Artistic research, a proposal for its conceptual demarcation and assessment under the new Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA) reform paradigm

Abstract

With the aim of determining a conceptual framework and a theoretical-procedural positioning on the meaning of and what constitutes artistic research in relation to artistic practice and its evaluation, this article presents a referential context and offers a series of inputs with the purpose of contributing to the knowledge of artistic research in order to improve the assessment and accreditation processes. The arguments begin by situating the genesis and legitimacy of artistic research and then center on its conceptual delimitation, differentiating artistic research within artistic practice from that which occurs within the academic-scientific sphere; the three different categories that artistic practice can have in relation to research are then presented, the terminological derivatives are analysed, and the parameters to determine the rigorous use of artistic practice in research are reviewed. The discussion then focuses on the assessment of artistic research within the framework of the research assessment reform that is being implemented at European level according to the principles of the 2022 CoARA (Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment) agreement. Orientations and proposals for including ad hoc assessment criteria for artistic research under this new paradigm are presented.