Artistic Research as Scholarship: Evaluation Criteria and Epistemic Legitimacy

Kagaba Amina G.

Faculty of Business, Kampala International University, Uganda

                                                                           ABSTRACT
Artistic research has emerged as a dynamic and contested field situated at the intersection of creative practice and scholarly inquiry. This study examines its epistemic legitimacy and the criteria by which it can be evaluated as a form of knowledge production. It argues that artistic research generates diverse forms of knowledge tacit, experiential, procedural, and propositional through iterative processes of creation, reflection, and documentation. Despite its growing institutional recognition, artistic research continues to face challenges related to definitional ambiguity, methodological inconsistency, and the evaluation of evidence. The paper explores conceptual frameworks that distinguish artistic research from traditional artistic practice and conventional academic research, emphasizing the importance of reflexivity, methodological transparency, and contextual grounding. It further analyses internal and external evaluation frameworks, including peer review, institutional alignment, and quality assurance mechanisms, highlighting the need for criteria that accommodate disciplinary diversity and transdisciplinary approaches. By addressing issues of power, access, and global epistemic diversity, the study advocates for more inclusive and pluralistic standards that recognize non-Western and practice-based knowledge systems. Ultimately, the paper contends that artistic research attains scholarly status when it articulates clear research questions, demonstrates rigorous inquiry processes, and communicates its knowledge claims effectively within and beyond artistic communities.

Keywords: Artistic research; Epistemic legitimacy; Practice-based inquiry; Evaluation criteria; and Knowledge production.

CITE AS: Kagaba Amina G. (2026). Artistic Research as Scholarship: Evaluation Criteria and Epistemic Legitimacy. IDOSR JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES 11(1): 24-33.
https://doi.org/10.59298/IDOSRJHSS/2026/1112433