to wellness: correlations between participating in a creative activity group and improved measured mental health outcome. J. Psychiatr. Ment. Health Nurs. 19, 327–333. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2850.2011.01785.x

PubMed Abstract | CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar

Chilton, G., Gerber, N., and Scotti, V. (2015). Towards an aesthetic intersubjective paradigm for arts based research: an art therapy perspective. UNESCO Observatory Multi Disciplinary J. Arts 5, 1–27.

Cooper, D. E. (ed.) (1997). Aesthetics: The Classic Readings: Introduction. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

Czamanski-Cohen, J., and Weihs, K. (2016). The bodymind model: a platform for studying the mechanisms of change induced by art therapy. Arts Psychother. 51, 63–71. doi: 10.1016/j.aip.2016.08.006

Dosamantes, I. (1992). Body image repository for cultural idealizations and denigrations of the self. Arts Psychother. 19, 257–267. doi: 10.1016/0197-4556(92)90003-7

Forster, C., Berthollier, N., and Rawlinson, D. (2014). A systematic review of potential mechanisms of change in psychotherapeutic interventions for personality disorder. J. Psychol. Psychother. 4, 1–14. doi: 10.4172/2161-0487.1000133

Gadamer, H. (1975/2003). Truth and Method , Trans. J. Weinsheimer and D. G. Marshall (New York, NY: Continuum International Publishing Group, Ltd.).

Gerber, N. (2016). “Mixed methods research and art therapy,” in The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Art Therapy , eds D. Gussak and M. Rosal (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell), 654–662.

Gerber, N., Chilton, G., Cohen-Liebman, M. S., Manders, E., Shim, M., and Templeton, E. (2012). Art based research as a pedagogical approach to studying intersubjectivity in the creative arts therapies. J. Appl. Arts Health 3, 39–48. doi: 10.1386/jaah.3.1.39_1

Gerber, N., and Myers-Coffman, K. (2017). “Translation in arts-based research,” in Handbook of Arts-Based Research , ed. P. Leavy (New York, NY: Guilford Press), 587–607.

Gerber, N., and Scotti, V. (2017). “An artistic inquiry into aesthetic intersubjective and transferential phenomena in creative arts therapies doctoral education,” in Cultural Landscapes in Arts Therapies , eds R. Hougham, S. Pitruzzella, and S. Scoble (Devon: University of Plymouth Press), 81–103.

Gillespie, A., and Cornish, F. (2010). Intersubjectivity: towards a dialogical analysis. J. Theory Soc. Behav. 40, 19–46. doi: 10.1111/j.1468-5914.2009.00419.x

Greene, J. (2007). Mixed Methods in Social Inquiry. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Haas-Cohen, N., and Clyde Findlay, J. (2015). Art Therapy and the Neuroscience of Relationships Creativity, and Resiliency: Skills and Practices. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Company.

Hagman, G. (2005). Aesthetic Experience: Beauty, Creativity and the Search for the Ideal. Amsterdam: Rodopi. B.V.

Harris-Williams, M. (2010). The Aesthetic Development: The Poetic Spirit of Psychoanalysis. London: Karnac Books.

Hayes, A. M., Laurenceau, J., Feldman, G., Strausss, J. L., and Cardaciotto, L. (2007). Change is not always linear: the study of nonlinear and discontinuous patterns of change in psychotherapy. Clin. Psychol. Rev. 7, 715–723. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2007.01.008

Hervey, L. W. (2000). Artistic Inquiry in Dance Movement Therapy: Creative Research Alternatives. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, Ltd.

Israelstam, K. (2007). Creativity and dialectical phenomena from dialectical edge to dialectical space. Int. J. Psychoanal. 88, 591–607. doi: 10.1516/N79N-NL37-H521-5335

Johnson, B., and Gray, R. (2010). “A history of philosophical and theoretical issues for mixed methods research,” in Sage Handbook of Mixed Methods in Social & Behavioral Research , ed. A. Tashakkori and C. Teddlie (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.), 69–94.

Johansson, P., and HØglend, P. (2007). Identifying mechanisms of change in psychotherapy: mediators of treatment outcome. Clin. Psychol. Psychother. 14, 1–9. doi: 10.1002/cpp.514

Johnson, R. B. (2015). Dialectical pluralism: a metaparadigm whose time has come. J. Mix. Methods Res. 11, 156–173. doi: 10.1177/155868981560769

Kazdin, A. E. (2007). Mediators and mechanisms of change in psychotherapy research. Annu. Rev. Clin. Psychol. 3, 1–27. doi: 10.1080/10503307.2014.889330

Kazdin, A. E., and Nock, M. K. (2003). Delineating mechanisms of change in child and adolescent therapy: methodological issues and research recommendations. J. Child Psychol. Psychiatry 44, 1116–1129. doi: 10.1111/1469-7610.00195

Knill, P. J. (2005). “Foundations for a theory of practice,” in Principles and Practice Of Expressive Arts Therapy: Toward A Therapeutic Aesthetics , eds P. J. Knill, E. G. Levine, and S. K. Levine (London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers), 75–170.

Kossak, M. (2012). Art-based enquiry: it is what we do! J. Appl. Arts Health 3, 21–29. doi: 10.1386/jaah.3.1.21_1

Lane, R., Ryan, D. L., Nadel, L., and Greenberg, L. (2015). Memory reconsolidation, emotional arousal, and the process of change in psychotherapy: new insights from brain science. Behav. Brain Sci. 38, 1–64. doi: 10.1017/50140525X14000041

Leavy, P. (2015). Method Meets Art: Arts-Based Research Practice. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Levine, S. (2005). “The philosophy of expressive arts therapy: poiesis as a response to the world,” in Principles and Practice of Expressive Arts Therapy: Toward a Therapeutic Aesthetics , eds P. J. Knill, E. G. Levine, and S. K. Levine (London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers), 15–74.

Lynch, T., Chapman, A. L., Rosenthal, M. Z., Kuo, J. R., and Linnehan, M. M. (2006). Mechanisms of change in dialectical behavior therapy: theoretical and empirical observations. J. Clin. Psychol. 62, 459–480. doi: 10.1002/jclp.20243

McNiff, S. (2008). “Art-based research,” in Handbook of the Arts in Qualitative Research , eds J. G. Knowles and A. L. Cole (Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications), 29–40.

Ogden, T. (1992). The Matrix of the Mind: Object Relations and the Psychoanalytic Dialogue. London: Karnac Books.

Patterson, S., Crawford, M. J., Ainsworth, E., and Waller, D. (2011). Art therapy for people diagnosed with Schizophrenia: therapists’. Int. J. Art Therapy 16, 70–80. doi: 10.1080/17454832.2011.604038

Petrik, A., and Cronin, T. (2014). Defining and measuring mechanisms of change in psychological therapies: the path not taken. Aust. Psychol. 49, 283–286. doi: 10.1111/ap.12073

Schwartz, H. P. (2012). Intersubjectivity and dialecticism. Int. J. Psychoanal. 93, 401–425. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-8315.2011.00543.x

Stern, D. (2005). “Intersubjectivity,” in The American Psychiatric Association Publishing Textbook of Psychoanalysis , eds S. Person, A. M. Cooper, and G. O. Gabbard (Arlington: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc.), 77–91.

Symington, N. (1996). The Making of a Psychotherapist. London: Karnac Books.

Van Lith, T. (2015). Art making as a mental health recovery tool for change and coping. Art Ther. J. Am. Art Ther. Assoc. 32, 5–12. doi: 10.1080/07421656.2015.992826

Viega, M. (2016). Science as art: axiology as a central component in methodology and evaluation of Arts-Based Research (ABR). Music Ther. Perspect. 34, 4–13. doi: 10.1093/mtp/miv043

Zittoun, T. (2011). Meaning and change in psychotherapy. Int. Psychol. Behav. 45, 325–334. doi: 10.1007/s12124-011-9166-7

Keywords : mechanisms of change, transformation, psychotherapy, creative arts therapies, arts-based research

Citation: Gerber N, Bryl K, Potvin N and Blank CA (2018) Arts-Based Research Approaches to Studying Mechanisms of Change in the Creative Arts Therapies. Front. Psychol. 9:2076. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02076

Received: 22 May 2018; Accepted: 09 October 2018; Published: 01 November 2018.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2018 Gerber, Bryl, Potvin and Blank. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Nancy Gerber, [email protected]

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

What is Art? - A research on the concept and perception of Art in the 21st Century

The concept of Art and Artist has had a continuous evolution and countless definitions throughout history. But, are there really common concepts to define and perceive them in ancient and classic art as well as in modern? This thesis focuses on the current (year 2017) perception of what is considered art and what is considered an artist by ordinary people, out of what art and philosophy books tell.

Related Papers

Most modern definitions of art fail to successfully address the issue of the ever-changing nature of art, and rarely even attempt to provide an account which would be valid in more than just the modern Western context. This article develops a new theory which preserves the advantages of its predecessors, solves or avoids their problems, and has a scope wide enough to account for art of different times and cultures. An object is art in a given context, it is argued, iff some person(s) culturally competent in this context afforded it the status of a candidate for appreciation for reasons considered good in this context. This weakly institutional view is supplemented by auxiliary definitions explaining the notions of cultural contexts, competence and good reasons for affording the status. The relativisation to contexts brings increased explanatory power and scope, and the ability to account for the diversity of art.

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Journal of Arts and Humanities

Zachary Isrow

Art is a creative phenomenon which changes constantly, not just insofar as it is being created continually, but also in the very meaning of ‘art.’ Finding a suitable definition of art is no easy task and it has been the subject of much inquiry throughout artistic expression. This paper suggests a crucial distinction between ‘art forms’ and ‘forms of art’ is necessary in order to better understand art. The latter of these corresponds to that which we would typically call art such as painting, singing, etc. The former corresponds to the form out of which these take shape, movement, speech, etc. With this distinction set out, it becomes clearer that art and the aesthetic is rooted in the properties of the ‘thing’ such as the color, shape, and the texture, rather than the product of creation itself. Thus, the future of art will bring a new aesthetic in which these properties become recognized as art and as such there will be an aesthetic of everyday life.

Jakob Zaaiman

The traditional conception of art is about sensual beauty and refined taste; modern art on the other hand has introduced an entirely unexpected dimension to the visual arts, namely that of 'revelatory narrative'. Classical art aspires to present works which can be appreciated as sensually beautiful; modern art, when it succeeds, presents us instead with the unsettling narrative. This radical difference in artistic purpose is something relatively new, and not yet fully appreciated or understood.

Pierre Frath

Journal of the Institute of Engineering

Alexandra Mouriki

Thomas Adajian

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

RELATED PAPERS

Roczniki Kulturoznawcze

Andrzej Derdziuk

Journal of Art Historiography

Ian Verstegen

The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism

lauren tillinghast

Graham Oppy

Frederick M . Dolan

danny shorkend

Tamara Trojanowska

Anna Kawalec

Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism

Michel-Antoine Xhignesse

The international journal of arts education

Bernard DARRAS

Patricia Lhardy

Heikki Ruismäki

David Clowney

Art Without an Author. Vasari's Lives and Michelangelo's Death

Marco Ruffini

Arnold Berleant

Tasos Zembylas

Daily Philosophy

Adrian Camilleri

Wolfgang Sohst

Kaush V Kalidindi

RELATED TOPICS

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Med Educ Online
• v.27(1); 2022

Quantitative metrics and psychometric scales in the visual art and medical education literature: a narrative review

John david ike.

a Clinical Scholar, National Clinician Scholars Program, Clinical Instructor, Division of Hospital Medicine, Hospitalist, Ann Arbor Va Healthcare System, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Joel Howell

b Elizabeth Farrand Collegiate Professor of the History of Medicine, Professor, Departments of Medicine and History, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

The authors conduct a narrative review of the quantitative observation metrics and psychometric scales utilized in the visual arts and medical education literature in order to provide medical educators with a ‘toolkit’ of quantitative metrics with which to design and evaluate novel visual arts-based pedagogies. These efforts are intended to support the AAMC and National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s aims to formally evaluate and integrate arts and humanities curricula into traditional scientific educational programming. The scales reviewed examine a variety of domains including tolerance for ambiguity, bias, burnout, communication, empathy, grit, and mindfulness/reflection. Observation skill, given the heterogeneity of quantitative metrics, is reviewed separately.

Introduction

Since medical humanities’ inception in the 1960s, it has grown to encompass a wide range of disciplines, including literature, narrative medicine, music, dance, and others. As of 2018, roughly 85% of medical educational institutions offer some programming in the medical humanities[ 1 ]. Starting in the late 1990s, educators began exploring the efficacy of visual arts programming for improving the ability of medical trainees to deliver high-quality healthcare. Most initial studies examined the relationship between visual art programming and skill at visual observation [ 2 , 3 ]. In the years that followed, educators broadened their conception of the potential value of visual arts-based curricula. Some hoped these curricula could help stem rising rates of burnout, others were concerned about changes in medical student empathy, others about tolerance for ambiguity [ 4–11 ]. Many educators hoped to demonstrate the value of such training. But how, exactly, does one compute the full impact of engaging with a work of visual art? Educators have attempted to answer this and similar questions by evaluating visual arts programming with a range of tools both qualitative and quantitative [ 12–16 ].

Meanwhile, attention to arts and humanities programming by major professional organizations has increased. In 2018, the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) encouraged a renewed engagement with the arts and humanities in all educational pedagogy[ 17 ]. In 2020, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) called for the formal integration of the arts and humanities into healthcare education and crafted a digital ‘Getting Started’ guide [ 18 , 19 ]. The AAMC also endorsed a framework for developing medical humanities curricula, the Prism model [ 20 , 21 ]. Both the AAMC and NASEM advocated for novel pedagogical approaches, enhanced research, and a need to measure ‘learner outcomes beyond satisfaction with the course or program.’[ 18 ]

Some medical humanities educators argue that quantitative measurement of the effects of visual arts-based programming is unnecessary [ 16 , 22 , 23 ]. But curricular committees may be hesitant to add new medical humanities courses into a crowded curriculum without some form of outcomes-based assessment. While acknowledging the value of qualitative forms of analysis, many leaders in clinical schools may be more comfortable if arguments for visual arts integration are accompanied by some quantitative analysis. As the field matures, scholars may want to compare the impact of curricular programming across different institutions, a task that requires consistent metrics for evaluation. We offer a narrative review of the quantitative observation metrics and psychometric scales utilized in the visual arts and medical education literature in order to provide medical educators with a ‘toolkit’ of quantitative metrics with which to design and evaluate novel visual arts-based pedagogies.

Methods – Narrative Review

We conducted an exploratory search of MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Google Scholar for studies that evaluated the role of visual arts in medical education. The search was done in September 2020 with assistance from a health services research librarian. Summative reports, review articles, and bibliographies related to the visual arts and medical education were also reviewed [ 12–18 ]. A repeat search of MEDLINE utilizing identical search terms was conducted in April 2021. Inclusion criteria were limited to visual arts-based studies that incorporated quantitative outcomes metrics, were written in English, and conducted in USA and Canadian medical schools or graduate medical education training programs. Studies written before 1980 were excluded. These searches yielded fourteen visual arts and medical education studies [ 3 , 24–36 ]. Strictly qualitative studies are well-summarized elsewhere and were not included in this study [ 13 , 15 ]. This literature review was conducted by one author (JDI) with oversight by the second author (JDH). Below we first address observation and physical diagnosis metrics and then describe the remaining psychometric scales alphabetically ( Table 1 , Table 2 ). We do not offer a detailed critique of each metric’s design and validation in this narrative review; our intent is to make authors aware of possible assessment techniques as well as their global benefits and limitations. Moreover, as our narrative review of quantitative and psychometric measurements is limited to those used in the visual arts and medical education literature, there are likely other scales that are not explored in this review.

Observation Scales and Measurements used to Assess Visual Arts Programming

Psychometric Scales Utilized to Assess Visual Arts Programming (All domains were evaluated using Likert Scales)

Visual Arts Programming and Medical Education – What Do We Measure?

Observation and physical diagnosis.

Observation skill is the most frequently assessed quantitative domain in the visual arts and medical education literature ( Table 1 ) [ 3 , 25 , 26 , 28–33 ]. Such exploration is logical in that the practice of clinical medicine typically involves practitioners carefully observing patients’ bodies. However, as there are no established scales for measuring the accuracy of clinical observation, observation is typically assessed with de novo designed quantitative metrics. These scales often quantify multiple measurements including the number of distinct observations, the number of words used to describe clinical and artistic images, the amount of time spent analyzing an image, or the number of clinically or artistically relevant observations. However, such scales often involve a fair amount of inherent individual judgment – what, precisely, is a clinically or artistically relevant observation? Heterogeneity between quantitative observation skill metrics has limited inter-study comparison.

The Modified Tolerance for Ambiguity Scale

The Budner Tolerance for Ambiguity (TFA) scale was designed in 1962 and later modified in 1993 for a medical audience by Gail Geller, a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health[ 6 ]. The 7-item questionnaire is graded on a Likert Scale and measures an individual’s comfort (or discomfort) with ambiguity. Example statements include, ‘It really disturbs me when I am unable to follow another person’s train of thought’ and ‘A good task is one in which what is to be done and how it is to be done are always clear.’[ 6 ]

The TFA scale is included in the AAMC Matriculating Student Questionnaire and Graduation Questionnaire administered to all incoming and graduating medical students in the USA[ 8 ]. Intolerance for ambiguity has been found to be associated with increased psychological distress and reduced clinical performance [ 6 , 8 , 37 , 38 ]. Given the importance of working comfortably in what can often be a fluid and ambiguous clinical world, and considering the ambiguity intrinsic to many works of visual art, the TFA scale has been utilized in several visual art and medical education studies [ 24 , 27 , 31 , 32 ].

Best Intentions Questionnaire

The Best Intentions Questionnaire (BIQ) was designed in 2010 for healthcare trainees by Anne Gill, a Doctor of Nursing in the Department of Pediatrics at Baylor[ 39 ]. The 24-item questionnaire is scored on several Likert Scales and assesses an individual’s understanding of their own biases. The first set of statements explores a participant’s perception of how their biases may impact clinical decision making with statements such as ‘physicians can have biases about patients about which they are unaware.’[ 39 ] The second half of the questionnaire probes if individuals believe they can learn to become aware of, manage, and eliminate their own biases. Lastly, participants are asked about their ability to recognize their own emotional state in addition to the emotional state of others. One visual arts and medical education study has used the BIQ metric[ 27 ].

Maslach Burnout Inventory

The Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) was developed in 1981 by University of California Berkley psychologist Christina Maslach to measure burnout in a variety of professional groups[ 40 ]. The 22-item questionnaire is scored on a Likert Scale and evaluates three domains of burnout: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and sense of personal accomplishment (PA). Responders indicate the frequency they agree with statements such as ‘I feel emotionally drained from my work’ and ‘I don’t really care what happens to some patients.’[ 40 ] By this scale, an individual is suffering from symptoms of burnout if they exhibit a high EE score or a high DP score; an individual may also be suffering from burnout if they exhibit a high EE score plus either a high DP score or a low PA score The prevalence of burnout in the medical population exceeds 67% and it is associated with impaired clinical decision making, malpractice, professionalism lapses, and adverse personal outcomes including substance use and depression [ 41 ] The MBI is recognized by the National Academy of Medicine as one of the most frequently used scale to measure burnout[ 42 ]. One 2019 visual arts study utilized the MBI scale to study the effects of an arts intervention on internal medicine residents[ 34 ].

COMMUNICATION

Communication skills and attitude test.

The Communication Skills and Attitude Test (CSAS) was developed in 2002 by UK psychiatrist Charlotte Rees for measuring medical students’ attitudes towards learning communication skills[ 43 ]. The 26-item questionnaire is scored on a Likert Scale and is predicated on the belief that to be an effective healthcare practitioner, effective communication and an openness to improve one’s communication skills are paramount. Example statements include, ‘In order to be a good doctor I must have good communication skills’ and ‘I find it hard to admit to having some problems with my communication skills.’[ 43 ] The CSAS has been utilized in two visual art and medical education studies [ 31 , 32 ].

EMPATHY & COMPASSION

The compassion scale.

The Compassion Scale (CS) was developed in 2011 by psychologist Elizabeth Pommier at the University of Texas at Austin to measure an individual’s understanding of and response to the suffering of others [ 44 , 45 ]. The 24-item questionnaire is scored on a Likert scale. It builds upon psychologist and co-creator Kristin Neff’s model of self-compassion and measures compassionate responses through three conflicting domains: kindness-versus-indifference, common humanity-versus-separation, and mindfulness-versus-disengagement[ 44 ].

Kindness is defined as concern for those who are suffering linked with a desire to console. It is assessed using statements such as ‘If I see someone going through a difficult time, I try to be caring towards that person.’[ 44 ] Its antithesis, indifference , is assessed using statements such as ‘I don’t concern myself with other people’s problems.’[ 44 ] Common humanity is broadly defined as one’s ability to recognize that all humans suffer and simultaneously feel a sense of connection to those who are suffering. It is assessed using statements such as ‘Despite my differences with others, I know that everyone feels pain just like me.’[ 44 ] Its antithesis, separation , attempts to capture isolation through statements such as ‘I can’t really connect with other people when they’re suffering.’[ 44 ] Mindfulness is defined as ‘balanced awareness that neither avoids nor gets lost in others pain’ coupled with a desire to make oneself aware of the other’s suffering[ 44 ]. Its antithesis, disengagement , is an obliviousness to suffering coupled with a lack of desire to offer consolation. Disengagement is measured with statements such as ‘I try to avoid people who are experiencing a lot of pain.’ [ 44 , 45 ] The scale has been utilized in one visual arts and medical education study[ 36 ].

The Interpersonal Reactivity Index

The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) was developed in 1980 by psychologist Mark Davis at Eckerd College to measure cognitive and affective empathy [ 46 , 47 ]. The 28-item questionnaire is scored on a Likert Scale and measures empathy along four distinct subdomains. Cognitive empathy is assessed by examining perspective-taking and fantasy. The perspective-taking statements measure an individual’s ability to assume the psychological point of view of others while the fantasy statements examine an individual’s ability to imagine themselves as agents in fictional narratives. Affective empathy is assessed by examining empathic concern and personal distress. Empathic concern statements evaluate an individual’s ability to feel sympathy towards someone who is suffering, while the personal distress statements evaluate an individual’s emotional distress that results from witnessing suffering. A shortened version of the IRI has been included in the AAMC Matriculating Student Questionnaire and the Graduating Questionnaire. The IRI has been used in two visual arts-based studies [ 35 , 36 ].

Jefferson Scale of Empathy

The Jefferson Scale of Empathy (JSE) was developed in 2007 by Mohammadreza Hojat, a research professor of psychiatry at Jefferson Medical College, to measure cognitive and affective empathy[ 48 ]. The 20-item questionnaire is scored on a Likert Scale and it assesses three components of empathy: perspective taking, compassionate care, and the ‘ability to stand in patients’ shoes.’[ 48 ] The scale is available in 56 different languages and includes modifications for medical students, health professionals, and health professional students. Example statements in the medical student version include, ‘patients feel better when their physicians understand their feelings.’[ 7 ] This scale has been utilized in one visual arts and medical education study[ 24 ].

Reading the Mind in the Eyes

The Reading the Mind in the Eyes test was designed in 1997 by psychologist Simon-Baron Cohen at Cambridge University in the UK to study emotional recognition in patients with Asperger syndrome or high-functioning autism [ 49–51 ]. The test is based upon Theory of Mind psychology, which ‘is the ability to recognize the thinking or feelings of others in order to predict their behaviors and act accordingly.’[ 51 ] The test asks individuals to match an emotion with images of peoples’ eyes. It is grouped with empathy because the recognition of others’ emotional state is the first step in acting empathetically. Jaclyn Gurwin, an ophthalmologist at the University of Pennsylvania, explored students’ emotional recognition abilities as a secondary outcome with the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test in a visual arts intervention designed to improve first year medical students’ ability to describe retinal and periorbital pathology[ 28 ].

The Short Grit Scale

The Short Grit Scale (Grit-S) was created in 2009 by Angela Duckworth, a psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, to measure grit, which is the innate desire to pursue and achieve long-term goals regardless of external positive reinforcement[ 52 ]. The 8-item questionnaire is scored on a Likert scale and evaluates grit along two domains: ‘consistency of interest’ and ‘perseverance of effort.’[ 52 ] Consistency of interest is assessed using statements such as ‘I have been obsessed with a certain idea or project for a short time but later lost interest.’[ 52 ] Perseverance of effort is assessed with statements such as ‘I finish whatever I begin.’[ 52 ] This grit scale has been used in one visual arts and medical education study[ 24 ].

MINDFULNESS & REFLECTION

The five-facet mindfulness scale.

The Five-Facet Mindfulness Scale was designed in 2006 by University of Kentucky psychologist Ruth Baier to assess mindfulness[ 53 ]. The 39-item questionnaire is scored on a Likert Scale and evaluates five distinct domains: observing, describing/self-expression, acting with awareness, non-judgment of inner experience, and non-reactivity to inner experience[ 53 ]. Observing is assessed using statements such as ‘I pay attention to how my emotions affect my thoughts and behavior.’[ 53 ] Description and self-expression are assessed using statements such as ‘I can usually describe how I feel at the moment in considerable detail.’[ 53 ] Acts of self-awareness are assessed using statements such as ‘when I do things, my mind wanders off and I’m easily distracted.’[ 53 ] The non-judgment of inner experience is assessed using statements such as ‘I criticize myself for having irrational or inappropriate emotions’[ 53 ] Lastly, non-reactivity to inner experience is assessed with statements such as ‘I perceive my feelings and emotions without having to react to them.’[ 53 ] The scale was utilized in one visual arts and medical education study[ 36 ].

The Groningen Reflective Ability Scale

The Groningen Reflective Ability Scale (GRAS) was developed in 2009 at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands by Leo Aukes, a researcher at the Center for Research and Innovation of Medical Education, and Joris Slaets, a physician and Professor of Geriatrics[ 54 ]. The 23-item questionnaire is scored on a Likert Scale and measures a medical professional’s reflective ability. Predicated on the belief that reflection is required for maintenance of professional competence and personal wellbeing, the questionnaire evaluates three domains: self-reflection, empathic reflection, and reflective communication.

Self-reflection statements explore an individual’s ability to engage in ‘introspection, exploration, understanding, and appraisal of experiences.’[ 54 ] Empathic reflection statements examine the ability to intuit others’ experiences. Reflective communication statements assess one’s openness for feedback and one’s willingness to accept accountability for their actions. The GRAS was utilized in one visual art and medical education study[ 27 ].

The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale

The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) was developed in 2003 by University of Rochester psychologists Richard Ryan and Kirk Brown to assesses dispositional mindfulness, which is the ability to be aware of and pay attention to the present moment[ 55 ]. Brown and Ryan reinforce that mindfulness is a measure of consciousness distinct from other forms of mental processing, such as cognition or emotion. Consciousness, and by extension mindfulness, requires an awareness of the inner and outer environment coupled with a focused attention of one’s conscious mind. The 15-item questionnaire is scored on a Likert Scale and it includes statements such as ‘I tend not to notice feelings of physical tension or discomfort until they really grab my attention.’[ 55 ] The MAAS was used in a visual arts and medicine study of third year medical students[ 24 ].

Discussion: Putting the Toolkit to Use

We surveyed studies of visual art programming and identified several de-novo quantitative scales used to assess observation skill and twelve psychometric scales used to assess a variety of domains: tolerance for ambiguity, bias, burnout, communication, empathy, grit, and mindfulness/reflection ( Table 1 , Table 2 ). Some psychometric scales originated in the general psychology literature while others were developed specifically for clinical care and education. Some scales, such as the Jefferson Scale for Empathy and Geller’s modified Tolerance for Ambiguity scale have been widely adopted; others, such as the Best Intentions Questionnaire and Reading the Mind in the Eyes test, have gained little traction. The variability of scales used to assess the impact of visual art programming reflects, in part, a lack of consensus regarding how best to measure the utility of visual art interventions for medical trainees. It may also reflect a limited awareness of the universe of available tools with which to evaluate such programming. We hope that this narrative review will make educators planning to evaluate the impacts of visual arts programming aware of the broader universe of analytic tools in order that they can choose the most appropriate one.

Most clinicians and healthcare educators would agree that these metrics attempt to measure domains relevant to medical practice. But many published educational studies do not evidence a clear congruence between their curricular design and the metrics chosen to measure their outcome. It often seems that these scales are indiscriminately incorporated into studies based on ease of administration and interpretation, rather than being carefully selected to match targeted curricular interventions. This practice may also occur, in part, because of a belief that most visual art-based methodologies equally address all the aforementioned domains [ 12 , 13 , 15 ]. This imprecision has limited our ability to understand the effects of visual arts programming.

Prior to selecting any psychometric tool, study designers should first explore the strengths and weakness of that tool. Consider the psychometric scales used to measure cognitive empathy. In recent years, researchers have attempted to demonstrate quantitatively that empathy changes, and in many cases declines, throughout medical training [ 7 , 9–11 ]. But some argue that the measurement scales used to assess empathy may be flawed given the lack of an agreed-upon operational definition of empathy, the lack of inter-instrument reliability, and, perhaps most important, their reliance on student (or physician) self-assessment [ 56–61 ]. Given that ‘the preponderance of evidence suggests that physicians have a limited ability to self-assess,’ would it not be more valuable to evaluate empathy through a third-party assessment of clinical encounters with patients (either real or standardized)? [ 60–62 ] All of the psychometric scales cited in this review also require individuals to internally judge their agreement (or disagreement) with various statements related to ambiguity, bias, burnout, compassion, communication, and grit. Educators wishing to evaluate novel visual arts programming using psychometric measurement should take this locus of measurement into account before selecting one of these psychometric scales.

How, then, might one use this toolkit? First, educators should attempt to align psychometric scales or quantitative observation metrics with specific educational goals. These goals could include one (or more) of the learning objectives outlined in the AAMC-endorsed Prism model: Mastering Skills, Perspective Taking, Personal Insight, and Social Advocacy[ 20 ]. For example, an educator who wants to address the ‘Personal Insight’ domain using a targeted visual arts-based intervention may wish to use the psychometric scales that assess tolerance of ambiguity (modified TFA), burnout (MBI), empathy (JSE, IRI), and mindfulness (MAAS). Other psychometric scales not yet utilized in the visual arts and medical education literature may also be useful. For example, those endorsed by the National Academy of Medicine may be especially useful to measure burnout and healthcare professional well-being. 42

Second, educators should be aware of the pitfalls of psychometric measurement based on learner self-assessment. Educators may want to pair psychometric measurement with additional data (e.g., qualitative interview, third-party assessment) to evaluate novel curricula more holistically. Finally, educators should consider using these psychometric tools for long-term, longitudinal analysis. While pre-test/post-test measurements may be helpful to gauge the short-term impacts of a visual arts-based curriculum, long-term outcomes related to burnout, professionalism, healthcare worker wellbeing, patient-level outcomes, and other underexplored domains among visual arts programming participants will likely provide much more meaningful data[ 23 ]. Carefully matching curricular methodology with psychometric scales, third party assessment, and qualitative data, when accompanied with long term follow-up and reassessment, will build a more cohesive body of medical humanities literature that promotes inter-institution scalability of visual arts programming.

Novel visual arts and humanities pedagogies may need to be formally evaluated to gain recognition and approval. The NASEM report when coupled with the AAMC monograph and Prism model can support efforts to integrate and disseminate the visual arts into medical education curricula nationwide. This narrative review of measurement scales provides educators with a toolkit of resources to design and evaluate visual arts and medical education initiatives.

Acknowledgments

John David Ike received support for this publication from the VA Office of Academic Affiliations through the VA National Clinician Scholars Program and the University of Michigan Department of Medicine. The contents do not represent the views of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or the U.S. Government.

Funding Statement

This work was supported by the Office of Academic Affiliations, Department of Veterans Affairs

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

250+ Research Paper Topics for Art Lovers and Curious Minds

Table of contents

• 1 Argumentative Art Topics for Research Papers
• 2 Fun Art Research Ideas for Professional Writers
• 3 Controversial Art Research Topics
• 4 Gendered Roles in Modern Art Research
• 5 Art Topics for Research Papers: The Impacts of Technology
• 6.1 Themes in 21st Century Paintings
• 7 Ancient Art History Research Paper Topics
• 8 Art Research Topics on Different Cultures
• 9 Greek Art Research Paper Topics
• 10 Art Topics during the Byzantine Period
• 11 Medieval Art History Research Paper Topics
• 12 Renaissance Paper Topics
• 13 Research Paper Topics on the Baroque Era
• 14 The Impressionist Artistic Movement
• 15 The Modern Art Talk about Romanticism
• 16 The Art Influence of Mannerism
• 17 The Post-impressionist Art Movement
• 18 Surrealism in Art History
• 19 The Highlights of Cubism
• 20 The Avant-garde Art Topics
• 21 The Expressionist Art Movement
• 22 Topics on Dadaism
• 23 Pop Art Debate Topics
• 24 Art Education Research Topics in the 16th Century
• 25 Cool Art Ideas during the 17th Century
• 26 Research Papers on Art Produced during the 18th Century
• 27 The 19th Century Artistic Styles
• 28 The 20th Century’s Artistic Characteristics
• 29 Contemporary Art History Topics
• 30 Mexican Revolutionary Art Research Paper Topics
• 31 Architecture Research Paper Topics
• 32 Theater Research Paper Ideas
• 33 The Study of Photography as Research about Art
• 34.1 Art Topics Ideas Base on the Artists of the 18th Century
• 34.2 Artists of the 19th Century

Art has been a significant aspect of human civilization for centuries. From the earliest cave paintings to modern-day installations, art has served as a means of expression and communication. The study of art encompasses a broad range of disciplines, including art history, aesthetics, philosophy, sociology, and psychology. As such, the best controversial research paper topics within the field of art can be explored. This article aims to provide a comprehensive list of 250+ art topics covering various aspects of the discipline, including famous artists and artworks, art movements, theories and concepts, and social and political influences. These topics intend to inspire students and researchers before even choosing their favorite paper writing service and delving deeper into the complex world of art.

Argumentative Art Topics for Research Papers

Art has always been a recurring topic of debate, with different interpretations and perspectives on what it represents and its hidden meanings. From discussions on censorship and freedom of expression to art’s political implications, explore other possibilities in art.

• Write a Critical Analysis of Censorship Issues and How They Can Limit Artistic Freedom.
• Argue for or against Using Public Funds to Support Art and Institutions.
• Discuss the Ethical Considerations Surrounding the Cultural Appropriation of Symbolisms.
• Delimitate the Boundaries of the Tension between Art Commercialization and Artistic Expression’s Authenticity.
• Study How the Relationship between Art and Identity Is Explored and How It Can Shape and Express Individual and Collective Identities.

Fun Art Research Ideas for Professional Writers

Even the most skilled professionals need help developing fresh inspiration for art-related topics and finding  research paper writing help . With this list, we want to inspire writers to explore new horizons, from unconventional art mediums to unusual artists.

• Graffiti Art: Exploring Its Significance and Evolution as a Legitimate Artistic Expression.
• The Impact of Street Photography and How Does It Capture the Essence of Modern Life.
• How Have Album Covers Influenced Popular Culture, and How Do They Reflect the Artistic Vision of Musicians and Artists?
• Analyzing the History and Wonders of Asian Art and Animation and Its Impact on Popular Culture.
• Find Out How Indigenous Art Explores Its Diverse Forms and How It Reflects on the Culture of Their Communities.

Need help with a research project in art? Get your paper written by a professional writer Get Help Reviews.io 4.9/5

Controversial Art Research Topics

Art has always been polarizing, sparking debates on various issues. Whether you’re an art student or an enthusiast, you’ll find excellent history research paper topics on this list.

• Examining the Limits of Expression through the Lenses of Artistic Freedom.
• The Power and Perils of Art Representing Marginalized Communities.
• What Responsibilities Do Collectors Have When Collecting Debatable Pieces?
• Reckoning with the past and the Controversial Legacy of Colonial Art.
• How Do Artists Navigate Appropriation through the Problematic Nature of Artistic Inspiration?
• Write an Argumentative Essay About the Use of Religious Imagery: Is It Blasphemy or Legitimate Creative Expression?
• Censorship: Protecting Public Morals or Inhibiting Creativity?

Gendered Roles in Modern Art Research

Historically male dominance in art has resulted in a limited representation of women. Few female artists are recognized for their contributions, bringing discussions on gendered roles in modern art to the forefront. Check out some fine arts research paper topics.

• Explore the Works of Frida Kahlo and Unravel Gendered Representations in Modern Art.
• The Impact on the Evolution of Feminist Art Generated by Tracey Emin’s Work.
• Research Marina Abramovic’s Pieces and Learn How She Pushed Boundaries on Gender and Performance Art.
• How to See beyond the Male Gaze through John Berger’s “Ways of Seeing” While Critiquing the Objectification of Fine Art.
• The Art of Challenging Conventional Female Roles by Agnes Martin.
• Take an in Depth Look at Cindy Sherman’s Gender and Identity Exploration in Contemporary Art.
• Defying Conservative Norms and Embracing the Body – The Visual Art of Kiki Smith.
• Learn More about the Rise of Women Artists in Modern Art Following the Artworks of Yayoi Kusama.

Art Topics for Research Papers: The Impacts of Technology

Technology has opened up several possibilities, from digital media and virtual reality installations to 3D printing, computer-generated imagery, or even an essay writing service . Look at some of the most interesting art topics that explore this relationship.

• Examine How Technology Has Enabled New Forms of Artistic Expression through Digital Art.
• Art Democratization: How Technology Has Made It Easier for Artists to Reach Wider Audiences.
• The Transformation of Experience and Interaction with Modern World Art through AR Technology.
• AI and New Art Forms: Potential to Challenge Traditional Notions of Creativity.
• Explore How New Social Media Platforms Have Transformed the Ways We Consume Art.
• How Can Digital Technology Preserve and Restore Deteriorating Works of True Art?

Interesting Modern and Contemporary Art Topics

From abstract Expressionism to Pop Art, contemporary artists have explored many creative avenues, resulting in thought-provoking works that challenge traditional notions of art. Check out some ideas for those who want to buy research papers about different epochs in Modern Art.

• Kandinsky, Pollock, and Rothko Pave the Path with the Force of Chaos and Calm.
• Artists like Banksy, Kruger and Weiwei Boldly Show Us How to Discuss Today’s Issues.
• Understand How Fairey, Botero, and Holzer Revolutionize the World through Art.
• Find Out Where Creativity Meets Technology with Arcangel, Utterback, and Lozano-Hemmer.
• Fashion and Art Become the Perfect Pairing: Warhol, Dali, and Haring Meet Saint Laurent, Schiaparelli, and Scott.
• Shattering Stereotypes – Chicago, Sherman, and Ono Challenge the Status Quo.
• Richter, Hirst, and Walker Demonstrate the Ongoing Relevance of Modern Art.

Themes in 21st Century Paintings

• Explore beyond the Representation of Identity in Kerry James Marshall’s “Untitled (Studio)” and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye’s “Mascara.”
• Use the Landscapes of David Hockney and Anselm Kiefer’s “The Field” to Reflect on Environmental Consciousness.
• Analyze the Works of Yinka Shonibare Mbe and Kara Walker’s “A Subtlety.” to Understand Global Visions and Cultural Exchange.
• Politics Occur in Street Art, Becoming Activism in Banksy’s Art and AI Weiwei’s “Sunflower Seeds.”
• Memory, Nostalgia, and Figurative Painting in the Works of Elizabeth Peyton and Lisa Yuskavage’s “Night.”
• “Untitled” by Cecily Brown and the Works of Gerhard Richter: Abstraction and Emotion.
• Technology in Contemporary Painting with Jenny Saville’s “Ancestors” and Stelarc’s “Third Hand.”
• Transcribed Gender and Sexuality in the Works of Nicole Eisenman’s “Procession” and John Currin’s “The Women of Franklin Street.”

Ancient Art History Research Paper Topics

The art of early civilizations is a testament to these societies’ creativity and cultural significance. Check out the best art topics for those interested in Ancient Rome, Mayan Culture, and African art.

• Explore the Development of Primordial Egyptian Art and Its Impact on Later Art Forms.
• The Significance of Art in Mesopotamian Civilization.
• Explore the Relevance of Ancient Chinese Art and Its Influence on the Following Centuries.
• Analyze the Evolution of Artworks in Old India and Their Relationship with Religion and Culture.
• The Role of Art in Mayan Society and Its Significance in Their Spirituality and Habits.
• The Development of Art in Mesoamerican Civilizations and Its Impact on Later Art Forms.
• Analyze the Symbolism of Motifs in Ancient Art and Its Historical Context.

Art Research Topics on Different Cultures

Each culture has unique artistic expressions that reflect its history and social norms. By delving into the art of various cultures, we can gain insights into how art shapes and reflects human experiences and choose exciting art history research topics.

• What Is the Role of Family and Community in Maori Art?
• The Tradition of African Art and Mask Making and Its Role in Identity Formation.
• Understanding the Symbolism and Meaning in Traditional Indian Textiles through the Colors of Culture.
• The Evolution of Japanese Woodblock Prints from Edo to Meiji Era.
• Try Looking for the Symbolism and Meaning in the Paintings of Raja Ravi Varma and Other Examples of Eastern Art.
• The Beauty of Symmetry: Geometry and Design in Islamic Art and Architecture.

Greek Art Research Paper Topics

Greek art is a rich and fascinating field of study that offers endless possibilities. Here is a list of art research paper topics exploring Greek artists’ diverse and complex world.

• Examine the Development of Sculptures from the Archaic to the Hellenistic Period.
• Analyze How Greek Artists Portrayed Gods, Goddesses, and Mythological Heroes.
• How Did Ceramics’ Significance in Daily Life Shape Pottery’s Role in Ancient Greece?
• Take an in Depth Look at the Use of Colour in Greek Sculpture, Painting, and Pottery.
• The Influence of Egypt on Greek Art and How It Impacted the Development of the Current Identity.
• Analyze How Women Were Represented and Their Role in Shaping the Cultural Context of the Time.
• Develop the Topic on the Symbolism and Representation of Animals in Greek Art and Mythology.
• Find Research Papers That Illustrate the Influence of Greece on Roman Art.

Art Topics during the Byzantine Period

Byzantine art illustrates the social context of that time, focusing on religious themes and having a close relationship between art and theology. Explore some of the most notable examples of Byzantine art, including mosaics and frescoes.

• A Study of the Architectural and Artistic Achievements of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I.
• Compare Your Personal Impressions on the Similarities and Differences between Byzantine Art and the Pieces Created during the Renaissance.
• What Was the Importance of Ivory Triptychs in Byzantine Art?
• To Understand Illumination, Research the Byzantine Manuscripts and Their Decorations.
• Compare the Artistic Styles of the Byzantine Art and the Romanesque Period.
• Learn More about the Revival of Classical Artistic Techniques in Byzantine Art.

Medieval Art History Research Paper Topics

Medieval art is characterized by intricate designs, elaborate ornamentation, and religious symbolism, reflecting the time’s beliefs. In writing a research paper on Medieval art history, choosing the right topic allows an in-depth exploration of various aspects of this period.

• Examine the Development in the Representation of Religious Figures and Scenes in Medieval Artworks.
• Analyze the Artistry and Significance of Illuminated Manuscripts in Europe.
• Explore the Influence of Islamic Art on the Development of Medieval Paintings.
• Examine the Meanings and Representation of Animals and Their Significance in That Time’s Worldview.
• Deep Dive into the Techniques and Symbolism Used in Stained Glass Windows in Medieval Churches.

Renaissance Paper Topics

The Renaissance Era was a period of profound cultural rebirth that had a lasting impact on the development of Western art. New growing ideas started a revolution in paintings and sculptures that saw the emergence of new techniques and forms of expression.

• Exploring the Ideals of Humanism and How They Were Reflected on Art at That Period.
• Analyze the Revival of Classical Motifs and Themes in Renaissance Art.
• Write about the Use of Perspective during the Renaissance Era and Its Impact on the Representation of Space and Depth.
• Analyze How Women Were Represented in Art and Their Role in Shaping the Cultural Context of That Time.
• Patronage System during Renaissance: Individual and Institutions Support of Art.
• Examine the Rise of Artists-Genius, Such as Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo, and How Society Perceived Them.
• Explore How Religious Themes Were Depicted in Renaissance Art.
• Start an Analysis of the Use of Allegory in Renaissance Art and Its Meaning in the Cultural Context of the Time.

Research Paper Topics on the Baroque Era

The Baroque era is known for its dramatic and ornate style, intricate ornamentation, and bold colours. In the following topics, we will explore some research paper key concepts related to the Baroque era.

• The Power of Light and Shade: A Study of Caravaggio’s Dramatic Use of Chiaroscuro.
• Carry an in Depth Analysis of the Religious Context of Baroque Art Presented in Murals and Paintings.
• The Triumph of Movement: An Analysis of Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Sculpture and Its Dynamic Qualities.
• Study Female Portrayals by Artemisia Gentileschi and Judith Leyster and Learn More about the Role of Women in the Baroque Era.
• Baroque and Politics: The Relationship between Art and Power in 17th-Century Europe.
• Develop an Article about Trompe-L’œIl Painting in Baroque Art and Discover the Power of Illusion.

The Impressionist Artistic Movement

Impressionism is an art movement that emphasizes capturing the transient effects of light and colour in the natural world. By exploring the following art research paper topics, we will gain a deeper understanding of the significance of impressionism and its ongoing legacy.

• Understand Better the Concept of Time in Impressionist Paintings by Studying Some of Paul Cézanne’s Still Life.
• What’s the Relevance of Weather in Impressionist Work, and What Can We Learn from It?
• Discover the Importance of Motion in Impressionist Landscapes, According to Camille Pissarro.
• What Was the Reception of Impressionism in America, and How It Impacted Local Artists?
• Draw a Timeline of the Evolution of éDouard Manet’s Artistic Style.
• The Role of Race and Ethnicity in Degas’ Art: A Comparative Study of His Depictions of Black and Asian Figures.

The Modern Art Talk about Romanticism

Romanticism is an interesting topic characterized by a fascination with emotion, nature, and the individual. By examining the art nuances of Romanticism, we can better understand the cultural and historical context in which these works were created and appreciate its enduring influence.

• Evoking Awe and Terror in the Art of Caspar David Friedrich and J.M.W. Turner.
• Learn more about the occult in the works of Samuel Taylor coleridge and William Blake.
• Did the Portrayal of Femininity in the Works of Jane Austen, Eugène Delacroix, and William Blake Romanticize Women?
• Explore Turner and Wordsworth’s responses to the Industrial Revolution.
• Delacroix and the Impact of the French Revolution on the Romantic Movement.
• How Did Wordsworth and Goethe Portray Childhood?

The Art Influence of Mannerism

The Mannerist period followed the High Renaissance and preceded the Baroque era. Its highlights include the works of artists such as Michelangelo and Tintoretto, who created some of the era’s most beautiful and thought-provoking pieces.

• A Study of the Relationship between Artistic Style and Religious Change in Europe.
• Find Out More about Innovative Techniques and Styles Used by Mannerist Portraitists.
• Research about Michelangelo’s Influence on the Development of the Mannerist Style.
• Write an Article about the Innovations Employed by the Painter Bronzino.
• How Was the Relationship between Cellini and Michelangelo?
• A Comparative Study of Female Portrayals by Sofonisba Anguissola and Lavinia Fontana.
• Innovative Techniques Used by Mannerist Artists in Their Departure from Classical Tradition.

The Post-impressionist Art Movement

Post-impressionism was a reaction against the limitations of impressionism. They sought to expand the boundaries of art by exploring new techniques, emphasizing individual expression, and infusing their works with symbolic meaning.

• Examine How Post-Impressionist Painters Used Colour to Convey Emotion and Atmosphere.
• The Evolution of Pointillism from Seurat to Pissarro and Van Gogh.
• Discuss the Influence of Scientific Theories on the Development of Post-impressionist Painting Techniques.
• The Influence of Music on Gauguin and Kandinsky’s Post-impressionist Works.
• What Was the Legacy of Post-impressionism in the Paintings of Fauvists and Expressionists Such as Vlaminck and Nolde?

Surrealism in Art History

Surrealism sought to challenge the rationality and logic of Western thought, emphasizing the power of the unconscious mind. Surrealist artists sought to create works that blurred the lines between reality and fantasy.

• Breaking Barriers and Boundaries: Feminist Critique of Surrealist Art.
• How Did Surrealism Represent Sexuality and Desire in Its Artworks?
• Dreams and the Unconscious: Surrealism’s Gateway to the Psyche.
• What Was the Role of Surrealism in the Construction of Gender Identity?
• From Art to Advertising: Surrealist Techniques in Marketing.
• How Did Surrealism Represent the Non-human?

The Highlights of Cubism

Cubism is an art movement where Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque revolutionized traditional forms of representation by breaking down objects into geometric shapes. Here are some ideas of themes for your next art research paper regarding Cubism.

• Study the Impacts of Cubist Paintings on American Artists Such as Stuart Davis and Charles Demuth.
• The Role of Cubism in Modern Graphic Design: A Comparative Analysis of the Work of Cassandre and Moholy-Nagy.
• The Relationship between Cubist Art and Literature and How It Influenced the Trajectory of James Joyce and Gertrude Stein.
• A Comparative Study of the Depiction of Time in the Paintings of Picasso and Braque.
• Find Out How Jazz and African Rhythms Influenced the Development of Cubism.

The Avant-garde Art Topics

The Avant-garde art movement pushed art boundaries, experimenting with new techniques, materials, and subject matter. In these topics, college students can explore the critical characteristics of this art style.

• What Was the Role of Marcel Duchamp in Shaping the Avant-Garde Movement?
• Learn More about Kazimir Malevich’s “Black Square” Significance in Avant-Garde Art.
• How Did the Work of Francis Picabia Challenge Traditional Notions of Art and Beauty?
• Examine the Impact of Futurism on Avant-Garde Art through the Creation of Umberto Boccioni.
• Understand the Use of Technology in Avant-Garde Art through the Work of Nam June Paik.

The Expressionist Art Movement

Expressionist artists sought to convey intense emotions through their works, rejecting traditional forms of representation in favour of abstraction and distortion. This list will explore the critical characteristics of Expressionism, examining its cultural and historical context.

• What Was the Influence of Expressionism on Abstract Art: From the Work of Rothko and Newman.
• Nature in Expressionist Art: A Survey of the Creation of Emil Nolde and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.
• Deep Dive into German Expressionism’s Impact on Modern Art Development.
• Expressionism and the Representation of War: A Comparative Analysis of Dix and Grosz’s Depictions of World War I.
• Analyze How Religion Existed in the Expressionist Movement, Englobing Marc Chagall’s Work and Its Relationship to Mysticism.

Topics on Dadaism

The Dadaist era was famous for its irreverent humour and rejection of logic and reason. By reviewing the Dadaist age, we can better understand how art can be used as a social and political critique.

• A Study of the Use of Humor in the Work of Duchamp and Ernst during Dadaism.
• How Was the National Identity Represented in Dadaism in the Work of Huelsenbeck and Grosz?
• Trace the Dadaist Roots in the Cultural and Political Context of the Early 20th Century.
• Analyze How Dadaists Turned Chance and Accident into Creative Tools.
• Examine How Artists Used Collage and Photomontage to Challenge Traditional Notions of Art during Dadaism.
• Trace the Journey of Francis Picabia’s Shifting Style in the Dada Movement.
• Marcel Duchamp’s Readymades and the Subversive Legacy of Dadaism.

Pop Art Debate Topics

Pop Art is a visual arts movement that appropriated popular cultural imagery and techniques, challenging traditional fine art concepts. With their lasting influence, these art epochs are exciting topics for research papers for college students.

• How Did Pop Art Reflect and Critique Consumer Culture and Consumerism?
• Analyze the Art and Influence of Andy Warhol and How He Contributed to the Development of the Movement.
• How Did Pop Art Appropriate and Recontextualize Advertising Imagery?
• Examine How Female Artists Contributed to Pop Art and How They Challenged Traditional Gender Roles.
• How Did Roy Lichtenstein Contribute to Developing Graphic Novel-Inspired Imagery in Pop Art?
• Analyze How Pop Art Has Influenced and Been Influenced by Digital Media.
• Free unlimited checks
• All common file formats
• Accurate results
• Intuitive interface

Art Education Research Topics in the 16th Century

• Discover the Artistic Innovations of Bruegel, Bosch, and Dürer in the Northern Renaissance.
• Why Was the Artistic Response to the Catholic Church’s Reforms Called Counter-Reformation Art?
• Venetian Renaissance: The Colorful and Opulent Art of Titian, Tintoretto, and Veronese.
• Emphasize the Artistic Achievements of Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Hals.
• What Did the Spanish Golden Age Contribute through the Work of Velázquez, Murillo, and Zurbarán?
• Understand Mannerist Architecture and Its Ornate and Playful Buildings of Italy’s Palladio, Vignola, and Scamozzi.
• What Happened When Rococo’s Lavish and Ornamental Style Was Present in Boucher, Fragonard, and Watteau’s Work?

Cool Art Ideas during the 17th Century

• The Realistic and Genre Scenes of Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Hals in Dutch Baroque.
• The Theatrical Style of Poussin, Le Brun, and Lorrain of the Baroque Period in France.
• Naturalistic Art in the Flemish Baroque of Rubens, Van Dyck, and Jordaens in Flanders.
• The Emotive and Dramatic Style of Caravaggio, Bernini, and Borromini in the Italian Baroque.
• The Revival of Classical Antiquity in European Art and Design through Neoclassicism.
• The Mastery of Detail in the Dutch Still Life Paintings by Willem Kalf, Pieter Claesz, and Rachel Ruysch.
• Illustrating the Contrast of Light and Dark in the Paintings of Velázquez and Zurbarán.
• Flemish Still Life Painting: The Richness in the Works of Jan Davidsz de Heem, Clara Peeters, and Osias Beert.

Research Papers on Art Produced during the 18th Century

• The Ornate and Playful Rococo Art by Watteau, Boucher, and Fragonard in France.
• The Revival of Classical Antiquity in European Art, Architecture, and Design in the Rising of Neoclassicism.
• Depictions of Natural Beauty by Gainsborough, Constable, and Turner in 18th-Century British Landscape Paintings.
• The Development of a New Style in Portraiture, Landscape, and Still Life Painting in American Colonial Art.
• Intricacy and Elegance of Porcelain, Jade, and Lacquer Ware Developed during the Qing Dynasty in China.
• Discover Indian Miniature Painting through Its Colorful and Narrative Art of Mughal and Rajput Courts.
• The Use of the Contrast of Light and Dark in the Spanish Baroque, Illustrated by the Works of Velázquez and Zurbarán.
• Extravagant and Sensuous Italian Rococo Paintings by Tiepolo, Guardi, and Canaletto in Italy.

The 19th Century Artistic Styles

• Understand the Depiction of Everyday Life and Social Issues through the Realism of Courbet, Millet, and Daumier.
• The Curvilinear and Organic Designs of Art Nouveau in European Architecture and Decorative Arts.
• Find Out What Is behind the Mystical Art of Moreau, Redon, and Klimt.
• The Romantic and Medieval Style in Painting, Poetry, and Design in the Pre-raphaelite Period.
• Study the Hudson River School and the Landscape Painting Movement Focusing on Cole, Church, and Bierstadt.
• The Exotic and Colorful Japanese Woodblock Prints of Ukiyo-E, with Focus on Hokusai, Hiroshige, and Utamaro.
• Academic Classicism Focused on the Preservation of Traditional Techniques, Emphasizing on Bouguereau, Gérôme, and Leighton.
• The Bold and Vibrant Use of Color in Fauvism by Matisse, Derain, and Vlaminck.

The 20th Century’s Artistic Characteristics

• The Breaking Down of Reality and Perception in Cubism by Pablo Picasso and Braque.
• The Works of Munch, Kirchner, and Schiele Show the Emotion and Inner Feelings in Expressionism.
• The Celebration of Technology, Movement, and Modernity through Futurism by Boccioni and Balla.
• The Large-Scale and Gestural Art Movement by Jackson Pollock, Rothko, and de Kooning during Abstract Expressionism.
• The Simplification and Reduction of Form in Minimalism, with Focus on Judd, Flavin, and Andre.
• The Emphasis on Ideas over Aesthetics Inspired Conceptual Art Constructed by Kosuth, Weiner, and Acconci.
• The Return to Figurative and Emotional Art in Neo-Expressionism with Focus on Basquiat, Schnabel, and Kiefer.

Contemporary Art History Topics

• How the International Art Market Is Changing the Art Landscape through Globalization.
• Examine the Continuing Impact of Pop Art on Contemporary Art Practices.
• Explore the Relationship between Street Art and Mainstream Art Institutions.
• How Are Artists Using Their Work to Address Race, Gender, and Sexuality?
• Examine How Painters Incorporate New Technologies and Techniques into Their Work.
• Analyze How Performance Art Challenges Traditional Notions of Art and Audience Participation.
• Explore How Contemporary Artists Challenge the Status Quo and What Constitutes Art in the Last Centuries.

Mexican Revolutionary Art Research Paper Topics

The Mexican Revolution was a significant political change in Mexico. Revolutionary art emerged as a powerful tool for propaganda and expressed the hopes and aspirations of the Mexican people. These themes exemplify some of the most interesting paintings to write about.

• Art Contribution to the Mexican Revolutionary Movement.
• Analyze How Artists Portrayed Revolutionary Heroes Such as Emiliano Zapata and Pancho Villa.
• Examine How Muralists Such as Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Jose Clemente Orozco Used Art to Promote Social Change.
• Artists’ Representation of Indigenous People during the Revolutionary Period.
• Explore How Mexican Revolutionary Art Has Influenced and Inspired Artists in Mexico and Beyond.

Architecture Research Paper Topics

• An Analysis of Organic Forms and Materials in Santiago Calatrava’s Designs.
• Write a Critical Analysis of Zaha Hadid’s Visionary Designs.
• Examine How Shigeru Ban’s Designs Address Social and Environmental Challenges.
• Build a Historical Overview of the Green Building Movement and Its Influence on Contemporary Architecture.
• Analyze the Effects of Colonialism on the Built Environment of Former Colonies.

Theater Research Paper Ideas

• Carry an Examination of the Role of Emotion and Empathy in Theater Performance.
• Start a Comparative Study of Emerging Trends and Innovations in Contemporary Theater Production.
• Analyzing the Legacy of Ancient Dramaturgy on Modern Performance.
• What Are the Techniques and Styles of Julie Taymor and Her Impact on Modern Stagecraft?
• The Political Satire of George Bernard Shaw: An Examination of His Use of Humor and Wit in Social Critique.

The Study of Photography as Research about Art

• What Is the Relationship between Photography and Memory, and How Do Photographs Shape Our Perceptions of the Past?
• How Did Modern Society Revolutionize the Use of Photography in Advertising, and What Are the Effects on Consumer Behaviour?
• The Intersection of Photography and Architecture: How Photographers Capture the Urban Environment.
• Discover the Role of War Photography in Documenting and Promoting Social Justice.
• Analyze How Photos Can Be Used as a Tool for Scientific Research and New Technological Discoveries.
• The Rise of Digital Photography and Its Effects on the Field.
• Explore How Photographers Portray and Challenge Traditional Gender Roles and Identities in Contemporary Photography.

Artist Biography Ideas

• Vincent Van Gogh: The Tragic Life of a Misunderstood Artist.
• A Biography of the Groundbreaking American Impressionist Painter, Mary Cassatt.
• Diego Rivera: The Life and Work of the Revolutionary Mexican Muralist.
• Learn More about the History and Art of the Bold and Trailblazing Baroque Painter Artemisia Gentileschi.
• AI Weiwei: The Activism of the Contemporary Chinese Artist and Dissident.
• The Artistic Legacy of Gustav Klimt, the Austrian Symbolist Painter.
• Frida Kahlo: The Work of the Iconic Mexican Surrealist Artist.
• What Are the Most Interesting Parts of the American Neo-Expressionist Painter Jean-Michel Basquiat Journey?

Generate Citations APA MLA Chicago IEEE AMA Turabian ASA APSA Bluebook CSE Website Book Journal article Newspaper article Book section or chapter Article Encyclopedia article Magazine article Citetions

Art Topics Ideas Base on the Artists of the 18th Century

• Explore the Satirical Art of the British Painter and Printmaker William Hogarth.
• How Was the Life of Rococo and French Artist Jean-Honoré Fragonard?
• Thomas Gainsborough: The Artistic Legacy of the English Portrait Painter.
• What Were the Achievements of the Swiss-English Neoclassical Artist Angelica Kauffman?
• Understand How the French Revolution Was Seen through the Artistic Vision of the Painter Jacques-Louis David.
• The Hidden Meanings behind the English Portrait Painter Joshua Reynolds.
• What Was the Artistic Legacy of the Pioneering French Portrait Painter éLisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun?

Artists of the 19th Century

• Gustave Courbet: The Artistic Vision of the French Realist Painter.
• The Sculptures of Auguste Rodin and His Legacy in 19th-Century France.
• What Were the Artistic Achievements of the American Portrait Painter John Singer Sargent?
• Get a Grasp of the Legacy of One of the Most Iconic French Modernist Painters, éDouard Manet.
• How Was Impressionism Present in the Body of Work from French Impressionist Painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir?
• Mary Cassatt: The Artistic Contributions of the American Impressionist Painter.
• Find Out More about the History behind the Evolution of the French Post-impressionist Painter Paul Gauguin.

Readers also enjoyed

WHY WAIT? PLACE AN ORDER RIGHT NOW!

Just fill out the form, press the button, and have no worries!

We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy.

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• Open access
• Published: 02 September 2024

Weaving equity into infrastructure resilience research: a decadal review and future directions

• Natalie Coleman 1 ,
• Xiangpeng Li 1 ,
• Tina Comes 2 &
• Ali Mostafavi 1  

npj Natural Hazards volume  1 , Article number:  25 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

1 Altmetric

Metrics details

• Natural hazards
• Sustainability

Infrastructure resilience plays an important role in mitigating the negative impacts of natural hazards by ensuring the continued accessibility and availability of resources. Increasingly, equity is recognized as essential for infrastructure resilience. Yet, after about a decade of research on equity in infrastructure resilience, what is missing is a systematic overview of the state of the art and a research agenda across different infrastructures and hazards. To address this gap, this paper presents a systematic review of equity literature on infrastructure resilience in relation to natural hazard events. In our systematic review of 99 studies, we followed an 8-dimensional assessment framework that recognizes 4 equity definitions including distributional-demographic, distributional-spatial, procedural, and capacity equity. Significant findings show that (1) the majority of studies found were located in the US, (2) interest in equity in infrastructure resilience has been exponentially rising, (3) most data collection methods used descriptive and open-data, particularly with none of the non-US studies using human mobility data, (4) limited quantitative studies used non-linear analysis such as agent-based modeling and gravity networks, (5) distributional equity is mostly studied through disruptions in power, water, and transportation caused by flooding and tropical cyclones, and (6) other equity aspects, such as procedural equity, remain understudied. We propose that future research directions could quantify the social costs of infrastructure resilience and advocate a better integration of equity into resilience decision-making. This study fills a critical gap in how equity considerations can be integrated into infrastructure resilience against natural hazards, providing a comprehensive overview of the field and developing future research directions to enhance societal outcomes during and after disasters. As such, this paper is meant to inform and inspire researchers, engineers, and community leaders to understand the equity implications of their work and to embed equity at the heart of infrastructure resilience plans.

Similar content being viewed by others

Measuring accessibility to public services and infrastructure criticality for disasters risk management

Realizing resilience for decision-making

Exploring disaster impacts on adaptation actions in 549 cities worldwide

Introduction.

Infrastructures are the backbones of our societies, connecting people to essential resources and services. At the same time, infrastructure systems such as power, water, and transportation play a pivotal role in determining whether a natural hazard event escalates into a disaster 1 . Driven by the combination of accelerating climate hazards and increasing vulnerability, a 2022 Reuters report indicated that natural hazards caused infrastructure and building losses between $732 and $845 billion dollars internationally 2 . In another report by the World Bank (2019), the direct damage to power and transportation systems had an estimated cost of $18 billion annually 3 . Not only do infrastructure disruptions result in economic losses but they also lead to health issues and a decline in quality of life 4 . Since infrastructure systems secure the accessibility and availability of water, health, and electricity, among other critical services, disruptions of infrastructure exacerbate disasters. For example, the Nepal earthquake (2015) caused the collapse of 262 micro-hydropower plants and 104 hospitals, which further weakened the community’s ability to recover from the hazardous event 5 . Hurricane Maria (2017) in Puerto Rico led to year-long power disruptions which contributed to the 2975 estimated human fatalities 6 . Therefore, infrastructure resilience is becoming increasingly prominent in research, policy, and practice.

The National Infrastructure Advisory Council defined infrastructure resilience as the ability of infrastructure systems, to absorb, adapt, or recover from disruptive events such as natural hazards 7 , 8 . From an engineering viewpoint, infrastructure resilience ensures no significant degradation or loss of system performance in case of a shock (robustness), establishes multiple access channels to infrastructure services (redundancy), effectively mobilizes resources and adapts to new conditions (resourcefulness), and accomplishes these goals in a timely manner (rapidity) 9 . From these origins, infrastructure resilience has evolved to include the complex interactions of technology, policy, social, and governance structures 10 . The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction discusses the need to use transdisciplinary and systemic methods to guide infrastructure resilience 11 . In their Principles of Resilient Infrastructure report, the principles of infrastructure resilience are to develop understanding and insights (continual learning), prepare for current and future hazards (proactively protected), positively work with the natural environment (environmentally integrated), develop participation across all levels of society (socially engaged), share information and expertise for coordinated benefits (shared responsibility), and address changing needs in infrastructure operations (adaptively transforming) 12 .

Based on the argument of Schlor et al. 13 that “social equity is essential for an urban resilience concept,” we also argue that equity in infrastructure resilience will not only benefit vulnerable populations but also lead to more resilient communities. Equity, in a broad sense, refers to the impartial distribution and just accessibility of resources, opportunities, and outcomes, which strive for fairness regardless of location and social group 14 , 15 . Equity in infrastructure resilience ensures that everyone in the community, regardless of their demographic background, geographic location, level of community status, and internal capabilities, have access to and benefits from infrastructure services. It would also address the limitations of infrastructure resilience, which brings short-term benefits to a specific group of people but ultimately results in long-term disaster impacts 16 . A failure to recognize equity in infrastructure resilience could exacerbate the disaster impact and lock in recovery processes, which in turn, reduces future resilience and leads to a vicious cycle 17 .

Even though infrastructure resilience has important equity impacts, the traditional definition of infrastructure resilience is antithetical to equity. Socially vulnerable populations (such as lower income, minority, indigenous, or rural populations) have traditionally been excluded from the development, maintenance, and planning of infrastructure resilience 18 . For instance, resilience strategies do not conventionally consider the unique needs and vulnerabilities of different communities, leading to inadequate one-size-fits-all solutions 19 . Conventional approaches to restoring infrastructure after hazard events are based on the number of outages, the number of affected customers, and extent of damage within an area, depending on the company preferences, and rarely prioritize the inherent vulnerability of affected individuals and areas 20 . Thereby, those who are most dependent on infrastructure systems may also be most affected by their outages. Several reports, such as National Institute of Standards and Technology 21 , United Nations Office for Project Services 11 , United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure 22 , and the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure 23 have recognized the importance of considering vulnerable populations in infrastructure resilience.

Furthermore, infrastructure resilience efforts often require significant investment at individual, community, and societal levels 24 . For instance, lower income households may not be able to afford power generators or water tanks to replace system losses 25 , 26 , which means they are more dependent on public infrastructure systems. Wealthier communities may receive more funding and resources for resilience projects due to better political representation and economic importance 27 . Improvements in infrastructure can also lead to gentrification and displacement, as an area perceived with increased safety may raise property values and push out underrepresented residents 28 . Infrastructure resilience may not be properly communicated or usable for all members of the community 29 . Research has also shown an association between vulnerable groups facing more intense losses and longer restoration periods of infrastructure disruptions due to planning biases, inadequate maintenance, and governance structures 18 . Due to the limited tools that translate equity considerations, infrastructure managers, owners, and operators are unlikely to recognize inequities in service provision 20 . Finally, resilience planning can prioritize rapid recovery which may not allow for sufficient time to address the underlying social inequities. This form of resilience planning overlooks the range of systematic disparities evident in infrastructure planning, management, operations, and maintenance in normal times and hazardous conditions 18 .

The field of equity in infrastructure resilience has sparked increasing interest over the last decade. First, researchers have distinguished equal and equitable treatment for infrastructure resilience. As stated by Kim and Sutley 30 , equality creates equivalence at the beginning of a process whereas equity seeks equivalence at the end. Second, the term has been interpreted through other social-economic concepts such as social justice 16 , sustainability 31 , vulnerability 32 , welfare 33 , 34 , and environmental justice 35 . Third, equitable infrastructure is frequently associated with pre-existing inequities such as demographic features 36 , 37 , spatial clusters 38 , 39 , 40 , and political processes 41 . Fourth, studies have proposed frameworks to analyze the relationship of equity in infrastructure resilience 42 , 43 , adapted quantitative and qualitative approaches 44 , 45 , and created decision-making tools for equity in infrastructure resilience 31 , 46 .

Despite a decade of increasing interest in integrating equity into infrastructure resilience, the research gap is to systematically evaluate collective research progress and fundamental knowledge. To address this gap, this paper presents a comprehensive systematic literature review of equity-related literature in the field of infrastructure resilience during natural hazards. The aim is to provide a thorough overview of the current state of art by synthesizing the growing body of literature of equitable thinking and academic research in infrastructure resilience. From there, we aim to identify gaps and establish a research agenda. This review focuses on the intersection of natural hazard events, infrastructure resilience, and equity to answer three overarching research questions. As such, this research is important because it explores the critical but often neglected integration of equity into infrastructure resilience against natural hazards. It provides a comprehensive overview and identifies future research opportunities to improve societal outcomes during and after disasters.

What are the prevailing concepts, foci, methods, and theories in assessing the inequities of infrastructure services in association with natural hazard events?

What are the similarities and differences in studying pathways of equity in infrastructure resilience?

What are the current gaps of knowledge and future challenges of studying equity in infrastructure resilience?

To answer the research questions, the authors reviewed 99 studies and developed an 8-dimensional assessment framework to understand in which contexts and via which methods equity is studied. To differentiate between different equity conceptualizations, the review distinguishes four definitions of equity: distributional-demographic (D), distributional-spatial (S), procedural (P), and capacity (C). In our study, “pathways” explores the formation, examination, and application of equity within an 8-dimensional framework. Following Meerow’s framework of resilience to what and of what? 47 , we then analyze for which infrastructures and hazards equity is studied. Infrastructures include power, water, transportation, communication, health, food, sanitation, stormwater, emergency, and general if a specific infrastructure is not mentioned. Green infrastructure, social infrastructure, building structures, and industrial structures were excluded. The hazards studied include flood, tropical cyclone, drought, earthquake, extreme temperature, pandemic, and general if there is no specific hazard.

The in-depth decadal review aims to bring insights into what aspects are fully known, partially understood, or completely missing in the conversation involving equity, infrastructure resilience, and disasters. The review will advance the academic understanding of equity in infrastructure resilience by highlighting understudied areas, recognizing the newest methodologies, and advising future research directions. Building on fundamental knowledge can influence practical applications. Engineers and utility managers can use these findings to better understand potential gaps in the current approaches and practices that may lead to inequitable outcomes. Community leaders and advocates could also leverage such evidence-based insights for advocacy and bring attention to equity concerns in infrastructure resilience policies and guidelines.

Infrastructure resilience in the broader resilience debate

To establish links across the resilience fields, this section embeds infrastructure resilience into the broader resilience debate including general systems resilience, ecological resilience, social resilience, physical infrastructure resilience, and equity in infrastructure resilience. From the variety of literature in different disciplines, we focus on the definitions of resilience and draw out the applicability to infrastructure systems.

Resilience has initially been explored in ecological systems. Holling 48 defines resilience as the ability of ecosystems to absorb changes and maintain their core functionality. This perspective recognizes that ecosystems do not necessarily return to a single equilibrium state, but can exist in multiple steady states, each with distinct thresholds and tipping points. Building on these concepts, Carpenter et al. 49 assesses the capacity of socioecological systems to withstand disturbances without transitioning to alternative states. The research compares resilience properties in lake districts and rangelands such as the dependence on slow-changing variables, self-organization capabilities, and adaptive capacity. These concepts enrich our understanding of infrastructure resilience by acknowledging the complex interdependencies between natural and built systems. It also points out the different temporal rhythms across fast-paced behavioral and slow-paced ecological and infrastructural change 50 .

Social resilience brings the human and behavioral dimension to the foreground. Aldrich and Meyer focuses on the concept of social capital in defining community resilience by emphasizing the role of social networks and relationships to enhance a community’s ability to withstand and recover from disasters 51 . Aldrich and Meyer argues that social infrastructure is as important as physical infrastructure in disaster resilience. Particularly, the depth and quality of social networks can provide crucial support in times of crisis, facilitate information sharing, expedite resource allocation, and coordinate recovery efforts. Resilience, in this context, is defined as the enhancement and utilization of its social infrastructure through social capital. It revolves around the collective capacity of communities to manage stressors and return to normalcy post-disaster through cooperative efforts.

Since community resilience relies on collaborative networks, which in turn are driven by accessibility, community and social resilience are intricately linked to functioning infrastructures 52 . To understand the relationships, we first examine the systems of systems approach thinking. Vitae Systems of Systems aims to holistically resolve complex environmental and societal challenges 53 . It emphasizes strategic, adaptive, and interconnected solutions crucial for long-term system resilience. Individual systems, each with their capabilities and purposes, are connected in ways such that they can achieve together what they cannot achieve alone. Additionally, Okada 54 also shows how the Vitae Systems of Systems can detect fundamental areas of concern and hotspots of vulnerability. It highlights principles of survivability (live through), vitality (live lively), and conviviality (live together) to build system capacity in the overall community. In the context of infrastructure resilience, these approaches bring context to the development of systems and their interdependencies, rather than focusing on the resilience of individual components in isolation.

Expanding on the notion of social and community resilience, Hay’s applies key concepts of being adaptable and capable of maintaining critical functionalities during disruptions to infrastructure 55 . This perspective introduces the concept of “safe-to-fail” systems, which suggests that planning for resilience should anticipate and accommodate the potential for system failures in a way that minimizes overall disruption and aids quick recovery.

As such, the literature agrees that social, infrastructural, and environmental systems handle unexpected disturbances and continue to provide essential services. While Aldrich’s contribution lies in underscoring the importance of social ties and community networks, Hay expands this into the realm of physical systems by considering access to facilities. Infrastructure systems traditionally adapt and change slowly, driven by rigid physical structures, high construction costs, and planning regulations. In contrast, behavioral patterns are relatively fast-changing, even though close social connections and trust also take time to build. Yet, infrastructures form the backbone that enables—or disrupts—social ties. By adopting resilience principles that enable adaptation across infrastructure and social systems, better preparedness, response, and recovery can be achieved.

Given the dynamic, complex nature of resilience, infrastructure resilience, by extension, should not just be considered through the effective engineering of the built environment. Rather, infrastructure resilience must be considered as an integral part of the multi-layered resilience landscape. Crucial questions that link infrastructure to the broader resilience debate include: How will it be used and by whom? How are infrastructure resilience decisions taken, and whose voices are prioritized? These critical questions necessitate the integration of equity perspectives into the infrastructure resilience discourse.

Equity in infrastructure resilience ensures all community members have equitable access to essential services and infrastructure. In her commentary paper, Cutter 56 examines disaster resilience and vulnerability, challenging the prevalent ambiguity in the definitions of resilience. The paper poses two fundamental questions of “resilience to what?” and “resilience to whom?” . Later, Meerow and Newell 47 expanded on these questions in the context of urban resilience, “for whom, what, where, and why?” . They also stress the need for “resilience politics,” which include understanding of how power dynamics shape resilience policies, creating winners and losers 47 .

In a nutshell, resilience strategies must proactively address systemic inequities. This can also be framed around the concept of Rawls’ Theory of Justice principles, such as equal basic rights and fair equality of opportunity 57 , 58 . Rawls advocates for structuring social and economic inequalities to benefit the least advantaged members of society. In the context of infrastructure resilience, the theory would ensure vulnerable communities, such as lower-income households, have priority in infrastructure restoration. Incorporating Walker’s Theory of Abundant Access, this could also mean prioritizing those most dependent on public transit. Access to public transit, especially in lower-income brackets, allows for greater freedom of movement and connection to other essential facilities in the community like water, food, and health 59 , 60 . At the same time, Casali et al. 61 show that access to infrastructures alone is not sufficient for urban resilience to emerge. Such perspectives integrate physical and social elements of a community to equitably distribute infrastructure resilience benefits. Table 1 summarizes the selected definitions of resilience.

Definitions of equity

Equity in infrastructure resilience ensures that individuals have the same opportunity and access to infrastructure services regardless of differing demographics, spatial regions, involvement in the community, and internal capacity. Equity is a multifaceted concept that requires precise definitions to thoroughly assess and address it within the scope of infrastructure resilience. Based on the literature, our systematic literature review proposes four definitions of equity for infrastructure resilience: distributional-demographic (D), distributional-spatial (S), procedural (P), and capacity (C). Distributional-demographic (D) equity represents accessibility to and functionality of infrastructure services considering the vulnerability of demographic groups 62 . Distributional-spatial (S) equity focuses on the equitable distribution of infrastructure services to all spatial regions 63 . Procedural (P) equity refers to inclusive participation and transparent planning with stakeholders and community members 31 . Capacity equity (C) connect the supporting infrastructure to the hierarchy of needs which recognizes the specific capacities of households 64 .

Distributional-demographic (D) addresses the systemic inequities in communities to ensure those of differing demographic status have equitable access to infrastructure services 37 . The purpose is to equitably distribute the burdens and benefits of services by reducing disparity for the most disadvantaged populations 42 . These groups may need greater support due to greater hardship to infrastructure losses, greater dependency on essential services, and disproportionate losses to infrastructure 43 , 65 , 66 . In addition, they may have differing abilities and need to mitigate service losses 33 . Our research bases distributional-demographic on age for young children and elderly, employment, education, ethnicity, people with disabilities, gender, income, tenure of residence, marginalized populations based on additional demographic characteristics, intergenerational, and general-social inequities 67 .

Distributional-spatial (S) recognizes that the operation and optimizations of the systems may leave certain areas in isolation 68 , 69 , 70 . For example, an equitable access to essential services (EAE) approach to spatial planning can identify these service deserts 46 . Urban and rural dynamics may also influence infrastructure inequities. Rural areas have deficient funding sources compared to urban areas 17 while urban areas may have greater vulnerability due to the interconnectedness of systems 71 . Our research labels distributional-spatial as spatial and urban-rural. Spatial involves spatial areas of extreme vulnerability through spatial regression models, spatial inequity hotspots, and specific mentions of vulnerable areas. Urban-rural references the struggles of urban-rural areas.

Procedural (P) equity ensures the inclusion of everyone in the decision-making process from the collection of data to the influence of policies. According to Rivera 72 , inequities in the disaster recovery and reconstruction process originate from procedural vulnerabilities associated with historical and ongoing power relations. The validity of local cultural identities is often overlooked in the participation process of designing infrastructure 73 . Governments and institutions may have excluded certain groups from the conversation to understand, plan, manage, and diminish risk in infrastructure 74 . As argued by Liévanos and Horne 20 , such utilitarian bureaucratic decision rules can limit the recognition of unequal services and the development of corrective actions. These biases can be present in governmental policies, maintenance orders, building codes, and distribution of funding 30 . Our research labels procedural equity as stakeholder input and stakeholder engagement. Stakeholder input goes beyond collecting responses from interviews and surveys. Rather, researchers will ask for specific feedback and validation on final research deliverables like models, results, and spatial maps, but they are not included in the research planning process. Stakeholder engagement are instances where participants took an active role in the research deliverables to change elements of their community.

Capacity (C) equity is the ability of individuals, groups, and communities to counteract or mitigate the effect of infrastructure loss. As mentioned by Parsons, et al. 75 , equity can be enhanced through a network of adaptive capacities at the household or community level. These adaptive capacities are viewed as an integral part of community resilience 76 . Regarding infrastructure, households can prepare for infrastructure losses and have service substitutes such as power generators or water storage tanks 77 , 78 . It may also include the household’s ability to tolerate disruptions and the ability to perceive risk to infrastructure losses 66 . However, capacity can be limited by people’s social connections, social standing, and access to financial resources and personal capital 79 . Our research categorizes capacity equity as adaptations, access, and susceptibility. Adaptations include preparedness strategies before a disaster as well as coping strategies during and after the disaster. Access includes a quantifiable metric in reaching critical resources which may include but is not limited to vehicles, public transportation, or walking. Susceptibility involves a household internal household capability such as tolerance, suffering, unhappiness, and willingness-to-pay models. Although an important aspect of capability, the research did not include social capital since it is outside the scope of research.

Methods of systematic literature review

Our systematic literature review used the Covidence software 80 , which is a production tool to make the process of conducting systematic reviews more efficient and streamlined 80 . As a web-based platform, it supports the collaborative management of uploaded journal references and processes journals through 4-step screening and analysis including title and abstract screening, full-text screening, data abstraction, and quality assessment. The software also follows the guidelines of PRIMSA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis), which provides a clear, transparent way for researchers to document their findings 81 . PRIMSA includes a 27-item checklist and 4-phase flow diagram of identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion. Figure 1 summarizes the PRIMSA method we followed during our review process by showing the search criteria and final selected articles at each stage, including identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion.

The figure shows the 4-step screening process of identification, screening, eligibility, and inclusion as well as the specific search criteria for each step. From the initial 2991 articles, 99 articles were selected.

Identification

The search covered Web of Science and Science Direct due to their comprehensive coverage and interdisciplinary sources. To cover a broad set of possible disasters and infrastructures, our search focused on the key areas of equity (“equit- OR fair- OR justice- OR and access-“), infrastructure (“AND infrastructure system- OR service-”), and disasters (“ AND hazard- OR, cris- OR, disaster- OR”). We limited our search to journal articles published in engineering, social sciences, and interdisciplinary journals during January 2010 to March 2023. Excluding duplicates, the combined results of the search engines resulted in 2991 articles.

The articles were screened on their title and abstract. These had to explicitly mention both an infrastructure system (water, transportation, communication, etc.) and natural hazards (tropical cyclone, earthquake, etc.) The specific criteria for infrastructure and natural hazard is found in the 8-dimension framework. This initial screening process yielded 398 articles for full-text review.

Eligibility

The articles were examined based on the extent of discussion in infrastructure, natural hazard, and equity dimension. Insufficient equity discussion means that the paper did not fall within the distributional-demographic, distributional-spatial, procedural, or capacity forms of equity (98). Studies were also excluded for not directly including equity analysis in the infrastructure system (19). Limited infrastructure focus means that the article may have focused on infrastructure outside the scope of the manuscript such as industrial, green, building, or social infrastructure (74). Limited disaster focus means that the article did not connect to the direct or indirect impacts of disasters on infrastructure systems (45). Wrong study design included literature reviews, opinion pieces, policy papers, and unable to access (56). This stage yielded 99 final articles.

Inclusion and assessment framework

To analyze the 99 articles, we designed an 8-dimensional assessment framework (see Fig. 2 ) to analyze the literature. In Fig. 2 , the visualization focuses on equity, infrastructure, and natural hazards since these are the 3 main dimensions of the systematic literature review. The icons on the bottom are the remaining 5 dimensions which add more analysis and context to the first 3 dimensions. Here, we refer to research question 1: what are the prevailing concepts, foci, methods, and theories, in assessing the inequities of disrupted infrastructure services? The framework distinguished the concepts (equity dimensions, infrastructure system, and natural hazard event), foci (geographical scale, geographic location, temporal scale), methods (nature of study and data collection), and theories (theoretical perspective) (Fig. 2 ). The following details each subquestion:

Equity dimensions, infrastructure type, and hazard event type are the main 3 dimensions while geographical location, geographic scale, temporal, nature of the study, and theoretical perspectives are the remaining 5 dimensions which add more information and context.

How is equity conceptualized and measured? First, we label equity into 4 definitions (DPSC). Second, it summarizes the equity conclusions.

Infrastructure type

Which infrastructure services were most and least commonly studied? This category is divided into power, water, transportation, communication, health, food, sanitation, stormwater, emergency, and general if a specific infrastructure is not mentioned. Studies can include more than one infrastructure service. Green infrastructure, social infrastructure, building structures, and industrial structures were excluded.

Hazard event type

Which hazard events are most or least frequently studied? This category includes flood, tropical cyclone, drought, earthquake, extreme temperature, pandemic, and general if there is no specific hazard. To clarify, tropical cyclones include hurricanes and typhoons while extreme temperatures are coldwaves and heatwaves. It determines which studies are specific to hazards and which can be applied to universal events.

Geographic location

Which countries have studied equity the most and least? This category is at the country scale such as the United States, Netherlands, China, and Australia, among others.

Geographic scale

What geographic unit of scale has been studied to represent equity? Smaller scales of study can reveal greater insights at the household level while larger scales of study can reveal comparative differences between regional communities. It ranges from individual, local, regional, and country as well as project. To clarify, ‘individual’ can include survey respondents, households, and stakeholder experts; ‘local’ is census block groups, census tracts, and ZIP codes equivalent scales; ‘regional’ is counties, municipalities, and cities equivalent; ‘project’ refers to studies that focused on specific infrastructure/ construction projects.

Temporal scale

When did themes and priority of equity first emerge? This category determines when equity in infrastructure research is published and whether these trends are increasing, decreasing, or constant.

Nature of the study

How is data for equity being collected and processed? This category analyzed data types used including conceptual, descriptive, open-data, location-intelligence, and simulation data. To clarify, conceptual refers to purely conceptual frameworks or hypothetical datasets; descriptive refers to surveys, questionnaires, interviews, or field observations performed by the researcher; open-data refers to any open-data source that is easily and freely attainable such as census and flood data; location-intelligence refers to social media, human mobility, satellite and aerial images, visit data, and GIS layers; and finally, simulation data can be developed through simulation models like numerical software, Monte-Carlo, or percolation methods. Second, the data can be processed through quantitative or qualitative methods. Quantitative methods may include correlation, principal component analysis, and spatial regression while qualitative methods may include validation, thematic coding, participatory rural appraisal, and citizen science. We focused on analysis explicitly mentioned in the manuscript. For example, it can be assumed that studies of linear regression discussed correlation analysis and other descriptive statistics in their data processing.

Theoretical perspective

Which theoretical frameworks have been created and used to evaluate equity? This category summarizes the reasoning behind the theoretical frameworks which may have informal or formal names such as a service-gap model, well-being approach, and capability approach.

Based on the 8-dimensional assessment framework, the research first examines the spatiotemporal patterns as well as data and methods to evaluate equity. Then, it investigates the definitions of equity to the intersections with infrastructure and hazards. It concludes with a discussion of theoretical frameworks. We use the term “pathways” to identify how equity is constructed, analyzed, and used in relation to the 8-dimensional framework. For instance, the connection between equity and infrastructure is considered a pathway. By defining specific “pathways,” we are essentially mapping out the routes through which equity interacts with various dimensions of a framework, such as infrastructure. The following analysis directly addresses research question 1 (prevailing concepts, focuses, methods, and theories, in assessing the inequities of disrupted infrastructure services) and research question 2 (similar and different pathways of equity). Supplementary Figures 1A – 12A provide additional context to the research findings and can be found in the Supplementary Information .

Spatiotemporal patterns of equity

Overall, there is an increasing number of publications about equity in infrastructure management (Fig. 3 ). A slight decrease observed in 2021 could be because of the focus on COVID-19 research. Spatially, by far the most studies focus on the US (69), followed by India (3), Ghana (3), and Bangladesh (3) (Fig. 5 ). This surprising distribution seems to contradict the intuition that equity and fairness in infrastructure resilience are certainly global phenonmena. Besides the exact phrasing of the search term, this result can be explained by the focus of this review on the intersection of infrastructure resilience and inequity. For infrastructure resilience, prominent reports, such as the CDRI’s 2023 Global Infrastructure Resilience Report 82 still fail to address it. Even though research has called for increasing consideration of equity and distributive justice in infrastructure and risk assessment, inequity is still all too often viewed as a social and economic risk 83 . At the same time, persistent imbalances in terms of data availability have been shown to shift research interest to the US, especially for data intense studies on urban infrastructures 84 . Finally, efforts to mainstream of equity and fairness across all infrastructures as a part of major transitions may explain why equity discussion is less pronounced in the context of crises. For instance, in Europe, according to the EU climate act (Article 9(1)) 85 , all sectors need to be enabled and empowered to make the transition to a climate-resilient society fair and equitable .

The bar graph shows an overall increasing from 2011 to 2023 in publications about equity in infrastructure resilience during natural hazard events. The pie chart shows that countries in the global north with United States (US), England, Australia, Germany, Taiwan, Norway, South Korea, and Japan and global south with Bangladesh, India, Ghana, Mexico, Mozambique, Brazil, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nigeria, Kenya, Nepal, Zimbabwe, Central Asia, and South Africa.

Data and methods to interpret equity

Our Sankey diagram (Fig. 4 ) sketches the distribution of data collection pathways which connects quantitative-qualitative data to data type to scale. Most studies start from quantitative data (120) with fewer using mixed (34) or qualitative (18) data. Quantitative studies use descriptive (58), open-data (50) location-intelligence (36), simulation (19), and conceptual (9). The most prominent spatial scale was local (66) which consisted of census tract, census block group, zip code, and equivalent spatial scale of analysis. This was followed by individual or household scale (64) which largely stems from descriptive data of interviews, surveys, and field observations. Within the context of infrastructure, equity, and hazards, non-US studies did not use human mobility data, a specific type of location-intelligence data. This could be due to limitations in data availability and different security restrictions to these researchers such as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation 86 . Increasingly, the application of location-intelligence data was used to supplement the understanding of service disruptions. For example, satellite information 87 , telemetry-based data 37 , and human mobility data 88 were used to evaluate the equitable restoration of power systems and access to critical facilities. Social media quantified public emotions to disruptions 89 , 90 .

The Sankey diagram shows the flow from studies containing quantitative, qualitative, or quantitative–qualitative data to the specific type of data of descriptive, open-data, location-intelligence, simulation, and conceptual to spatial scale of data of local, individual, regional, country, and project.

As shown in Fig. 5 , there are distinct quantitative and qualitative methods to interpret equity. Most quantitative methods were focused on descriptive analysis and linear models which can assume simple relationships within equity dimensions. Simple relationships would assume that dependent variables have a straightforward relationship with independent variables. Regarding quantitative analysis, descriptive statistics were correlation (12), chi-square (6), and analysis of variance (ANOVA) (5) means. Spatial analysis included geographic information system (GIS) (15), Moran’s-I spatial autocorrelation (6), and spatial-regression (5). Variables were also grouped together through principal component analysis (PCA) (9) and Index-Weighting (9). Logit models (13) and Monte-Carlo simulations (7) were used to analyze data. Thus, more complex models are needed to uncover the underlying mechanisms associated with equity in infrastructure. In analyzing quantitative data, most research has focused on using descriptive statistics, linear models, and Moran’s I statistic which have been effective in pinpointing areas with heightened physical and social vulnerability 25 , 91 , 92 .

The quantitative pie chart has geographic information system (GIS), logit model, correlation, index-weighting, principal component analysis (PCA), monte-carlo simulation, chi-square, Moran’s- I spatial autocorrelation, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and spatial regression. The qualitative pie chart has validation, thematic coding, citizen science, sentiment analysis, conceptual analysis, participatory rural appraisal, document analysis, participatory assessment, photovoice, and ethnographic.

However, there has been a less frequent yet insightful use of advanced techniques like machine learning, agent-based modeling, and simulation. For example, Esmalian, et al. 66 employed agent-based modeling to explore how social demographic characteristics impact responses to power outages during Hurricane Harvey. In a similar vein, Baeza, et al. 93 utilized agent-based modeling to evaluate the trade-offs among three distinct infrastructure investment policies: prioritizing high-social-pressure neighborhoods, creating new access in under-served areas, and refurbishing aged infrastructure. Simulation models have been instrumental in understanding access to critical services like water 43 , health care 92 , and transportation 33 . Beyond these practical models, conceptual studies have also contributed innovative methods. Notably, Clark, et al. 94 proposed gravity-weighted models, and Kim and Sutley 30 explored the use of genetic algorithms to measure the accessibility to critical resources. These diverse methodologies indicate a growing sophistication in the field, embracing a range of analytical tools to address the complexities of infrastructure resilience.

Regarding qualitative analysis, the methods included thematic coding (7), validation of stakeholders (9), sentiment (4), citizen science (5), conceptual analysis (3) participatory rural appraisal (2), document analysis (2), participatory assessment (1), photovoice (1), and ethnographic (1). Qualitative methods were used to capture diverse angles of equity, offering a depth and context not provided by quantitative data alone. These methods are effective in understanding capacity equity, such as unexpected strategies and coping mechanisms that would go otherwise unnoticed 95 . Qualitative research can also capture the perspectives and voices of stakeholders through procedural equity. Interviews and focus groups can validate and enhance research frameworks 96 . Working collaboratively with stakeholders, as shown with Masterson et al. 97 can lead to positive community changes in updated planning policies. Qualitative methods can narratively convey the personal hardships of infrastructure losses 98 . This approach recognizes that infrastructure issues are not just technical problems but also deeply intertwined with social, economic, and cultural dimensions.

Interlinkages of equity definitions

As shown in Fig. 6 , the frequency of type of equity was distributional-demographic (90), distributional-spatial (55), capacity (54), and procedural (16). It is notable to reflect on the intersections between the four definitions of equity. Between two linkages, the top three linkages between DC (20), DS (16), and DP (9), which all revealed a connection to distributional-demographic equity. There were comparatively fewer studies linking 3 dimensions except for DSC which had 25 connections. Only 3 studies had 4 connections.

Distributional-demographic had the highest number of studies and the greatest overlap with the remaining equity definitions of capacity, procedural, and distributional-spatial. Only 3 studies overlapped with the four equity definitions.

Distributional-demographic equity was the most studied equity definition. Table 2 shows how pathways of demographic equity relate to the different infrastructure systems and variables within distributional-demographic, including 728 unique pathways. As a reminder, pathways explore equity across an 8-dimensional framework. In this case, the distributional-demographic equity is connected to infrastructure, treating these connections as pathways Pathways with power (165), water (147), and transportation (112) were the most frequent while those with stormwater (23) and emergency (9) services were the least frequent. Referencing demographics, the most pathways were income (148), ethnicity (115), and age (122) while least studied were gender (63), employment (35), marginalized populations (5) and intergenerational (1). Note the abbreviations for Tables 2 and 3 are power (P), water (W), transportation (T), food (F), health (H), sanitation (ST), communication (C), stormwater (SW), emergency (E), and general (G). Regarding distributional-demographic, several research papers showed that lower income and minority households were most studied in comparison to the other demographic variables. Lower-income and minority households faced greater exposure, more hardship, and less tolerance to withstand power, water, transportation, and communication outages during Hurricane Harvey 99 . These findings were replicated in disasters such as Hurricane Florence, Hurricane Michael, COVID-19 pandemic, Winter Storm Uri, and Hurricane Hermine, respectively 65 , 91 , 100 , 101 . Several studies found that demographic vulnerabilities are interconnected and compounding, and often, distributional-demographic equity is a pre-existing inequality condition that is exacerbated by disaster impact 102 . For instance, Stough, et al. 98 identified that respondents with disabilities faced increased struggles due to a lack of resources to access proper healthcare and transportation after Hurricane Katrina. Women were often overburdened by infrastructure loss as they were expected to “pick up the pieces,” and substitute the missing service 103 , 104 . Fewer studies involved indigenous populations, young children, or considered future generations. Using citizen-science methods, Ahmed, et al. 105 studied the struggles and coping strategies of the Santal indigenous group to respond to water losses in drought conditions. Studies normally did not account for the direct infrastructure losses on children and instead concentrated on the impacts on their caretakers 106 ; however, this is likely due to restrictions surrounding research with children. Lee and Ellingwood 107 discussed how, “intergenerational discounting makes it possible to allocate costs and benefits more equitably between the current and future generations” (pg.51) A slight difference in discounting rate can lead to vastly different consequences and benefits for future generations. For example, the study found that insufficient investments in design and planning will only increase the cost and burden of infrastructure maintenance and replacement.

Distributional-spatial equity was the second most studied aspect, which includes spatial grouping and urban-rural designation, particularly given the rise of open-data and location-intelligence data with spatial information. Table 3 shows the pathways of spatial equity connected to different infrastructures and variables. In total, 109 unique pathways were found with spatial (83) and urban-rural (26) characteristics. Power (27), transportation (22), water (16), and health (15) systems were the most frequent pathways with stormwater (4), emergency (2), and communication (3) the least frequent. Urban-rural studies on communication and emergency services are entirely missing. Distributional-spatial equity studies, including spatial inequities and urban-rural dynamics, were often linked with distributional-demographic equity. For example, Logan and Guikema 46 defined “access rich” and “access poor” to measure different sociodemographic populations’ access to essential facilities. White populations had less distance to travel to open supermarkets and service stations in North Carolina 46 . Esmalian et al. 108 found that higher income areas had a lower number of stores in their areas, but they still had better access to grocery stores in Harris County, Texas. This could be because higher income areas live in residential areas, but they have the capability to travel further distances and visit more stores. Vulnerable communities could even be indirectly impacted by spatial spillover effects from neighboring areas 26 . Regarding urban-rural struggles, Pandey et al. 17 argued that inequities emerge when urban infrastructure growth lags with respect to the urban population while rural areas face infrastructure deficits. Rural municipalities had fewer resources, longer restoration times, and less institutional support to mitigate infrastructure losses 95 , 109 , 110 .

Capacity was the third most studied dimension and had 150 unique pathways to adaptations (54), access (43), and susceptibility (53). In connecting to infrastructure systems, power (29), water (27), transportation (25), and food (22) had the greatest number of pathways. There were interesting connections between different infrastructures and variables of capacity. Access was most connected to food (11), transportation (10), and health systems (10). Adaptations were most connected to water (15) and power (12) systems. This highlights how capacity equity is reflected differently to infrastructure losses. Capacity equity was often connected with distributional-equity since different sociodemographic groups have varying adaptations to infrastructure losses 78 . For example, Chakalian, et al. 106 found that white respondents were 2.5 more likely to own a power generator while Kohlitz et al. 95 found that poorer households could not afford rainwater harvesting systems. These behaviors may also include tolerating infrastructure disruptions 111 , cutting back on current resources 112 , or having an increased suffering 113 . The capabilities approach offers a valuable perspective on access to infrastructure services 94 . It recognizes the additional time and financial resources that certain groups may need to access the same level of services, especially if travel networks are disrupted 114 , 115 and travel time is extended 33 . In rural regions, women, children, and lower income households often reported traveling further distances for resources 105 , 116 . These disparities are often influenced by socioeconomic factors, emphasizing the need for a nuanced understanding on how different communities are affected by and respond to infrastructure losses. As such, building capacity is not just increasing the preparedness of households but also accommodating infrastructure systems to ensure equitable access, such as the optimization of facility locations 69 .

Procedural was the least studied equity definition with only 26 unique pathways, involving stakeholder input and stakeholder engagement. Pathways to communication and emergency systems were not available. The greatest number of pathways were water services to stakeholder input (7) and stormwater services to stakeholder engagement (4). Stakeholder input can assist researchers in validating and improving their research deliverables. This approach democratizes the decision-making process and enhances the quality and relevance of research and planning outcomes. For instance, the involvement of local experts and residents in Tanzania through a Delphi process led to the development of a more accurate and locally relevant social resilience measurement tool 117 . Stakeholder engagement, such as citizen science methods, can incorporate environmental justice communities into the planning process, educate engineers and scientists, and collect reliable data which can be actively incorporated back to the community 118 , 119 , 120 . Such participatory approaches, including citizen science, allow for a deeper understanding of community needs and challenges. In Houston, TX, the success of engaging high school students in assessing drainage infrastructure exemplified how community involvement can yield significant, practical data 119 . The data was approximately 74% accurate to trained inspectors, which were promising results for communities assessing their infrastructure resilience 119 . In a blend of research and practice, Masterson, et al. 97 illustrated the practical application of procedural equity. By interweaving equity in their policy planning, Rockport, TX planners added accessible services and upgrades to infrastructure for lower-income and racial-ethnic minority neighborhoods, directly benefiting underserved communities.

Pathways between equity, hazard, and infrastructure

For the hazards, tropical cyclones (34.6%) and floods (30.8%) make up over half of the studied hazards (Supplementary Figure 2A ) while power (21.2%), water (19.2%), transportation (15.4%), and health (12.0%) were the most frequently studied infrastructure services (Supplementary Figure 3A ). A pathway is used to connect equity to different dimensions of the framework, in this case, equity to infrastructure to hazard (Fig. 7 ). When considering these pathways, distributional-demographic (270) had the most pathways followed by capacity (175), distributional-spatial (140), and procedural (28). The most common pathway across all infrastructure services was a tropical cyclone and flooding with distributional-demographic equity (Supplementary Figures 6A – 8A ). As shown in Fig. 7 , tropical cyclone (229) and flood (192) had the most pathways while extreme temperatures (20) and pandemic (14) had the least. Although pandemic is seemingly the least studied, it is important to note that most of these studies were post COVID-19. Power (120), transportation (107), and water (104) had the most pathways whereas sanitation (33), communication (27), stormwater (21), and emergency (14) had the least pathways. The figure shows specific gaps in the literature. Whereas the other three equity definitions had connections to each hazard event, procedural equity only had connections to tropical cyclone, flood, general, and drought. There were only pathways from health infrastructure to tropical cyclone, flood, general, earthquake, and pandemic. There were 106 pathways connecting equity to general hazards, which may suggest the need to look at the impacts of specific hazards to equity in infrastructure resilience.

The Sankey diagram shows the flow from the different types of equity, or equity definitions, of distributional-demographic (D), capacity (C), distributional-spatial (S), and procedural (P) to hazard of tropical cyclone, flood, general, drought, earthquake, extreme temperature, and pandemic to infrastructure of power, transportation, water, health, food, communication, general, stormwater, emergency, and sanitation.

Research frameworks

Regarding research question 2, this research aims to understand frameworks of equity in infrastructure resilience. As an exploration of the frameworks. we found common focus areas of adaptations, access, vulnerability, validation, and welfare economics (Table 4 ). The full list of frameworks can be found in the online database that was uploaded in DesignSafe Data Depot. Supplementary Information .

Adaptations

Household adaptations included the ability to prepare before a disaster as well as coping strategies during and after the disaster. Esmalian et al. 111 developed a service gap model based on survey data of residents affected by Hurricane Harvey. Lower-income households were less likely to own power generators, which could lead to an inability to withstand power outages 111 . To understand household adaptations, Abbou et al. 78 asked residents of Los Angeles, California about their experiences in electrical and water losses. The study showed that when compared to men, women used more candles and flashlights. People with higher education, regardless of gender, were more likely to use power generators. In a Pressure and Release model, Daramola et al. 112 examined the level of preparedness to natural hazards in Nigeria. The study found that rural residents tended to use rechargeable lamps while urban areas used generators, likely due to the limited availability of electricity systems. Approximately 73% of participants relied on chemist shops to cope with constrained access to health facilities.

Other frameworks focused on the accessibility to resources. Clark et al. 94 developed the social burden concept which uses resources, conversion factors, capabilities, and functioning into a travel cost method to access critical resources. In an integrated physical-social vulnerability model, Dong et al. 92 calculated disrupted access to hospitals in Harris County, Texas. Logan and Guikema 46 integrated spatial planning, diverse vulnerabilities, and community needs into EAE services. In the case study of Willimgton, North Carolina, they showed how lower-income households had fewer access to grocery stores. In a predictive recovery monitoring spatial model, Patrascu and Mostafavi 26 found that the percentage of Black and Asian subpopulations were significant features to predict recovery of population activity, or the visits to essential services in a community.

Vulnerability

Several of the infrastructure resilience frameworks were grounded in social vulnerability assessments. For instance, Toland et al. 43 created a community vulnerability assessment based on an earthquake scenario that resulted in the need for emergency food and water resources. Using GIS, Oswald and Mohammed developed a transportation justice threshold index that integrated social vulnerability into transportation understanding 121 . In a Disruption Tolerance Index, Esmalian et al. 25 showed how demographic variables are connected with disproportionate losses in power and transportation losses.

Additional studies were based on stakeholder input and expert opinion. Atallah et al. 36 established an ABCD roadmap for health services which included acute life-saving services, basic institutional aspects for low-resource settings, community-driven health initiatives, and disease specific interventions. Health experts were instrumental in providing feedback for the ABCD roadmap. Another example is the development of the social resilience tool for water systems validated by experts and community residents by Sweya et al. 117 . To assess highway resilience, Hsieh and Feng had transportation experts score 9 factors including resident population, income, employment, connectivity, dependency ratio, distance to hospital, number of substitutive links, delay time in substitutions, and average degenerated level of services 122 .

Welfare economics

Willingness-to-pay (WTP) models reveal varied household investments in infrastructure resilience. Wang et al. 123 showed a wide WTP range, from $15 to $50 for those unaffected by disruptions to $120–$775 for affected, politically liberal individuals. Islam et al. 124 found households with limited access to safe drinking water were more inclined to pay for resilient water infrastructure. Stock et al. 125 observed that higher-income households showed greater WTP for power and transportation resilience, likely due to more disposable income and expectations for service quality. These findings highlight the need to consider economic constraints in WTP studies to avoid misinterpreting lower income as lower willingness to invest. Indeed, if a study does not adequately account for a person’s economic constraints, the findings may incorrectly interpret a lower ability to pay as a lower willingness to pay.

In terms of policy evaluation for infrastructure resilience, studies like Ulak et al. 126 prioritized equitable power system recovery for different ethnic groups, favoring network renewal over increasing response crews. Baeza et al. 93 noted that infrastructure decisions are often swayed by political factors rather than technical criteria. Furthermore, Lee and Ellingwood 107 introduced a method for intergenerational discounting in civil infrastructure, suggesting more conservative designs for longer service lives to benefit future generations. These studies underscore the complex factors influencing infrastructure resilience policy, including equity, political influence, and long-term planning.

This systematic review is the first to explore how equity is incorporated into infrastructure resilience against natural hazards. By systematically analyzing the existing literature and identifying key gaps, the paper enhances our understanding of equity in this field and outlines clear directions for future research. This study is crucial for understanding the fundamental knowledge that brings social equity to the forefront of infrastructure resilience. Table 5 summarizes the primary findings of this systematic review of equity in infrastructure resilience literature, including what the studies are currently focusing on and the research gaps and limitations.

Our findings show a great diversity of frameworks and methods depending on the context, in which equity is applied (Table 5 ). Moreover, we identify a lack of integrative formal and analytical tools. Therefore, a clear and standard framework is needed to operationalize inequity across infrastructures and hazards; what is missing are analytical tools and approaches to integrate equity assessment into decision-making.

Referring to question 3, we will further explore the current gaps of knowledge and future challenges of studying equity in infrastructure resilience. In elaborating on the gaps identified in our review, we propose that the next era of research questions and objectives should be (1) monitoring equity performance with improved data, (2) weaving equity in computational models, and (3) integrating equity into decision-making tools. Through principles of innovation, accountability, and knowledge, such objectives would be guided by moving beyond distributional equity, recognizing understudied gaps of equity, and inclusion of all geographic regions, and by extension stakeholders (Fig. 8 ).

The figure demonstrates that previous research has focused on detecting and finding evidence of disparity in infrastructure resilience in hazard events. It supports that the next phase of research will monitor equity performance with improved data, weave equity in computational models, and integrate equity in decision making tools in order to move beyond social and spatial distributions, recognize understudied gaps of equity, and include all geographic regions.

The first research direction is the monitoring equity performance with improved data at more granular scales and greater representation of impacted communities. Increased data availability provides researchers, stakeholders, and community residents with more detailed and accurate assessment of infrastructure losses. Many studies have used reliable, yet inherently approximate data sources, for infrastructure service outages. These sources include human mobility, satellite, points-of-interest visitation, and telemetry-based data (such as refs. 69 , 100 ). Private companies are often reluctant to share utility and outage data with researchers 127 . Thus, we encourage the shift towards transparent and open datasets from utility companies in normal times and outage events. This aligns with open-data initiatives such as Open Infrastructure Outage Data Initiative Nationwide (ODIN) 128 , Invest in Open Infrastructure 129 , and Implementing Act on a list of High-Value Datasets 130 . Transparency in data fosters an environment of accountability and innovation to uphold equity standards in infrastructure resilience 131 . An essential aspect of this transparency involves acknowledging and addressing biases that may render certain groups ‘invisible’ within datasets. These digitally invisible populations may well be among the most vulnerable, such as unhoused people that may not have a digital footprint yet are very vulnerable to extreme weather 132 . Gender serves as a poignant example of such invisibility. Historical biases and societal norms often result in gender disparities being perpetuated in various facets of infrastructure design and resilience planning 133 . Women are frequently placed in roles of caregiving responsibilities, such as traveling to reach water (as shown in refs. 105 , 116 , 134 ) or concern over the well-being of family members (as shown in refs. 103 , 135 ), which have been overlooked or marginalized in infrastructure planning processes.

If instances of social disparities are uncovered, researchers and practitioners could collaboratively cultivate evidence-based recommendations to manage infrastructure resilience. At the same time, approaches for responsible data management need to be developed that protect privacy of individuals, especially marginalized and vulnerable groups 136 . There is a trade-off between proper representation of demographic groups and ensuring the privacy of individuals 45 , 67 . Despite this, very few studies call into question the fairness of the data collection in capturing the multifaceted aspects of equity 137 , or the potential risks to communities as described in the EU’s forthcoming Artificial Intelligence Act 138 .

By extension, addressing the problem of digitally invisible populations and possible bias, Gharaibeh et al. 120 also emphasizes that equitable data should represent all communities in the study area. Choices about data collection and storage can directly impact the management of public services, by extension the management of critical information 139 . For example, a significant problem with location-intelligence data collection is properly representing digitally invisible populations as these groups are often marginalized in the digital space leading to gaps in data 132 , 140 . Human mobility data, a specific type of location-intelligence data derived from cell phone pinpoint data, illustrates this issue. Vulnerable groups may not afford or have frequent access to cell phones, resulting in a skewed understanding of population movements 141 . However, other studies have shown that digital platforms can be empowering for marginalized populations to express sentiments of cultural identity and tragedies through active sharing and communication 142 . Ultimately, Hendricks et al. 118 recommend a “triangulation of data sources,” to integrate quantitative and qualitative data, which would mitigate potential data misrepresentation and take advantage of the online information. Moving ahead, approaches need to be developed for fair, privacy-preserving, and unbiased data collection that empowers especially vulnerable communities. At the same time, realizing that data gaps especially in infrastructure-poor regions may not be easy to address, we also follow Casali et al. 84 in calling for synthetic approaches and models that work on sparse data.

Few studies, such as refs. 45 , 66 , have created computational models to capture equity-infrastructure-hazards interactions, which are initial attempts to quantify both the social impacts and the physical performance of infrastructure. This is echoed in the work of Soden et al. 143 which found only ~28% of studies undertake a quantitative evaluation of differential impacts experienced in disasters. To enhance analytical and computational methods in supporting equitable decision-making, it is imperative for future studies to comprehensively integrate social dimensions of infrastructure resilience. Therefore, the next research direction is the intentional weaving of equity in computational models. Where the majority of studies used descriptive statistics and non-linear modeling, complex computational models—such as agent-based simulations—offer the advantage of capturing the nonlinear interactions of equity in infrastructure systems. These tools also allow decision-makers to gain insights into the emergence of complex patterns over time. These simulation models can then be combined with specific metrics that measure infrastructural or social implications. Metrics might include susceptibility curves 144 , social burden costs estimates 94 , or social resilience assessment 76 . Novel metrics for assessing adaptive strategies, human behaviors, and disproportionate impacts (such as 113 ) could also be further quantified through empirical deprivation costs for infrastructure losses 145 . These metrics also are a stepping-stone for formalizing and integrating equity into decision-making tools.

Another research direction is the integration of equity into decision-making tools. Key performance indicators and monitoring systems are essential for clarifying equity processes and outcomes and creating tangible tools for infrastructure planners, managers, engineers, and policy-makers. In particular, the literature discussed the potential for using equity in infrastructure resilience to direct infrastructure investments (such as refs. 93 , 126 , 146 ). Infrastructure resilience requires significant upfront investment and resource allocations, which generally favors wealthier communities. Communities may hold social, cultural, and environmental values that are not properly quantified in infrastructure resilience 147 . Since traditional standards of cost-benefit analyses used by infrastructure managers and operators primarily focus on monetary gains or losses, they would not favorably support significant investments to mitigate the human impacts of infrastructure losses on those most vulnerable 148 . This limitation also delays investments and leads to inaction in infrastructure resilience, resulting in unnecessary loss of services and social harm, potentially amplifying inequities, and furthering societal fragmentation. To bridge this gap, we propose to measure the social costs of infrastructure service disruptions as a way to determine the broad benefits of resilience investments 147 .

As the literature review found, several studies are following a welfare economics approach to quantify social costs associated with infrastructure losses such as the evaluation of policies (such as ref. 93 ) and willingness-to-pay models (such as ref. 125 ). Such economic functions are preliminary steps in quantifying equity as a cost measure; however, these models must avoid misinterpreting lower income as a lower willingness to invest. Lee and Ellingwood 107 proposed using intergenerational discounting rate; however, it is important to recognize the flexibility of options for future generations 149 . Teodoro et al. 149 points to the challenges of using (fixed) discount rates and advocate for a procedural justice-based approach that maximizes flexibility and adaptability. Further research is needed to quantify the social costs of infrastructure disruptions and integrate them into infrastructure resilience assessments, such as calculating the deprivation costs of service losses for vulnerable populations.

Our review shows that certain demographic groups such as indigenous populations, persons with disabilities, and intergenerational equity issues have not been sufficiently studied 150 . This aligns with the conclusions of Seyedrezaei et al. 151 , who found that the majority of studies about equity in the built-environment focused on lower-income and minority households. Indigenous populations face significant geographical, cultural, and linguistic barriers that make their experiences with disrupted infrastructure services distinct from those of the broader population 152 .

Even though intergenerational justice issues have increasingly sparked attention on the climate change discussion, intergenerational equity issues in infrastructure resilience assessments have received limited attention. We argue that intergenerational equity warrants special attention as infrastructure systems have long life cycles that span across multiple generations, and ultimately the decisions on the finance, restoration, and new construction will have a significant impact on the ability of future generations to withstand the impact of stronger climate hazard events. Non-action may lead to tremendous costs in the long run 149 . It is the responsibility of current research to understand the long-term effects of equity in infrastructure management to mitigate future losses and maintain the flexibility of future generations. As a means of procedural justice, these generations should have the space to make choices, instead of being locked in by today’s decisions. Future studies should develop methods to measure and integrate intergenerational inequity in infrastructure resilience assessments.

Given the specific search criteria and focus on equity, infrastructure, and natural hazard, we found a major geographic focus on the United States. Large portions of the global north and global south were not included in the analysis. This could be due to the search criteria of the literature review; however, it is important to recognize potential geographic areas that are isolated from the academic studies on infrastructure resilience. Different infrastructure challenges (e.g., intermittent services) are present through data availability in the region. A dearth of studies on equitable infrastructure resilience could contribute to greater inequity in those regions due to the absence of empirical evidence and proper methodological solutions. This aligns with other findings on sustainable development goals and climate adaptation broadly 153 . Global research efforts, along with common data platforms, standards and methods (see above), that include international collaborations among researchers across the global north and global south regions can bridge this gap and expand the breadth of knowledge and solutions for equitable infrastructure resilience.

Finally, while significant attention has been paid to distributional demographic and spatial inequity issues 151 , there remain several underutilized definitions of equity. Procedural and capacity equity hold the greatest potential for people to feel more included in the infrastructure resilience process. Instead of depending directly on the infrastructure systems, individual households can adapt to disrupted periods through substituted services and alternative actions (such as ref. 78 ). To advance procedural equity in infrastructure resilience, citizen-science research or participatory studies can begin by empowering locals to understand and monitor their resilience (such as ref. 76 ) or failures in their infrastructure systems (such as ref. 120 ). As referenced by Masterson and Cooper 154 , the ladder of citizen power can serve as a framework for how to ethically engage with community partners for procedural equity. The ladder, originally developed by Arnstein 155 , includes non-participation, tokenism, and citizen power. Table 3 shows that most research falls into non-participation: survey data and information are extracted without any community guidance. Limited studies that have branched into community involvement still stay restricted in the tokenism step, such as models that are validated by stakeholders or receive expert opinions on their conceptual models. Future studies should expand inquiries regarding the procedural and capacity dimension of equity in infrastructure resilience assessments and management. For instance, research could map out where inequities occur in the decision-making process and targeted spatial regions as well as allocate of resources for infrastructure resilience. It could also continue pursuing inclusive methodologies such as participatory action research and co-design processes. It should investigate effective methods to genuinely integrate different stakeholders and community members from conception through evaluation of research.

Although the primary audience of the literature review is academic scholars and fellow researchers, the identified gaps are of importance for practitioners, governmental agencies, community organizations, and advocates. By harnessing the transformative power of equity, studies in infrastructure resilience can transcend its traditional role and develop equity-focused data, modeling, and decision-making tools which considers everyone in the community. The integration of equity aspects within the framework of infrastructure resilience not only enhances the resilience of infrastructure systems but also contributes to the creation of inclusive and resilient communities. Infrastructure resilience would not just be a shield against adversity but also a catalyst for positive social and environmental change.

Data availability

The created excel database which includes information on the key parts of the 8-dimensional equity framework will be uploaded to DesignSafe-CI.

Oh, E. H., Deshmukh, A. & Hastak, M. Criticality assessment of lifeline infrastructure for enhancing disaster response. Nat. Hazards Rev. 14 , 98–107 (2013).

Article   Google Scholar  

Tripathi, B., Thomson Reuters Foundation. in Reuters (2023).

Hallegatte, S., Rentschler, J. & Rozenberg, J. Lifelines: the resilience infrastructure opportunity (2019).

Scherzer, S., Lujala, P. & Rød, J. K. A community resilience index for Norway: an adaptation of the Baseline Resilience Indicators for Communities (BRIC). Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 36 , 101107 (2019).

Platt, S., Gautam, D. & Rupakhety, R. Speed and quality of recovery after the Gorkha Earthquake 2015 Nepal. Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 50 , 101689 (2020).

George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health & University of Puerto Rico Graduate School of Public Health. Ascertainment of the estimated excess mortality from hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico (2018).

National Infrastructure Advisory Council. Critical Infrastructure Resilience Final Report and Recommendations (2010).

Hosseini, S., Barker, K. & Ramirez-Marquez, J. E. A review of definitions and measures of system resilience. Reliab. Eng. Syst. Saf. 145 , 47–61 (2016).

Berkeley, A. & Wallace, M. A Framework for establishing critical infrastructure resilience goals final report and recommendations by the council (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, 2010).

Mehvar, S. et al. Towards resilient vital infrastructure systems–challenges, opportunities, and future research agenda. Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci. 21 , 1383–1407 (2021).

United Nations Office for Project Services. Inclusive Infrastructure for Climate Action. (2022).

UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction. Principles for Resilient Infrastructure. (2022).

Schlör, H., Venghaus, S. & Hake, J.-F. The FEW-Nexus city index—measuring urban resilience. Appl. Energy 210 , 382–392 (2018).

Hart, D. K. Social equity, justice, and the equitable administrator. Public Adm. Rev. 34 , 3 (1974).

Cook, K. S. & Hegtvedt, K. A. Distributive justice, equity, and equality. Annu. Rev. Sociol. 9 , 217–241 (1983).

Boakye, J., Guidotti, R., Gardoni, P. & Murphy, C. The role of transportation infrastructure on the impact of natural hazards on communities. Reliab. Eng. Syst. Saf. 219 , 108184 (2022).

Pandey, B., Brelsford, C. & Seto, K. C. Infrastructure inequality is a characteristic of urbanization. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. 119 , e2119890119 (2022).

Article   CAS   Google Scholar  

Hendricks, M. D. & Van Zandt, S. Unequal protection revisited: planning for environmental justice, hazard vulnerability, and critical infrastructure in communities of color. Environ. Justice 14 , 87–97 (2021).

Ma, C., Qirui, C. & Lv, Y. “One community at a time”: promoting community resilience in the face of natural hazards and public health challenges. BMC Public Health 23 , 2510 (2023).

Liévanos, R. S. & Horne, C. Unequal resilience: the duration of electricity outages. Energy Policy 108 , 201–211 (2017).

National Institute of Standards and Technology. Community Resilience Planning Guide for Buildings and Infrastructure Systems (2020).

UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction & Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. Global Methodology for Infrastructure Resilience Review (2023).

Robertson, I. et al. Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure, Science Plan, Multi-Hazard Research to Make a More Resilient World, Third Edition, < https://doi.org/10.17603/ds2-abbs-0966 > (2023).

Rathnayaka, B., Siriwardana, C., Robert, D., Amaratunga, D. & Setunge, S. Improving the resilience of critical infrastructures: Evidence-based insights from a systematic literature review. Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 78 , 103123 (2022).

Esmalian, A. et al. Disruption Tolerance Index for determining household susceptibility to infrastructure service disruptions. Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IJDRR.2021.102347 (2021).

Patrascu, F. I. & Mostafavi, A. Spatial model for predictive recovery monitoring based on hazard, built environment, and population features and their spillover effects. Environ. Plan. B: Urban Anal. City Sci. 23998083231167433 https://doi.org/10.1177/23998083231167433 (2023).

Archer, D., Marome, W., Natakun, B., Mabangyang, P. & Phanthuwongpakdee, N. The role of collective and individual assets in building urban community resilience. Int. J. Urban Sustain. Dev. 12 , 169–186 (2020).

Anguelovski, I. et al. Equity impacts of urban land use planning for climate adaptation: critical perspectives from the Global North and South. J. Plan. Educ. Res. 36 , 333–348 (2016).

Hallegatte, S. & Li, J. Investing in resilience and making investments resilient. PLOS Clim. 1 , e0000077 (2022).

Kim, J. H. & Sutley, E. J. Implementation of social equity metrics in an engineering-based framework for distributing disaster resources. Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 64 , 102485 (2021).

Seigerman, C. K. et al. Operationalizing equity for integrated water resources management. J. Am. Water Resourc. Assoc. 59 , 281–298 (2023).

Karakoc, D. B., Barker, K., Zobel, C. W. & Almoghathawi, Y. Social vulnerability and equity perspectives on interdependent infrastructure network component importance. Sustain. Cities Soc. 57 , 102072 (2020).

Silva-Lopez, R., Bhattacharjee, G., Poulos, A. & Baker, J. W. Commuter welfare-based probabilistic seismic risk assessment of regional road networks. Reliab. Eng. Syst. Saf. 227 , 108730 (2022).

Dhakal, S. & Zhang, L. A Social welfare-based infrastructure resilience assessment framework: toward equitable resilience for infrastructure development. Nat. Hazards Rev. 24 https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000597 (2023).

Sotolongo, M., Kuhl, L. & Baker, S. H. Using environmental justice to inform disaster recovery: vulnerability and electricity restoration in Puerto Rico. Environ. Sci. Policy 122 , 59–71 (2021).

Atallah, D. G. et al. Developing equitable primary health care in conflict-affected settings: expert perspectives from the frontlines. Qual. Health Res. 28 , 98–111 (2018).

Coleman, N. et al. Energy inequality in climate hazards: empirical evidence of social and spatial disparities in managed and hazard-induced power outages. Sustain. Cities Soc. 92 , 104491 (2023).

Balomenos, G. P., Hu, Y. J., Padgett, J. E. & Shelton, K. Impact of coastal hazards on residents’ spatial accessibility to health services. J. Infrastruct. Syst. 25 https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)IS.1943-555X.0000509 (2019).

Wakhungu, M. J., Abdel-Mottaleb, N., Wells, E. C. & Zhang, Q. Geospatial vulnerability framework for identifying water infrastructure inequalities. J. Environ. Eng. 147 https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0001903 (2021).

Abdel-Mooty, M. N., Yosri, A., El-Dakhakhni, W. & Coulibaly, P. Community flood resilience categorization framework. Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 61 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102349 (2021).

Millington, N. Producing water scarcity in São Paulo, Brazil: The 2014-2015 water crisis and the binding politics of infrastructure. Political Geogr. 65 , 26–34 (2018).

Clark, L. P. et al. A data framework for assessing social inequality and equity in multi-sector social, ecological, infrastructural urban systems: focus on fine-spatial scales. J. Ind. Ecol. 26 , 145–163 (2022).

Toland, J. C., Wein, A. M., Wu, A.-M. & Spearing, L. A. A conceptual framework for estimation of initial emergency food and water resource requirements in disasters. Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 90 , 103661 (2023).

Zhai, W., Peng, Z. R. & Yuan, F. Examine the effects of neighborhood equity on disaster situational awareness: harness machine learning and geotagged Twitter data. Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 48 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101611 (2020).

Yuan, F. et al. Smart flood resilience: harnessing community-scale big data for predictive flood risk monitoring, rapid impact assessment, and situational awareness. Environ. Res.: Infrastruct. Sustain. 2 , 025006 (2022).

Google Scholar  

Logan, T. M. & Guikema, S. D. Reframing resilience: equitable access to essential services. Risk Anal. 40 , 1538–1553 (2020).

Meerow, S. & Newell, J. P. Urban resilience for whom, what, when, where, and why? Urban Geogr. 40 , 309–329 (2019).

Holling, C. S. Resilience and stability of ecological systems. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 4 , 1–23 (1973).

Carpenter, S., Walker, B., Anderies, J. M. & Abel, N. From metaphor to measurement: resilience of what to what? Ecosystems 4 , 765–781 (2001).

Krishnan, S., Aydin, N. Y. & Comes, T. TIMEWISE: temporal dynamics for urban resilience—theoretical insights and empirical reflections from Amsterdam and Mumbai. npj Urban Sustain. 4 , 4 (2024).

Aldrich, D. P. & Meyer, M. A. Social capital and community resilience. Am. Behav. Sci. 59 , 254–269 (2014).

Choi, J., Deshmukh, A. & Hastak, M. Seven-layer classification of infrastructure to improve community resilience to disasters. J. Infrastruct. Syst. 25 , 04019012 (2019).

Hipel, K. W., Kilgour, D. M. & Fang, L. Systems methodologies in vitae systems of systems. J. Nat. Disaster Sci. 32 , 63–77 (2011).

Okada, N. A scientific challenge for society under sustainability risks by addressing coping capacity, collective knowledge and action to change: a Vitae System perspective. J. Nat. Disaster Sci. 32 , 53–62 (2011).

Hay, A. Planning Resilient Infrastructure Systems 75–106 (2021).

Cutter, S. L. Resilience to what? Resilience for whom? Geogr. J. 182 , 110–113 (2016).

Wenar, L. John Rawls, < https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/sum2021/entries/rawls/ > (2021).

Van Zandt, S. Engaged Research for Community Resilience to Climate Change (Elsevier, 2020).

Walker, G. Antipode . 4 edn.

Walker, J. “Abundant Access”: a map of a community’s transit choices, and a possible goal of transit , < https://humantransit.org/2013/03/abundant-access-a-map-of-the-key-transit-choices.html > (2013).

Casali, Y., Aydin, N. Y. & Comes, T. A data-driven approach to analyse the co-evolution of urban systems through a resilience lens: a Helsinki case study. Environ. Plan. B Urban Anal. City Sci. 0 , 1–18 (2024).

Beck, A. L. & Cha, E. Probabilistic disaster social impact assessment of infrastructure system nodes. Struct. Infrastruct Eng. https://doi.org/10.1080/15732479.2022.2097268 (2022).

Matin, N., Forrester, J. & Ensor, J. What is equitable resilience? World Dev. 109 , 197–205 (2018).

Clark, S., Seager, T. & Chester, M. A capabilities approach to the prioritization of critical infrastructure. Environ. Syst. Decis. 38 , 339–352 (2018).

Coleman, N., Esmalian, A. & Mostafavi, A. Anatomy of susceptibility for shelter-in-place households facing infrastructure service disruptions caused by natural hazards. Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 50 , 101875 (2020).

Esmalian, A., Wang, W. & Mostafavi, A. Multi‐agent modeling of hazard–household–infrastructure nexus for equitable resilience assessment. Comput.‐Aided Civ. Infrastruct. Eng. 37 , 1491–1520 (2021).

Dhakal, S., Zhang, L. & Lv, X. Understanding infrastructure resilience, social equity, and their interrelationships: exploratory study using social media data in hurricane Michael. Nat. Hazards Rev. 22 https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000512 (2021).

Adu-Gyamfi, B., Shaw, R. & Ofosu, B. Identifying exposures of health facilities to potential disasters in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area of Ghana. Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 54 , 102028 (2021).

Fan, C., Jiang, X., Lee, R. & Mostafavi, A. Equality of access and resilience in urban population-facility networks. npj Urban Sustain. 2 , 1–12 (2022).

Best, K. et al. Spatial regression identifies socioeconomic inequality in multi-stage power outage recovery after Hurricane Isaac. Nat. Hazards 117 , 1–23 (2023).

Chopra, S. S. & Khanna, V. Interconnectedness and interdependencies of critical infrastructures in the US economy: implications for resilience. Phys. A: Stat. Mech. Appl. 436 , 865–877 (2015).

Rivera, D. Z. Unincorporated and underserved: critical stormwater infrastructure challenges in South Texas Colonias. Environ. Justice https://doi.org/10.1089/env.2022.0062 (2022).

Rendon, C., Osman, K. K. & Faust, K. M. Path towards community resilience: examining stakeholders’ coordination at the intersection of the built, natural, and social systems. Sustain. Cities Soc. 68 , 102774 (2021).

Eghdami, S., Scheld, A. M. & Louis, G. Socioeconomic vulnerability and climate risk in coastal Virginia. Clim. Risk Manag. 39 , 100475 (2023).

Parsons, M. et al. Top-down assessment of disaster resilience: a conceptual framework using coping and adaptive capacities. Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 19 , 1–11 (2016).

Champlin, C., Sirenko, M. & Comes, T. Measuring social resilience in cities: an exploratory spatio-temporal analysis of activity routines in urban spaces during Covid-19. Cities 135 , 104220 (2023).

Stock, A. et al. Household impacts of interruption to electric power and water services. Nat. Hazards https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-810057/v1 (2021).

Abbou, A. et al. Household adaptations to infrastructure system service interruptions. J. Infrastruct. Syst. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)is.1943-555x.0000715 (2022).

Völker, B. Disaster recovery via social capital. Nat. Sustain. 5 , 96–97 (2022).

Covidence. < https://www.covidence.org/ >

Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., Altman, D. G. & Group, P. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: the PRISMA statement. Ann. Intern. Med. 151 , 264–269 (2009).

CDRI. Global infrastructure resilience: capturing the resilience dividend—a biennial report from the coalition for disaster resilient infrastructure (2023).

Comes, M. et al. Strategic crisis management in the European Union: Evidence Review Report (2022).

Casali, Y., Yonca, N. A., Comes, T. & Casali, Y. Machine learning for spatial analyses in urban areas: a scoping review. Sustain. Cities Soc. 104050 (2022).

Regulation (Eu) 2021/1119 of the European Parliament and of the council of 30 June 2021 establishing the framework for achieving climate neutrality and amending Regulations (EC) No 401/2009 and (EU) 2018/1999 (‘European Climate Law’) Office Journal of the European Union (2021).

Wolford, B. What is GDPR, the EU’s protection law? < https://gdpr.eu/what-is-gdpr/ >

Roman, M. et al. Satellite-based assessment of electricity restoration efforts in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. PLoS One 14 , https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0218883 (2019).

Lee, C.-C., Maron, M. & Mostafavi, A. Community-scale big data reveals disparate impacts of the Texas winter storm of 2021 and its managed power outage. Hum. Soc. Sci. Commun. 9 , 1–12 (2022).

Chen, Y. & Ji, W. Public demand urgency for equitable infrastructure restoration planning. Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 64 , 102510 (2021).

Batouli, M. & Joshi, D. In Proceedings of the Construction Research Congress 2022: Infrastructure Sustainability and Resilience—Selected Papers from Construction Research Congress (2022).

Ulak, M. B., Kocatepe, A., Sriram, L. M. K., Ozguven, E. & Arghandeh, R. Assessment of the hurricane-induced power outages from a demographic, socioeconomic, and transportation perspective. Nat. Hazards 92 , 1489–1508 (2018).

Dong, S., Esmalian, A., Farahmand, H. & Mostafavi, A. An integrated physical-social analysis of disrupted access to critical facilities and community service-loss tolerance in urban flooding. Comput. Environ. Urban Syst. 80 , 101443 (2020).

Baeza, A., Bojorquez-Tapia, L. A., Janssen, M. A. & Eakin, H. Operationalizing the feedback between institutional decision-making, socio-political infrastructure, and environmental risk in urban vulnerability analysis. J. Environ. Manag. 241 , 407–417 (2019).

Clark, S. S., Peterson, S. K. E., Shelly, M. A. & Jeffers, R. F. Developing an equity-focused metric for quantifying the social burden of infrastructure disruptions. Sustain. Resilient Infrastruct. 8 , 356–369 (2023).

Kohlitz, J., Chong, J. & Willetts, J. Rural drinking water safety under climate change: the importance of addressing physical, social, and environmental dimensions. Resources 9 https://doi.org/10.3390/resources9060077 (2020).

Islam, M. A., Shetu, M. M. & Hakim, S. S. Possibilities of a gender-responsive infrastructure for livelihood-vulnerable women’s resilience in rural-coastal Bangladesh. Built Environ. Project Asset Manag. 12 , 447–466 (2022).

Masterson, J. et al. Plan integration and plan quality: combining assessment tools to align local infrastructure priorities to reduce hazard vulnerability. Sustain. Resilient Infrastruct. https://doi.org/10.1080/23789689.2023.2165779 (2023).

Stough, L. M., Sharp, A. N., Resch, J. A., Decker, C. & Wilker, N. Barriers to the long-term recovery of individuals with disabilities following a disaster. Disasters 40 https://doi.org/10.1111/disa.12161 (2016).

Coleman, N., Esmalian, A. & Mostafavi, A. Equitable resilience in infrastructure systems: empirical assessment of disparities in hardship experiences of vulnerable populations during service disruptions. Nat. Hazards Rev. 21 , 04020034 (2020).

Dargin, J. S., Li, Q. C., Jawer, G., Xiao, X. & Mostafavi, A. Compound hazards: an examination of how hurricane protective actions could increase transmission risk of COVID-19. Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 65 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102560 (2021).

Lee, C.-C., Maron, M. & Mostafavi, A. Community-scale big data reveals disparate impacts of the Texas winter storm of 2021 and its managed power outage. Hum. Soc. Sci. Commun. 9 , https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-022-01353-8 (2021).

Grineski, S. E., Collins, T. W. & Chakraborty, J. Cascading disasters and mental health inequities: Winter Storm Uri, COVID-19 and post-traumatic stress in Texas. Soc. Sci. Med. 315 , 115523 (2022).

Dominelli, L. Mind the gap: built infrastructures, sustainable caring relations, and resilient communities in extreme weather events. Aust. Social Work 66 https://doi.org/10.1080/0312407X.2012.708764 (2013).

Sam, A. S. et al. Flood vulnerability and food security in eastern India: a threat to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 66 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2021.102589 (2021).

Ahmed, B. et al. Indigenous people’s responses to drought in northwest Bangladesh. Environ. Dev. 29 , 55–66 (2019).

Chakalian, P. M., Kurtz, L. C. & Hondula, D. After the lights go out: household resilience to electrical grid failure following hurricane Irma. Nat. Hazards Rev. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)nh.1527-6996.0000335 (2019).

Lee, J. Y. & Ellingwood, B. R. Ethical discounting for civil infrastructure decisions extending over multiple generations. Struct. Saf. 57 , 43–52 (2015).

Esmalian, A., Coleman, N., Yuan, F., Xiao, X. & Mostafavi, A. Characterizing equitable access to grocery stores during disasters using location-based data. Sci. Rep. 12 , https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-23532-y (2022).

Mitsova, D., Esnard, A. M., Sapat, A. & Lai, B. S. Socioeconomic vulnerability and electric power restoration timelines in Florida: the case of Hurricane Irma. Nat. Hazards 94 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-018-3413-x (2018).

Hamlet, L. C., Kamui, M. M. & Kaminsky, J. Infrastructure for water security: coping with risks in rural Kenya. J. Water Sanitation Hygiene Dev. 10 , 481–489 (2020).

Esmalian, A., Dong, S., Coleman, N. & Mostafavi, A. Determinants of risk disparity due to infrastructure service losses in disasters: a household service gap model. Risk Anal. 41 , https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.13738 (2021).

Daramola, A. Y., Oni, O. T., Ogundele, O. & Adesanya, A. Adaptive capacity and coping response strategies to natural disasters: a study in Nigeria. Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 15 , 132–147 (2016).

Yang, Y., Tatano, H., Huang, Q., Wang, K. & Liu, H. Estimating the societal impact of water infrastructure disruptions: A novel model incorporating individuals’ activity choices. Sustain. Cities Soc. 75 , 103290 (2021).

Zhu, L., Gong, Y., Xu, Y. & Gu, J. Emergency relief routing models for injured victims considering equity and priority. Ann. Oper. Res. 283 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10479-018-3089-3 (2019).

Blondin, S. Let’s hit the road! Environmental hazards, materialities, and mobility justice: insights from Tajikistan’s Pamirs. J. Ethn Migr. Stud. 48 , 3416–3432 (2022).

Basu, M., Hoshino, S., Hashimoto, S. & DasGupta, R. Determinants of water consumption: a cross-sectional household study in drought-prone rural India. Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 24 , 373–382 (2017).

Sweya, L. N., Wilkinson, S. & Kassenga, G. A social resilience measurement tool for Tanzania’s water supply systems. Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 65 , 102558 (2021).

Hendricks, M. D. et al. The development of a participatory assessment technique for infrastructure: neighborhood-level monitoring towards sustainable infrastructure systems. Sustain. Cities Soc. 38 , 265–274 (2018).

Oti, I. C. et al. Validity and reliability of drainage infrastructure monitoring data obtained from citizen scientists. J. Infrastruct. Syst. https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)IS.1943-555X.0000495 (2019).

Gharaibeh, N., Oti, I., Meyer, M., Hendricks, M. & Van Zandt, S. Potential of citizen science for enhancing infrastructure monitoring data and decision-support models for local communities. Risk Anal. 41 , 1104–1110 (2021).

Oswald Beiler, M. & Mohammed, M. Exploring transportation equity: development and application of a transportation justice framework. Transp. Res. Part D Transp. Environ. 47 , 285–298 (2016).

Hsieh, C.-H. & Feng, C.-M. The highway resilience and vulnerability in Taiwan. Transp. Policy 87 , 1–9 (2020).

Wang, C., Sun, J., Russell, R. & Daziano, R. A. Analyzing willingness to improve the resilience of New York City’s transportation system. Transp. Policy 69 , 10–19 (2018).

Islam, M. S. et al. Households’ willingness to pay for disaster resilient safe drinking water sources in southwestern coastal Bangladesh. Int. J. Disaster Risk Sci. 10 https://doi.org/10.1007/s13753-019-00229-x (2019).

Stock, A. et al. Household impacts of interruption to electric power and water services. Nat. Hazards 115 , 1–28 (2022).

Ulak, M. B., Yazici, A. & Ozguven, E. A prescriptive model to assess the socio-demographics impacts of resilience improvements on power networks. Int. J. Disaster Risk Reduct. 51 , 101777 (2020).

Sapat, A. Lost in translation? Integrating interdisciplinary disaster research with policy praxis. Risk Anal. 41 , 1232–1239 (2021).

Ross, D., Wilson, T. & Irwin, C. A White House call for real-time, standardized, transparent power outage data , < https://www.whitehouse.gov/ostp/news-updates/2022/11/22/a-white-house-call-for-real-time-standardized-and-transparent-power-outage-data/ > (2022).

Invest in Open Infrastructure Steering Committee. IOI’s Strategic Plan for 2021–2024 , < https://investinopen.org/about/strategic-plan-2021-2024/ > (2024).

Nuthi, K. The EU’s Latest Proposal is Another Step Toward More Public Sector Open Data in Europe , < https://datainnovation.org/2022/06/the-eus-latest-proposal-is-another-step-toward-more-public-sector-open-data-in-europe/ > (2022).

Pine, K. & Mazmanian, M. Emerging insights on building infrastructure for data-driven transparency and accountability of organizations. iConference 2015 Proceedings (2015).

Longo, J., Kuras, E., Smith, H., Hondula, D. M. & Johnston, E. Technology use, exposure to natural hazards, and being digitally invisible: Implications for policy analytics. Policy Internet 9 , 76–108 (2017).

Criado-Perez, C. Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men. 411 pages (Chatto & Windus, 2019).

Gbedemah, S. F., Eshun, F., Frimpong, L. K. & Okine, P. Domestic water accessibility during COVID-19: challenges and coping strategies in Somanya and its surrounding rural communities of Ghana. Urban Gov. 2 , 305–315 (2022).

Jacobsen, J. K. S., Leiren, M. D. & Saarinen, J. Natural hazard experiences and adaptations: a study of winter climate-induced road closures in Norway. Norsk Geografisk Tidsskrift-Nor. J. Geogr. 70 , 292–305 (2016).

Comes, T. AI for crisis decisions. Ethics Inf. Technol. 26 , 1–14 (2024).

Yuan, F. et al. Smart flood resilience: harnessing community-scale big data for predictive flood risk monitoring, rapid impact assessment, and situational awareness. Environ. Res. Infrastruct. Sustain. 2 , https://doi.org/10.1088/2634-4505/ac7251 (2021).

Future of Life Institute. The EU Artificial Intelligence Act , < https://artificialintelligenceact.eu/ >

Ruijer, E., Porumbescu, G., Porter, R. & Piotrowski, S. Social equity in the data era: a systematic literature review of data‐driven public service research. Public Adm. Rev. 83 , 316–332 (2023).

Sung, W. A Study on the effect of smartphones on the digital divide. In Proc of the 16th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research 276–282 (2015).

Blake, A., Hazel, A., Jakurama, J., Matundu, J. & Bharti, N. Disparities in mobile phone ownership reflect inequities in access to healthcare. PLOS Digit. Health 2 , e0000270 (2023).

Ortiz, J. et al. Giving voice to the voiceless: The use of digital technologies by marginalized groups. Communications of the Association for Information Systems (2019).

Soden, R. et al. The importance of accounting for equity in disaster risk models. Commun. Earth Environ. 4 , 386 (2023).

Esmalian, A., Dong, S. & Mostafavi, A. Susceptibility curves for humans: empirical survival models for determining household-level disturbances from hazards-induced infrastructure service disruptions. Sustain. Cities Soc. 66 , 102694 (2021).

Holguin-Veras, J., Perez, N., Jaller, M., Van Wassenhove, L. N. & Aros-Vera, F. On the appropriate objective function for post-disaster humanitarian logistics models. J. Oper. Manag. 31 , 262–280 (2013).

Khan, M. T. I., Anwar, S., Sarkodie, S. A., Yaseen, M. R. & Nadeem, A. M. Do natural disasters affect economic growth? The role of human capital, foreign direct investment, and infrastructure dynamics. Heliyon 9 , e12911 (2023).

Wise, R. M., Capon, T., Lin, B. B. & Stafford-Smith, M. Pragmatic cost–benefit analysis for infrastructure resilience. Nat. Clim. Change 12 , 881–883 (2022).

de Bruijn, K. M. et al. Flood risk management through a resilience lens. Commun. Earth Environ. 3 , 285 (2022).

Teodoro, J. D., Doorn, N., Kwakkel, J. & Comes, T. Flexibility for intergenerational justice in climate resilience decision-making: an application on sea-level rise in the Netherlands. Sustain. Sci. 18 , 1355–1365 (2023).

Clements, R., Alizadeh, T., Kamruzzaman, L., Searle, G. & Legacy, C. A systematic literature review of infrastructure governance: cross-sectoral lessons for transformative governance approaches. J. Plan. Lit. 38 , 70–87 (2022).

Seyedrezaei, M., Becerik-Gerber, B., Awada, M., Contreras, S. & Boeing, G. Equity in the built environment: a systematic review. Build. Environ. 245 , 110827 (2023).

Oelz, M., Dhir, R. K. & Harsdorff, M. Indigenous peoples and climate change: from victims to change agents through decent work. International Labour Office, Gender, Equality and Diversity Branch , 1–56 (2017).

Berrang-Ford, L. et al. A systematic global stocktake of evidence on human adaptation to climate change. Nat. Clim. Change 11 , 989–1000 (2021).

Masterson, J. & Cooper, J. Engaged Research for Community Resilience to Climate Change (Elsevier, 2020).

Arnstein, S. R. A ladder of citizen participation. J. Am. Inst. Plann. 35 , 216–224 (1969).

Download references

Acknowledgements

This material is based in part upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant CMMI-1846069 (CAREER) and the support of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. We would like to thank the contributions of our undergraduate students: Nhat Bui, Shweta Kumaran, Colton Singh, and Samuel Baez.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Zachry Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Urban Resilience.AI Lab, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

Natalie Coleman, Xiangpeng Li & Ali Mostafavi

TPM Resilience Lab, TU Delft, Delft, South Holland, the Netherlands

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

All authors critically revised the manuscript, gave final approval for publication, and agree to be held accountable for the work performed therein. N.C. was the lead Ph.D. student researcher and first author, who was responsible for guiding data collection, performing the main part of the analysis, interpreting the significant results, and writing most of the manuscript. X.L. was responsible for guiding data collection, figure creations, and assisting in the manuscript. T.C. and A.M. were the faculty advisors for the project and provided critical feedback on the literature review development, analysis and manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Natalie Coleman .

Ethics declarations

Competing interests.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Supplementary information, rights and permissions.

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Coleman, N., Li, X., Comes, T. et al. Weaving equity into infrastructure resilience research: a decadal review and future directions. npj Nat. Hazards 1 , 25 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44304-024-00022-x

Download citation

Received : 10 November 2023

Accepted : 29 May 2024

Published : 02 September 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s44304-024-00022-x

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Information

• Author Services

Initiatives

You are accessing a machine-readable page. In order to be human-readable, please install an RSS reader.

All articles published by MDPI are made immediately available worldwide under an open access license. No special permission is required to reuse all or part of the article published by MDPI, including figures and tables. For articles published under an open access Creative Common CC BY license, any part of the article may be reused without permission provided that the original article is clearly cited. For more information, please refer to https://www.mdpi.com/openaccess .

Feature papers represent the most advanced research with significant potential for high impact in the field. A Feature Paper should be a substantial original Article that involves several techniques or approaches, provides an outlook for future research directions and describes possible research applications.

Feature papers are submitted upon individual invitation or recommendation by the scientific editors and must receive positive feedback from the reviewers.

Editor’s Choice articles are based on recommendations by the scientific editors of MDPI journals from around the world. Editors select a small number of articles recently published in the journal that they believe will be particularly interesting to readers, or important in the respective research area. The aim is to provide a snapshot of some of the most exciting work published in the various research areas of the journal.

Original Submission Date Received: .

• Active Journals
• Find a Journal
• Proceedings Series
• For Authors
• For Reviewers
• For Editors
• For Librarians
• For Publishers
• For Societies
• For Conference Organizers
• Open Access Policy
• Institutional Open Access Program
• Special Issues Guidelines
• Editorial Process
• Research and Publication Ethics
• Article Processing Charges
• Testimonials
• Preprints.org
• SciProfiles
• Encyclopedia

Article Menu

• Subscribe SciFeed
• Recommended Articles
• Google Scholar
• on Google Scholar
• Table of Contents

Find support for a specific problem in the support section of our website.

Please let us know what you think of our products and services.

Visit our dedicated information section to learn more about MDPI.

JSmol Viewer

Recent advances in characterization and valorization of lignin and its value-added products: challenges and future perspectives.

1. Introduction

Research Gap and Objective of the Study

2. methodology, 2.1. understanding lignin: characterization as the foundation for sustainable valorization, 2.2. chemical analysis (compositional methods), 2.3. spectroscopic techniques for characterization of lignin, 2.4. microscopic techniques for characterization of lignin, 3. pretreatment: loosening bonds with other biomass components, 3.1. thermal depolymerization of lignin, 3.2. catalytic depolymerization, 3.3. ionic liquid pretreatment for lignin depolymerization, 3.4. biological depolymerization of lignin, 3.5. emerging techniques for valorization of lignin, 4. challenges and readiness of lignin depolymerization, 5. advancements in the valorization of lignin, 5.1. lignin as a source of biofuels, 5.2. lignin-derived chemicals and materials, 5.3. lignin in polymer blends and composites, 5.4. lignin as a uv protector and antioxidant, 5.5. functionalization and modification of lignin, 5.6. economic and environmental benefits of lignin valorization, 6. exploring the expanding applications of upgraded lignin, 6.1. lignin as precursors for biofuels and bio-based chemicals, 6.2. role of lignin as a functional additive in biocomposites, 6.3. source of aromatic building blocks for novel biomaterials, 6.4. reduced reliance on fossil resources, 6.5. efficient use of natural resources, 6.6. lignin valorization for polyurethane, 6.7. lignin for bioplastics, 7. conclusions, future prospects and recommendations, author contributions, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

• Dar, M.A.; Xie, R.; Zabed, H.M.; Ali, S.; Zhu, D.; Sun, J. Termite Microbial Symbiosis as a Model for Innovative Design of Lignocellulosic Future Biorefinery: Current Paradigms and Future Perspectives. Biomass 2024 , 4 , 180–201. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ali, S.; Shah, T.A.; Afzal, A.; Tabassum, R. Exploring Lignocellulosic Biomass for Bio-Methane Potential by Anaerobic Digestion and Its Economic Feasibility. Energy Environ. 2018 , 29 , 742–751. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Brienza, F.; Cannella, D.; Montesdeoca, D.; Cybulska, I.; Debecker, D.P. A Guide to Lignin Valorization in Biorefineries: Traditional, Recent, and Forthcoming Approaches to Convert Raw Lignocellulose into Valuable Materials and Chemicals. RSC Sustain. 2024 , 2 , 37–90. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ali, S.; Shah, T.A.; Afzal, A.; Tabassum, R. Analysis of Agricultural Substrates for Nutritive Values and Biomethane Potential. Curr. Sci. 2018 , 115 , 292–299. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zhao, L.; Sun, Z.; Zhang, C.-C.; Nan, J.; Ren, N.; Lee, D.-J.; Chen, C. Advances in pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass for bioenergy production: Challenges and perspectives. Bioresour. Technol. 2021 , 343 , 126123. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Rosini, E.; Molinari, F.; Miani, D.; Pollegioni, L. Lignin Valorization: Production of High Value-Added Compounds by Engineered Microorganisms. Catalysts 2023 , 13 , 555. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• del Río, J.C.; Rencoret, J.; Gutiérrez, A.; Elder, T.; Kim, H.; Ralph, J. Lignin Monomers from beyond the Canonical Monolignol Biosynthetic Pathway: Another Brick in the Wall. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 2020 , 8 , 4997–5012. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Dixon, R.; Barros-Rios, J. Lignin Biosynthesis: Old Roads Revisited and New Roads Explored. Open Biol. 2019 , 9 , 190215. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Gonçalves, S.; Ferra, J.; Paiva, N.; Martins, J.; Carvalho, L.H.; Magalhães, F.D. Lignosulphonates as an Alternative to Non-Renewable Binders in Wood-Based Materials. Polymers 2021 , 13 , 4196. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ekielski, A.; Mishra, P.K. Lignin for Bioeconomy: The Present and Future Role of Technical Lignin. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2020 , 22 , 63. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Giardino, G.J.; Wang, H.; Niu, J.; Wang, D. From Technical Lignin to Native Lignin: Depolymerization, Functionalization, and Applications. Chem. Phys. Rev. 2024 , 5 , 021302. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ali, S.; Rani, A.; Sethupathy, S.; Liaqat, F.; Shunkai, W.; Shah, T.A.; Zhu, D. Advanced Technologies for Transforming Biomass to Biofuels. In Integrated Solutions for Smart and Sustainable Environmental Conservation ; Mabrouki, J., Azrour, M., Eds.; Springer Nature Switzerland: Cham, Switzerland, 2024; pp. 47–64. [ Google Scholar ]
• Zoghlami, A.; Paës, G. Lignocellulosic Biomass: Understanding Recalcitrance and Predicting Hydrolysis. Front. Chem. 2019 , 7 , 874. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ali, S.; Dar, M.A.; Liaqat, F.; Sethupathy, S.; Rani, A.; Khan, M.I.; Rehan, M.; Zhu, D. Optimization of Biomethane Production from Lignocellulosic Biomass by a Developed Microbial Consortium. Process Saf. Environ. Prot. 2024 , 184 , 1106–1118. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Sapouna, I.; van Erven, G.; Heidling, E.; Lawoko, M.; McKee, L.S. Impact of Extraction Method on the Structure of Lignin from Ball-Milled Hardwood. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 2023 , 11 , 15533–15543. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Beaucamp, A.; Muddasar, M.; Amiinu, I.S.; Moraes Leite, M.; Culebras, M.; Latha, K.; Gutiérrez, M.C.; Rodriguez-Padron, D.; del Monte, F.; Kennedy, T.; et al. Lignin for Energy Applications—State of the Art, Life Cycle, Technoeconomic Analysis and Future Trends. Green Chem. 2022 , 24 , 8193–8226. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Laurichesse, S.; Avérous, L. Chemical Modification of Lignins: Towards Biobased Polymers. Prog. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 39 , 1266–1290. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Smolarski, N. High-Value Opportunities for Lignin: Unlocking Its Potential Market Insights. Frost Sullivan 2012 , 1 , 1–15. [ Google Scholar ]
• Norgren, M.; Edlund, H. Lignin: Recent Advances and Emerging Applications. Curr. Opin. Colloid Interface Sci. 2014 , 19 , 409–416. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Lora, J.H.; Glasser, W.G. Recent Industrial Applications of Lignin: A Sustainable Alternative to Nonrenewable Materials. J. Polym. Environ. 2002 , 10 , 39–48. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zhao, X.; Cheng, K.; Liu, D. Organosolv Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Biomass for Enzymatic Hydrolysis. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2009 , 82 , 815–827. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Brodin, I.; Ernstsson, M.; Gellerstedt, G.; Sjöholm, E. Oxidative Stabilisation of Kraft Lignin for Carbon Fibre Production. Holzforschung 2011 , 66 , 141–147. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Liu, Z.-H.; Hao, N.; Wang, Y.-Y.; Dou, C.; Lin, F.; Shen, R.; Bura, R.; Hodge, D.B.; Dale, B.E.; Ragauskas, A.J.; et al. Transforming Biorefinery Designs with ‘Plug-In Processes of Lignin’ to Enable Economic Waste Valorization. Nat. Commun. 2021 , 12 , 3912. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Tribot, A.; Amer, G.; Abdou Alio, M.; de Baynast, H.; Delattre, C.; Pons, A.; Mathias, J.-D.; Callois, J.-M.; Vial, C.; Michaud, P.; et al. Wood-Lignin: Supply, Extraction Processes and Use as Bio-Based Material. Eur. Polym. J. 2019 , 112 , 228–240. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Anthony, W.E.; Carr, R.R.; DeLorenzo, D.M.; Campbell, T.P.; Shang, Z.; Foston, M.; Moon, T.S.; Dantas, G. Development of Rhodococcus opacus as a Chassis for Lignin Valorization and Bioproduction of High-Value Compounds. Biotechnol. Biofuels 2019 , 12 , 192. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Ali, S.; Shah, T.A.; Afzal, A.; Tabbassum, R. Evaluating the co-digestion effects on chicken manure and rotten potatoes in batch experiments. Int. J. Biosci. 2017 , 10 , 150–159. [ Google Scholar ]
• Kocaturk, E.; Salan, T.; Ozcelik, O.; Alma, M.H.; Candan, Z. Recent Advances in Lignin-Based Biofuel Production. Energies 2023 , 16 , 3382. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Shah, T.A.; Ali, S.; Afzal, A.; Tabassum, R. Simultaneous Pretreatment and Biohydrogen Production from Wheat Straw by Newly Isolated Ligninolytic Bacillus sp. Strains with Two-Stage Batch Fermentation System. BioEnergy Res. 2018 , 11 , 835–849. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Blasi, A.; Verardi, A.; Lopresto, C.G.; Siciliano, S.; Sangiorgio, P. Lignocellulosic Agricultural Waste Valorization to Obtain Valuable Products: An Overview. Recycling 2023 , 8 , 61. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Gao, Y.; Walker, M.J.; Barrett, J.A.; Hosseinaei, O.; Harper, D.P.; Ford, P.C.; Williams, B.J.; Foston, M.B. Analysis of Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry Data for Catalytic Lignin Depolymerization Using Positive Matrix Factorization. Green Chem. 2018 , 20 , 4366–4377. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Jiang, B.; Zhang, Y.; Guo, T.; Zhao, H.; Jin, Y. Structural Characterization of Lignin and Lignin-Carbohydrate Complex (LCC) from Ginkgo Shells ( Ginkgo biloba L.) by Comprehensive NMR Spectroscopy. Polymers 2018 , 10 , 736. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ma, Q.; Zhang, X. An Integral Method for Determining the Molecular Composition of Lignin and Its Application. Sci. Rep. 2022 , 12 , 19136. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Richel, A.; Vanderghem, C.; Simon, M.; Wathelet, B.; Paquot, M. Evaluation of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Mass Spectrometry for Second-Generation Lignin Analysis. Anal. Chem. Insights 2012 , 7 , 79. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Yang, J.; Sun, M.; Jiao, L.; Dai, H. Molecular Weight Distribution and Dissolution Behavior of Lignin in Alkaline Solutions. Polymers 2021 , 13 , 4166. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Levdansky, A.V.; Kondrasenko, A.A.; Malyar, Y.N.; Levdansky, V.A.; Kuznetsov, B.N. Study of Organosolv Lignins by Methods of FTIR and NMR Spectroscopy. J. Sib. Fed. Univ. Chem. 2019 , 12 , 201–220. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Shi, Z.; Xu, G.; Deng, J.; Dong, M.; Murugadoss, V.; Liu, C.; Shao, Q.; Wu, S.; Guo, Z. Structural Characterization of Lignin from D. sinicus by FTIR and NMR Techniques. Green Chem. Lett. Rev. 2019 , 12 , 235–243. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Wang, J.-Q.; Yin, J.-Y.; Nie, S.-P.; Xie, M.-Y. A review of NMR analysis in polysaccharide structure and conformation: Progress, challenge and perspective. Food Res. Int. 2021 , 143 , 110290. [ Google Scholar ]
• Yuan, T.Q.; Sun, S.N.; Xu, F.; Sun, R.C. Characterization of Lignin Structures and Lignin–Carbohydrate Complex (LCC) Linkages by Quantitative 13C and 2D HSQC NMR Spectroscopy. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2011 , 59 , 10604–10614. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Mansfield, S.D.; Kim, H.; Lu, F.; Ralph, J. Whole Plant Cell Wall Characterization Using Solution-State 2D NMR. Nat. Protoc. 2012 , 7 , 1579–1589. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Blindheim, F.H.; Ruwoldt, J. The Effect of Sample Preparation Techniques on Lignin Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. Polymers 2023 , 15 , 2901. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Alzagameem, A.; El Khaldi-Hansen, B.; Büchner, D.; Larkins, M.; Kamm, B.; Witzleben, S.; Schulze, M. Molecules Lignocellulosic Biomass as Source for Lignin-Based Environmentally Benign Antioxidants. Molecules 2018 , 23 , 2664. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Meraj, A.; Jawaid, M.; Singh, S.P.; Nasef, M.M.; Ariffin, H.; Fouad, H.; Abu-Jdayil, B. Isolation and Characterisation of Lignin Using Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents Pretreated Kenaf Fibre Biomass. Sci. Rep. 2024 , 14 , 8672. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Fattahi, S.H.; Kazemi, A.; Khojastehnazhand, M.; Roostaei, M.; Mahmoudi, A. The classification of Iranian wheat flour varieties using FT-MIR spectroscopy and chemometrics methods. Expert Syst. Appl. 2024 , 239 , 122175. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Dütsch, L.; Sander, K.; Brendler, E.; Bremer, M.; Fischer, S.; Vogt, C.; Zuber, J. Chemometric Combination of Ultrahigh Resolving Mass Spectrometry and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy for a Structural Characterization of Lignin Compounds. ACS Omega 2024 , 9 , 628–641. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Kumar, A.; Biswas, B.; Kaur, R.; Rani, R.; Krishna, B.B.; Bhaskar, T. Structure Elucidation of Prot, Alkali and Dealkaline Lignin(s) by NMR, FT-IR and Py-GC/MS: Effect of Solid Acid and Base Catalysts. Sustain. Energy Fuels 2023 , 7 , 1942–1954. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Lundquist, K. Proton (1H) NMR Spectroscopy. In Methods in Lignin Chemistry ; Lin, S.Y., Dence, C.W., Eds.; Springer: Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany, 1992; pp. 242–249. ISBN 978-3-642-74065-7. [ Google Scholar ]
• Wen, J.L.; Sun, S.L.; Xue, B.L.; Sun, R.C. Recent Advances in Characterization of Lignin Polymer by Solution-State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Methodology. Materials 2013 , 6 , 359–391. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Falcioni, R.; Moriwaki, T.; Furlanetto, R.H.; Nanni, M.R.; Antunes, W.C. Simple, Fast and Efficient Methods for Analysing the Structural, Ultrastructural and Cellular Components of the Cell Wall. Plants 2022 , 11 , 995. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Fromm, J.; Rockel, B.; Lautner, S.; Windeisen, E.; Wanner, G. Lignin Distribution in Wood Cell Walls Determined by TEM and Backscattered SEM Techniques. J. Struct. Biol. 2003 , 143 , 77–84. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zhang, X.; Li, L.; Xu, F. Chemical Characteristics of Wood Cell Wall with an Emphasis on Ultrastructure: A Mini-Review. Forests 2022 , 13 , 439. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Magalhaes, D.; Gürel, K.; Matsakas, L.; Christakopoulos, P.; Pisano, I.; Leahy, J.; Kazanç, F.; Trubetskaya, A. Prediction of Yields and Composition of Char from Fast Pyrolysis of Commercial Lignocellulosic Materials, Organosolv Fractionated and Torrefied Olive Stones. Fuel 2021 , 289 , 119862. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Reza, M.; Kontturi, E.; Jääskeläinen, A.-S.; Vuorinen, T.; Ruokolainen, J. Transmission Electron Microscopy for Wood and Fiber Analysis—A Review. Bioresources 2015 , 10 , 6230–6261. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ton-That, M.T.; Ngo, T.; Lebarbe, T.; Ahvazi, B.; Bélanger, C.; Hu, W.; Hawari, J.; Monteil-Rivera, F.; Pilon, A.; Langlois, A.; et al. Development of Ligno-Polyol for the Production of Polyurethanes. In Proceedings of the Polyurethanes 2010 Technical Conference, Houston, TX, USA, 11–13 October 2010. [ Google Scholar ]
• Gracia-Vitoria, J.; Rubens, M.; Feghali, E.; Adriaensens, P.; Vanbroekhoven, K.; Vendamme, R. Low-Field Benchtop versus High-Field NMR for Routine 31P Analysis of Lignin, a Comparative Study. Ind. Crops Prod. 2022 , 176 , 114405. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Melone, F.; Saladino, R.; Crestini, C. Tannin Structural Elucidation and Quantitative 31P NMR Analysis. 1. Model Compounds. J. Agric. Food Chem. 2013 , 61 , 9307–9315. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• LibreTexts, C. 4.7 Identifying Characteristic Functional Groups. Available online: https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Organic_Chemistry/Introduction_to_Organic_Spectroscopy/04:_Infrared_Spectroscopy/4.07_Identifying_Characteristic_Functional_Groups (accessed on 6 June 2024).
• Materials, A. FTIR Basic Organic Functional Group Reference Chart. Available online: https://www.thermofisher.cn/blog/materials/a-gift-for-you-an-ftir-basic-organic-functional-group-reference-chart/ (accessed on 8 June 2024).
• Enders, A.A.; North, N.M.; Fensore, C.M.; Velez-Alvarez, J.; Allen, H.C. Functional Group Identification for FTIR Spectra Using Image-Based Machine Learning Models. Anal. Chem. 2021 , 93 , 9711–9718. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Liu, S.; Zhu, Y.; Liao, Y.; Wang, H.; Liu, Q.; Ma, L.; Wang, C. Advances in Understanding the Humins: Formation, Prevention and Application. Appl. Energy Combust. Sci. 2022 , 10 , 100062. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Wang, C.; Li, H.; Li, M.; Bian, J.; Sun, R. Revealing the Structure and Distribution Changes of Eucalyptus Lignin during the Hydrothermal and Alkaline Pretreatments. Sci. Rep. 2017 , 7 , 593. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Khalil, H.P.S.A.; Alwani, M.S.; Omar, A.K.M. Chemical Composition, Anatomy, Lignin Distribution, and Cell Wall Structure of Malaysian Plant Waste Fibers. Bioresources 2006 , 1 , 220–232. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Morita, K.; Takenaka, M.; Tomita, K.; Ishii, J.; Kawaguchi, H.; Murakami, D.; Amo, H.; Fujii, M.; Maruyama, T.; Matsumoto, T.; et al. Nanoscopic Lignin Mapping on Cellulose Nanofibers via Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy. Cellulose 2023 , 30 , 11357–11367. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Letourneau, D.; Volmer, D. Mass Spectrometry-based Methods for the Advanced Characterization and Structural Analysis of Lignin: A Review. Mass Spectrom. Rev. 2021 , 42 , 144–188. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Kusch, P. Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry of Polymeric Materials. In Advanced Gas Chromatography-Progress in Agricultural, Biomedical and Industrial Applications ; InTech: Rijeka, Croatia, 2012; ISBN 978-953-51-0298-4. [ Google Scholar ]
• Reyes-Rivera, J.; Terrazas, T. Lignin Analysis by HPLC and FTIR. In Xylem ; Springer: New York, NY, USA, 2017; Volume 1544, pp. 193–211. ISBN 978-1-4939-6720-9. [ Google Scholar ]
• AZoOptics. The Future of Lignin Research Using Mass Spectrometry. Available online: https://www.azooptics.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=2438 (accessed on 8 June 2024).
• Prothmann, J.; Spégel, P.; Sandahl, M.; Turner, C. Identification of Lignin Oligomers in Kraft Lignin Using Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography/High-Resolution Multiple-Stage Tandem Mass Spectrometry (UHPLC/HRMS(n)). Anal. Bioanal. Chem. 2018 , 410 , 7803–7814. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zhang, R.; Qi, Y.; Ma, C.; Ge, J.; Hu, Q.; Yue, F.J.; Li, S.L.; Volmer, D.A. Characterization of Lignin Compounds at the Molecular Level: Mass Spectrometry Analysis and Raw Data Processing. Molecules 2021 , 26 , 178. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zhu, L.; Cui, C.; Liu, H.; Zhou, Z.; Qi, F. Thermochemical Depolymerization of Lignin: Process Analysis with State-of-the-Art Soft Ionization Mass Spectrometry. Front. Chem. Eng. 2022 , 4 , 982126. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Xu, Z.; Lei, P.; Zhai, R.; Wen, Z.; Jin, M. Recent Advances in Lignin Valorization with Bacterial Cultures: Microorganisms, Metabolic Pathways, and Bio-Products. Biotechnol. Biofuels 2019 , 12 , 32. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Lobato-Peralta, D.R.; Duque-Brito, E.; Villafán-Vidales, H.I.; Longoria, A.; Sebastian, P.J.; Cuentas-Gallegos, A.K.; Arancibia-Bulnes, C.A.; Okoye, P.U. A Review on Trends in Lignin Extraction and Valorization of Lignocellulosic Biomass for Energy Applications. J. Clean. Prod. 2021 , 293 , 126123. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zhou, N.; Thilakarathna, W.P.D.W.; He, Q.S.; Rupasinghe, H.P.V. A Review: Depolymerization of Lignin to Generate High-Value Bio-Products: Opportunities, Challenges, and Prospects. Front. Energy Res. 2022 , 9 , 758744. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Syed, M.W.; Kazmi, W.W.; Hussain, A.; Shah, S.F.A.; Kariim, I.; Mehdi, A.M.; Omer, A.; Bhatti, A.H.; Eze, F.; Bhatti, U.H. Lignin Liquefaction: Unraveling the Effect of Process Conditions and Sustainable Pathways for Biofuel Production—A Comprehensive Review. Energy Convers. Manag. 2024 , 313 , 118615. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Han, Y.; Simmons, B.A.; Singh, S. Perspective on Oligomeric Products from Lignin Depolymerization: Their Generation, Identification, and Further Valorization. Ind. Chem. Mater. 2023 , 1 , 207–223. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zhou, H.; Guo, W.; Xu, B.; Teng, Z.; Tao, D.; Lou, Y.; Gao, Y. Screening and Identification of Lignin-Degrading Bacteria in Termite Gut and the Construction of LiP-Expressing Recombinant Lactococcus lactis . Microb. Pathog. 2017 , 112 , 63–69. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Schutyser, W.; Renders, T.; Van Den Bosch, S.; Koelewijn, S.F.; Beckham, G.T.; Sels, B.F. Chemicals from Lignin: An Interplay of Lignocellulose Fractionation, Depolymerisation, and Upgrading. Chem. Soc. Rev. 2018 , 47 , 852–908. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Jae, J.; Tompsett, G.A.; Foster, A.J.; Hammond, K.D.; Auerbach, S.M.; Lobo, R.F.; Huber, G.W. Investigation into the Shape Selectivity of Zeolite Catalysts for Biomass Conversion. J. Catal. 2011 , 279 , 257–268. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Chen, X.; Zhu, L.; Cui, C.; Zhu, Y.; Zhou, Z.; Qi, F. In Situ Atmospheric Pressure Photoionization Mass Spectrometric Monitoring of Initial Pyrolysis Products of Biomass in Real Time. Anal. Chem. 2020 , 92 , 603–606. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Biswas, B.; Kumar, A.; Krishna, B.B.; Baltrusaitis, J.; Adhikari, S.; Bhaskar, T. Catalytic Depolymerization of Lignin for the Selective Production of Phenolic Monomers over Cobalt-Supported Calcium Catalysts. Energy Fuels 2023 , 37 , 3813–3824. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Katahira, R.; Mittal, A.; McKinney, K.; Chen, X.; Tucker, M.P.; Johnson, D.K.; Beckham, G.T. Base-Catalyzed Depolymerization of Biorefinery Lignins. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 2016 , 4 , 1474–1486. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Gao, D.; Ouyang, D.; Zhao, X. Electro-Oxidative Depolymerization of Lignin for Production of Value-Added Chemicals. Green Chem. 2022 , 24 , 8585–8605. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Rana, M.; Ghosh, S.; Nshizirungu, T.; Park, J.H. Catalytic Depolymerization of Kraft Lignin to High Yield Alkylated-Phenols over CoMo/SBA-15 Catalyst in Supercritical Ethanol. RSC Adv. 2023 , 13 , 30022–30039. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Deepa, A.K.; Dhepe, P.L. Solid Acid Catalyzed Depolymerization of Lignin into Value Added Aromatic Monomers. RSC Adv. 2014 , 4 , 12625–12629. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Baxter, K.; Driver, S.; Williamson, E. Stockley’s Herbal Medicines Interactions ; Pharmaceutical Press: London, UK, 2013. [ Google Scholar ]
• Han, Y.; Ye, L.; Gu, X.; Zhu, P.; Lu, X. Lignin-Based Solid Acid Catalyst for the Conversion of Cellulose to Levulinic Acid Using γ-Valerolactone as Solvent. Ind. Crops Prod. 2019 , 127 , 88–93. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Bi, Y.; Lei, X.; Xu, G.; Chen, H.; Hu, J. Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis of Kraft Lignin over Hierarchical HZSM-5 and Hβ Zeolites. Catalysts 2018 , 8 , 82. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Mateo, W.; Lei, H.; Villota, E.; Qian, M.; Zhao, Y.; Huo, E.; Zhang, Q.; Lin, X.; Wang, C. One-Step Synthesis of Biomass-Based Sulfonated Carbon Catalyst by Direct Carbonization-Sulfonation for Organosolv Delignification. Bioresour. Technol. 2021 , 319 , 124194. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Scholz, D.; Xie, J.; Kröcher, O.; Vogel, F. Mechanochemistry-Assisted Hydrolysis of Softwood over Stable Sulfonated Carbon Catalysts in a Semi-Batch Process. RSC Adv. 2019 , 9 , 33525–33538. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ovejero-Pérez, A.; Rigual, V.; Domínguez, J.C.; Alonso, M.V.; Oliet, M.; Rodriguez, F. Acidic Depolymerization vs Ionic Liquid Solubilization in Lignin Extraction from Eucalyptus Wood Using the Protic Ionic Liquid 1-Methylimidazolium Chloride. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 2020 , 157 , 461–469. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Achinivu, E.C. Protic Ionic Liquids for Lignin Extraction-A Lignin Characterization Study. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2018 , 19 , 428. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Roy, R.; Rahman, M.S.; Amit, T.A.; Jadhav, B. Recent Advances in Lignin Depolymerization Techniques: A Comparative Overview of Traditional and Greener Approaches. Biomass 2022 , 2 , 130–154. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Radhika, N.L.; Sachdeva, S.; Kumar, M. Lignin Depolymerization and Biotransformation to Industrially Important Chemicals/Biofuels. Fuel 2022 , 312 , 122935. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• da Cruz, M.G.A.; Gueret, R.; Chen, J.; Piątek, J.; Beele, B.; Sipponen, M.H.; Frauscher, M.; Budnyk, S.; Rodrigues, B.V.M.; Slabon, A. Electrochemical Depolymerization of Lignin in a Biomass-Based Solvent. ChemSusChem 2022 , 15 , e202200718. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Abdelaziz, O.Y.; Clemmensen, I.; Meier, S.; Costa, C.A.E.; Rodrigues, A.E.; Hulteberg, C.P.; Riisager, A. On the Oxidative Valorization of Lignin to High-Value Chemicals: A Critical Review of Opportunities and Challenges. ChemSusChem 2022 , 15 , e202201232. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Gu, J.; Qiu, Q.; Yu, Y.; Sun, X.; Tian, K.; Chang, M.; Wang, Y.; Zhang, F.; Huo, H. Bacterial Transformation of Lignin: Key Enzymes and High-Value Products. Biotechnol. Biofuels Bioprod. 2024 , 17 , 2. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Weng, C.; Peng, X.; Han, Y. Depolymerization and Conversion of Lignin to Value-Added Bioproducts by Microbial and Enzymatic Catalysis. Biotechnol. Biofuels 2021 , 14 , 84. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Janusz, G.; Pawlik, A.; Sulej, J.; Świderska-Burek, U.; Jarosz-Wilkołazka, A.; Paszczyński, A. Lignin Degradation: Microorganisms, Enzymes Involved, Genomes Analysis and Evolution. FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 2017 , 41 , 941–962. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Chai, L.Y.; Chen, Y.H.; Tang, C.J.; Yang, Z.H.; Zheng, Y.; Shi, Y. Depolymerization and Decolorization of Kraft Lignin by Bacterium Comamonas sp. B-9. Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol. 2014 , 98 , 1907–1912. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Chen, Y.; Chai, L.; Tang, C.; Yang, Z.; Zheng, Y.; Shi, Y.; Zhang, H. Kraft Lignin Biodegradation by Novosphingobium sp. B-7 and Analysis of the Degradation Process. Bioresour. Technol. 2012 , 123 , 682–685. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Chen, Y.H.; Chai, L.Y.; Zhu, Y.H.; Yang, Z.H.; Zheng, Y.; Zhang, H. Biodegradation of Kraft Lignin by a Bacterial Strain Comamonas sp. B-9 Isolated from Eroded Bamboo Slips. J. Appl. Microbiol. 2012 , 112 , 900–906. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Dar, M.A.; Xie, R.; Jing, L.; Qing, X.; Ali, S.; Pandit, R.S.; Shaha, C.M.; Sun, J. Elucidating the Structure, and Composition of Bacterial Symbionts in the Gut Regions of Wood-Feeding Termite, Coptotermes formosanus and Their Functional Profile towards Lignocellulolytic Systems. Front. Microbiol. 2024 , 15 , 1395568. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Dar, M.A.; Xie, R.; Pandit, R.S.; Danso, B.; Dong, C.; Sun, J. Exploring the Region-Wise Diversity and Functions of Symbiotic Bacteria in the Gut System of Wood-Feeding Termite, Coptotermes formosanus , toward the Degradation of Cellulose, Hemicellulose, and Organic Dyes. Insect Sci. 2022 , 29 , 1414–1432. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Suman, S.K.; Dhawaria, M.; Tripathi, D.; Raturi, V.; Adhikari, D.K.; Kanaujia, P.K. Investigation of Lignin Biodegradation by Trabulsiella sp. Isolated from Termite Gut. Int. Biodeterior. Biodegrad. 2016 , 112 , 12–17. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Xie, R.; Dong, C.; Wang, S.; Danso, B.; Dar, M.A.; Pandit, R.S.; Pawar, K.D.; Geng, A.; Zhu, D.; Li, X.; et al. Host-Specific Diversity of Culturable Bacteria in the Gut Systems of Fungus-Growing Termites and Their Potential Functions towards Lignocellulose Bioconversion. Insects 2023 , 14 , 403. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Li, H.; Yelle, D.J.; Li, C.; Yang, M.; Ke, J.; Zhang, R.; Liu, Y.; Zhu, N.; Liang, S.; Mo, X.; et al. Lignocellulose Pretreatment in a Fungus-Cultivating Termite. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2017 , 114 , 4709–4714. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Li, X.; Shi, Y.; Kong, W.; Wei, J.; Song, W.; Wang, S. Improving enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass by bio-coordinated physicochemical pretreatment—A review. Energy Reports 2022 , 8 , 696–709. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Xiong, X.Q.; Liao, H.D.; Ma, J.S.; Liu, X.M.; Zhang, L.Y.; Shi, X.W.; Yang, X.L.; Lu, X.N.; Zhu, Y.H. Isolation of a Rice Endophytic Bacterium, Pantoea sp. Sd-1, with Ligninolytic Activity and Characterization of Its Rice Straw Degradation Ability. Lett. Appl. Microbiol. 2014 , 58 , 123–129. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Yu, T.; Wu, W.; Liang, W.; Lever, M.A.; Hinrichs, K.U.; Wang, F. Growth of Sedimentary Bathyarchaeota on Lignin as an Energy Source. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2018 , 115 , 6022–6027. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Mallinson, S.J.B.; Machovina, M.M.; Silveira, R.L.; Garcia-Borràs, M.; Gallup, N.; Johnson, C.W.; Allen, M.D.; Skaf, M.S.; Crowley, M.F.; Neidle, E.L.; et al. A Promiscuous Cytochrome P450 Aromatic O-Demethylase for Lignin Bioconversion. Nat. Commun. 2018 , 9 , 2487. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Moraes, E.C.; Alvarez, T.M.; Persinoti, G.F.; Tomazetto, G.; Brenelli, L.B.; Paixão, D.A.A.; Ematsu, G.C.; Aricetti, J.A.; Caldana, C.; Dixon, N.; et al. Lignolytic-Consortium Omics Analyses Reveal Novel Genomes and Pathways Involved in Lignin Modification and Valorization. Biotechnol. Biofuels 2018 , 11 , 75. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zhu, D.; Zhang, P.; Xie, C.; Zhang, W.; Sun, J.; Qian, W.J.; Yang, B. Biodegradation of Alkaline Lignin by Bacillus ligniniphilus L1. Biotechnol. Biofuels 2017 , 10 , 44. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Bharagava, R.N.; Mani, S.; Mulla, S.I.; Saratale, G.D. Degradation and Decolourization Potential of an Ligninolytic Enzyme Producing Aeromonas hydrophila for Crystal Violet Dye and Its Phytotoxicity Evaluation. Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf. 2018 , 156 , 166–175. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Majumdar, S.; Priyadarshinee, R.; Kumar, A.; Mandal, T.; Dasgupta Mandal, D. Exploring Planococcus sp. TRC1, a Bacterial Isolate, for Carotenoid Pigment Production and Detoxification of Paper Mill Effluent in Immobilized Fluidized Bed Reactor. J. Clean. Prod. 2019 , 211 , 1389–1402. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Kumar, A.; Chandra, R. Ligninolytic Enzymes and Its Mechanisms for Degradation of Lignocellulosic Waste in Environment. Heliyon 2020 , 6 , e03170. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Levy-Booth, D.J.; Navas, L.E.; Fetherolf, M.M.; Liu, L.-Y.; Dalhuisen, T.; Renneckar, S.; Eltis, L.D.; Mohn, W.W. Discovery of Lignin-Transforming Bacteria and Enzymes in Thermophilic Environments Using Stable Isotope Probing. ISME J. 2022 , 16 , 1944–1956. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Saritha, M.; Arora, A. Lata Biological Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Substrates for Enhanced Delignification and Enzymatic Digestibility. Indian J. Microbiol. 2012 , 52 , 122–130. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Junghans, U.; Bernhardt, J.J.; Wollnik, R.; Triebert, D.; Unkelbach, G.; Pufky-Heinrich, D. Valorization of Lignin via Oxidative Depolymerization with Hydrogen Peroxide: Towards Carboxyl-Rich Oligomeric Lignin Fragments. Molecules 2020 , 25 , 2717. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ayub, R.; Raheel, A. High-Value Chemicals from Electrocatalytic Depolymerization of Lignin: Challenges and Opportunities. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022 , 23 , 3767. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zhu, H.; Wang, L.; Chen, Y.; Li, G.; Li, H.; Tang, Y.; Wan, P. Electrochemical Depolymerization of Lignin into Renewable Aromatic Compounds in a Non-Diaphragm Electrolytic Cell. RSC Adv. 2014 , 4 , 29917–29924. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zhou, Y.; Gao, Y.; Zhong, X.; Jiang, W.; Liang, Y.; Niu, P.; Li, M.; Zhuang, G.; Li, X.; Wang, J. Electrocatalytic Upgrading of Lignin-Derived Bio-Oil Based on Surface-Engineered PtNiB Nanostructure. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2019 , 29 , 1807651. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Di Marino, D.; Stöckmann, D.; Kriescher, S.; Stiefel, S.; Wessling, M. Electrochemical Depolymerisation of Lignin in a Deep Eutectic Solvent. Green Chem. 2016 , 18 , 6021–6028. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Fang, Z.; Li, F.; Wang, M.; Li, F.; Wu, X.; Fan, K.; Tang, Q.; Sun, L.; Zhang, P. Selective Electrocatalytic Upgrading of Lignin to Aryl Aldehydes and Carboxylic Acids over Dodecyl Sulfate-Intercalated CoS Nanocones. Appl. Catal. B 2023 , 323 , 122149. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Umar, Y.; Velasco, O.; Abdelaziz, O.Y.; Aboelazayem, O.; Gadalla, M.A.; Hulteberg, C.P.; Saha, B. A Renewable Lignin-Derived Bio-Oil for Boosting the Oxidation Stability of Biodiesel. Renew. Energy 2022 , 182 , 867–878. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Akash, B. Thermal Depolymerization of Lignin. Int. J. Therm. Environ. Eng. 2016 , 13 , 17–22. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Peng, M.; Muraishi, T.; Hou, X.; Zhao, M.; Kamiya, K.; Qian, E.W. Oxidative Depolymerization of Lignin to Vanillin and Lactic Acid in an Aqueous Solution. Fuel 2023 , 348 , 128486. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Huang, Y.B.; Zhang, J.L.; Zhang, X.; Luan, X.; Chen, H.Z.; Hu, B.; Zhao, L.; Wu, Y.L.; Lu, Q. Catalytic Depolymerization of Lignin via Transfer Hydrogenation Strategy over Skeletal CuZnAl Catalyst. Fuel Process. Technol. 2022 , 237 , 107448. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Shorey, R.; Salaghi, A.; Fatehi, P.; Mekonnen, T.H. Valorization of Lignin for Advanced Material Applications: A Review. RSC Sustain. 2024 , 2 , 804–831. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Becker, J.; Wittmann, C. A Field of Dreams: Lignin Valorization into Chemicals, Materials, Fuels, and Health-Care Products. Biotechnol. Adv. 2019 , 37 , 107360. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ewuzie, R.N.; Genza, J.R.; Abdullah, A.Z. Catalytic Hydrogenolysis of Lignin in Isopropanol as Hydrogen Donor over Nickel-Cobalt Supported on Zeolite to Produce Aromatic and Phenolic Monomers. Appl. Catal. A Gen. 2023 , 667 , 119443. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Abdelaziz, O.Y.; Clemmensen, I.; Meier, S.; Bjelić, S.; Hulteberg, C.P.; Riisager, A. Oxidative Depolymerization of Kraft Lignin to Aromatics Over Bimetallic V–Cu/ZrO_2 Catalysts. Topics in Catalysis 2023 , 66 , 1369–1380. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Huang, M.; Xu, J.; Ma, Z.; Yang, Y.; Zhou, B.; Wu, C.; Ye, J.; Zhao, C.; Liu, X.; Chen, D.; et al. Bio-BTX Production from the Shape Selective Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis of Lignin Using Different Zeolite Catalysts: Relevance between the Chemical Structure and the Yield of Bio-BTX. Fuel Process. Technol. 2021 , 216 , 106792. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Mujtaba, M.; Fernandes Fraceto, L.; Fazeli, M.; Mukherjee, S.; Savassa, S.M.; Araujo de Medeiros, G.; do Espírito Santo Pereira, A.; Mancini, S.D.; Lipponen, J.; Vilaplana, F. Lignocellulosic Biomass from Agricultural Waste to the Circular Economy: A Review with Focus on Biofuels, Biocomposites and Bioplastics. J. Clean. Prod. 2023 , 402 , 136815. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Vasile, C.; Baican, M. Lignins as Promising Renewable Biopolymers and Bioactive Compounds for High-Performance Materials. Polymers 2023 , 15 , 3177. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Yuan, J.; Du, G.; Yang, H.; Liu, S.; Park, S.; Liu, T.; Ran, X.; Park, B.D.; Gao, W.; Yang, L. Fully Bio-Based Adhesive Designed through Lignin-Cellulose Combination and Interfacial Bonding Reinforcement. Ind. Crops Prod. 2023 , 204 , 117279. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Tian, Q.; Xu, P.; Huang, D.; Wang, H.; Wang, Z.; Qin, H.; He, Y.; Li, R.; Yin, L.; Chen, S.; et al. The Driving Force of Biomass Value-Addition: Selective Catalytic Depolymerization of Lignin to High-Value Chemicals. J. Environ. Chem. Eng. 2023 , 11 , 109719. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Naseem, A.; Tabasum, S.; Zia, K.M.; Zuber, M.; Ali, M.; Noreen, A. Lignin-Derivatives Based Polymers, Blends and Composites: A Review. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 2016 , 93 , 296–313. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ma, C.; Kim, T.H.; Liu, K.; Ma, M.G.; Choi, S.E.; Si, C. Multifunctional Lignin-Based Composite Materials for Emerging Applications. Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol. 2021 , 9 , 708976. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ridho, M.R.; Agustiany, E.A.; Rahmi Dn, M.; Madyaratri, E.W.; Ghozali, M.; Restu, W.K.; Falah, F.; Rahandi Lubis, M.A.; Syamani, F.A.; Nurhamiyah, Y.; et al. Lignin as Green Filler in Polymer Composites: Development Methods, Characteristics, and Potential Applications. Adv. Mater. Sci. Eng. 2022 , 2022 , 1363481. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Kadla, J.F.; Kubo, S. Lignin-Based Polymer Blends: Analysis of Intermolecular Interactions in Lignin–Synthetic Polymer Blends. Compos. Part A Appl. Sci. Manuf. 2004 , 35 , 395–400. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Sadeghifar, H.; Ragauskas, A. Lignin as a UV Light Blocker—A Review. Polymers 2020 , 12 , 1134. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Wang, D.; Gu, Y.; Feng, S.; Yang, W.; Dai, H.; Xiao, H.; Han, J. Lignin-Containing Biodegradable UV-Blocking Films: A Review. Green Chem. 2023 , 25 , 9020–9044. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Cavallo, E.; He, X.; Luzi, F.; Dominici, F.; Cerrutti, P.; Bernal, C.; Foresti, M.L.; Torre, L.; Puglia, D. UV Protective, Antioxidant, Antibacterial and Compostable Polylactic Acid Composites Containing Pristine and Chemically Modified Lignin Nanoparticles. Molecules 2020 , 26 , 126. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Sameni, J.; Krigstin, S.; Sain, M. Solubility of Lignin and Acetylated Lignin in Organic Solvents. Bioresources 2017 , 12 , 1548–1565. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Johansson, M.; Skrifvars, M.; Kadi, N.; Dhakal, H.N. Effect of Lignin Acetylation on the Mechanical Properties of Lignin-Poly-Lactic Acid Biocomposites for Advanced Applications. Ind. Crops Prod. 2023 , 202 , 117049. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Inwood, J.P.W. Sulfonation of Kraft Lignin to Water Soluble Value Added Products. Ph.D. Thesis, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON, Canada, 2014. [ Google Scholar ]
• Wang, Y.Y.; Meng, X.; Pu, Y.; Ragauskas, A.J. Recent Advances in the Application of Functionalized Lignin in Value-Added Polymeric Materials. Polymers 2020 , 12 , 2277. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Jacobs, B.; Yao, Y.; Van Nieuwenhove, I.; Sharma, D.; Graulus, G.J.; Bernaerts, K.; Verberckmoes, A. Sustainable Lignin Modifications and Processing Methods: Green Chemistry as the Way Forward. Green Chem. 2023 , 25 , 2042–2086. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Libretti, C.; Santos Correa, L.; Meier, M.A.R. From Waste to Resource: Advancements in Sustainable Lignin Modification. Green Chem. 2024 , 26 , 4358–4386. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Wang, T.; Li, H.; Diao, X.; Lu, X.; Ma, D.; Ji, N. Lignin to Dispersants, Adsorbents, Flocculants and Adhesives: A Critical Review on Industrial Applications of Lignin. Ind. Crops Prod. 2023 , 199 , 116715. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Sethupathy, S.; Murillo Morales, G.; Gao, L.; Wang, H.; Yang, B.; Jiang, J.; Sun, J.; Zhu, D. Lignin Valorization: Status, Challenges and Opportunities. Bioresour. Technol. 2022 , 347 , 126696. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Obydenkova, S.V.; Kouris, P.D.; Smeulders, D.M.J.; Boot, M.D.; van der Meer, Y. Evaluation of Environmental and Economic Hotspots and Value Creation in Multi-Product Lignocellulosic Biorefinery. Biomass Bioenergy 2022 , 159 , 106394. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Mandal, D.D.; Singh, G.; Majumdar, S.; Chanda, P. Challenges in Developing Strategies for the Valorization of Lignin—A Major Pollutant of the Paper Mill Industry. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 2022 , 30 , 11119–11140. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Baral, N.R.; Banerjee, D.; Mukhopadhyay, A.; Simmons, B.A.; Singer, S.W.; Scown, C.D. Economic and Environmental Trade-Offs of Simultaneous Sugar and Lignin Utilization for Biobased Fuels and Chemicals. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 2024 , 12 , 2563–2576. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Bilal, M.; Qamar, S.A.; Qamar, M.; Yadav, V.; Taherzadeh, M.J.; Lam, S.S.; Iqbal, H.M.N. Bioprospecting Lignin Biomass into Environmentally Friendly Polymers—Applied Perspective to Reconcile Sustainable Circular Bioeconomy. Biomass Convers. Biorefin. 2024 , 14 , 4457–4483. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Boarino, A.; Klok, H.A. Opportunities Challenges for Lignin Valorization in Food Packaging, Antimicrobial, and Agricultural Applications. Biomacromolecules 2023 , 24 , 1065. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Pérez-Pimienta, J.A.; Rios-Del Toro, E.E.; Amezquita-Garcia, H.J.; Escamilla-Alvarado, C. 5-Advances in Biofuels and by-Products from Lignin. In Sustainable Biofuels ; Ray, R.C., Ed.; Academic Press: Cambridge, MA, USA, 2021; pp. 101–130. ISBN 978-0-12-820297-5. [ Google Scholar ]
• Silau, H.; Melas, A.; Dam-Johansen, K.; Wu, H.; Daugaard, A.E.; Høj, M. Solvent Fractionation and Depolymerization Provide Liquid Lignin Fractions Exploited as Bio-Based Aromatic Building Blocks in Epoxies. ACS Sustain. Chem. Eng. 2023 , 11 , 1591–1597. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Miranda-Valdez, I.Y.; Coffeng, S.; Zhou, Y.; Viitanen, L.; Hu, X.; Jannuzzi, L.; Puisto, A.; Kostiainen, M.A.; Mäkinen, T.; Koivisto, J.; et al. Foam-Formed Biocomposites Based on Cellulose Products and Lignin. Cellulose 2023 , 30 , 2253–2266. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Baniasadi, H.; Lipponen, S.; Asplund, M.; Seppälä, J. High-Concentration Lignin Biocomposites with Low-Melting Point Biopolyamide. Chem. Eng. J. 2023 , 451 , 138564. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zhang, J.; Lin, G.; Vaidya, U.; Wang, H. Past, Present and Future Prospective of Global Carbon Fibre Composite Developments and Applications. Compos. B Eng. 2023 , 250 , 110463. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Global and China Carbon Fiber and CFRP Industry Report, 2019–2025. Available online: https://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/4770782/global-and-china-carbon-fiber-and-cfrp-industry (accessed on 22 June 2024).
• Qu, W.; Yang, J.; Sun, X.; Bai, X.; Jin, H.; Zhang, M. Towards Producing High-Quality Lignin-Based Carbon Fibers: A Review of Crucial Factors Affecting Lignin Properties and Conversion Techniques. Int. J. Biol. Macromol. 2021 , 189 , 768–784. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Sugiarto, S.; Leow, Y.; Tan, C.L.; Wang, G.; Kai, D. How Far Is Lignin from Being a Biomedical Material? Bioact. Mater. 2022 , 8 , 71–94. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Gaudenzi, E.; Cardone, F.; Lu, X.; Canestrari, F. The Use of Lignin for Sustainable Asphalt Pavements: A Literature Review. Constr. Build. Mater. 2023 , 362 , 129773. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Vinod, A.; Pulikkalparambil, H.; Jagadeesh, P.; Rangappa, S.M.; Siengchin, S. Recent Advancements in Lignocellulose Biomass-Based Carbon Fiber: Synthesis, Properties, and Applications. Heliyon 2023 , 9 , e13614. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Zhou, M.; Fakayode, O.A.; Ahmed Yagoub, A.E.; Ji, Q.; Zhou, C. Lignin Fractionation from Lignocellulosic Biomass Using Deep Eutectic Solvents and Its Valorization. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 2022 , 156 , 111986. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Wang, H.; Pu, Y.; Ragauskas, A.; Yang, B. From Lignin to Valuable Products–Strategies, Challenges, and Prospects. Bioresour. Technol. 2018 , 271 , 449–461. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Abolore, R.S.; Jaiswal, S.; Jaiswal, A.K. Green and Sustainable Pretreatment Methods for Cellulose Extraction from Lignocellulosic Biomass and Its Applications: A Review. Carbohydr. Polym. Technol. Appl. 2024 , 7 , 100396. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Luo, Z.; Liu, C.; Radu, A.; de Waard, D.F.; Wang, Y.; Behaghel de Bueren, J.T.; Kouris, P.D.; Boot, M.D.; Xiao, J.; Zhang, H.; et al. Carbon–Carbon Bond Cleavage for a Lignin Refinery. Nat. Chem. Eng. 2024 , 1 , 61–72. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Quinsaat, J.E.Q.; Falireas, P.G.; Feghali, E.; Torr, K.M.; Vanbroekhoven, K.; Eevers, W.; Vendamme, R. Depolymerised Lignin Oil: A Promising Building Block towards Thermoplasticity in Polyurethanes. Ind. Crops Prod. 2023 , 194 , 116305. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Vieira, F.R.; Magina, S.; Evtuguin, D.V.; Barros-Timmons, A. Lignin as a Renewable Building Block for Sustainable Polyurethanes. Materials 2022 , 15 , 6182. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ma, X.; Chen, J.; Zhu, J.; Yan, N. Lignin-Based Polyurethane: Recent Advances and Future Perspectives. Macromol. Rapid Commun. 2021 , 42 , 2000492. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Lignin Industries Starts Production of Lignin-Based Material Renol®, to Replace Fossil-Based Plastics, with a Capacity of More than 1000 Tonnes/Year—Lignin Industries AB. Available online: https://www.lignin.se/news/2021/2/22/rencom-starts-the-production-of-its-lignin-based-material-renol-to-replace-fossil-based-plastics-with-a-capacity-of-more-than-1000-tonnesyear (accessed on 22 June 2024).
• RenCom Announces Company Name Change to Lignin Industries AB—Lignin Industries AB. Available online: https://www.lignin.se/news/-name-change-to-lignin-industries (accessed on 22 June 2024).
• UPM-Kymmene Corp Patent: Lignin-Based Bioplastic for Agriculture Items. Available online: https://www.packaging-gateway.com/data-insights/upm-kymmene-files-patent-for-lignin-based-bioplastic-material-for-agriculture-items/ (accessed on 22 June 2024).
• US Patent. Application for Lignin-Based Bioplastic Material, Processes for Preparing the Same and Uses Thereof Patent Application)—Justia Patents Search. US Patent Application #20240026157, 25 January 2024. Available online: https://patents.justia.com/patent/20240026157 (accessed on 22 June 2024).

Click here to enlarge figure

Share and Cite

Ali, S.; Rani, A.; Dar, M.A.; Qaisrani, M.M.; Noman, M.; Yoganathan, K.; Asad, M.; Berhanu, A.; Barwant, M.; Zhu, D. Recent Advances in Characterization and Valorization of Lignin and Its Value-Added Products: Challenges and Future Perspectives. Biomass 2024 , 4 , 947-977. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomass4030053

Ali S, Rani A, Dar MA, Qaisrani MM, Noman M, Yoganathan K, Asad M, Berhanu A, Barwant M, Zhu D. Recent Advances in Characterization and Valorization of Lignin and Its Value-Added Products: Challenges and Future Perspectives. Biomass . 2024; 4(3):947-977. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomass4030053

Ali, Shehbaz, Abida Rani, Mudasir A. Dar, Muther Mansoor Qaisrani, Muhammad Noman, Kamaraj Yoganathan, Muhammad Asad, Ashenafi Berhanu, Mukul Barwant, and Daochen Zhu. 2024. "Recent Advances in Characterization and Valorization of Lignin and Its Value-Added Products: Challenges and Future Perspectives" Biomass 4, no. 3: 947-977. https://doi.org/10.3390/biomass4030053

Article Metrics

Article access statistics, further information, mdpi initiatives, follow mdpi.

Subscribe to receive issue release notifications and newsletters from MDPI journals