2.3: What Is Research to You?

Creativity

Throughout this workbook, I'll suggest ways for you to engage with your research in more playful ways. Even if you think you're not a creative person or you don't think of your discipline as creative, we are all creative, in different ways. For example, I struggle with drawing and can manage only stick figures, but I create lesson plans when I teach, which is a form of creativity. Research itself is creative, since you are generating your topic and creating new syntheses between sources in the literature, related to your interests. Tapping into that sense of play can help you think differently about your research, in helpful ways.

Research has shown that drawing taps into different ways to access memory and emotions (Bryans & Mavin, 2006; Doucette & Hoffman; 2019, Weaver et al.; 2023). As I mentioned, my drawings are barely recognizable to others. Luckily, the point is not to create exceptional art, but rather to engage in playfulness, just for yourself. The process of drawing is more important than the end result.

What Is Research to You?

So, as you embark on this journey, take a few minutes to pause and think about the concept of research. Take some time to do the activity below.

Activity: Draw! \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Draw what "Research" means to you. You can draw your experiences or your thoughts about research. Whatever comes up when you think of "research". You can do this in your notebook if you started one.

Draw:

Playfulness

Throughout this workbook, I'll continue to suggest times for you to reflect. You don't need permission - you can always just write your response. But, you might try playing a little with how you reflect. For example, you could:

• Use color to represent emotions:
  • For some people, specific colors already represent emotions - red for anger or passion, for example.
  • But even if you don't think of colors as emotions, you could assign your favorite color to the feeling of excitement, for example.
• Play with symbols:
  • A symbol can be very simple, like an exclamation mark to show an idea, or a doodle of a lightbulb
  • A heart or star could represent excitement
• Add Ratings:
  • Use a star rating to show how you feel, coloring in 1-5 stars
  • Use smiley faces
• Add Images/GIFs:
  • Find an image online to depict your mood

Reflect: playfulness \(\PageIndex{1}\)

Take a few minutes to play around with what options you might like to use for your journal. You can always use a combination or change your mind later.

In the next section, we'll reflect on your drawing.