Creative reflections on research practice: insights from the Methods Zoo

This article contributes to the expanding body of work integrating creativity into methodological thinking, by focusing on innovative techniques for researcher self-reflection. We introduce ‘thinking with methods-as-animals’, a tool developed and applied throughout the Methods for Change project to encourage researchers to reflect creatively on their methodological choices using animal metaphors. We explore how methods-as-animals has been used in three distinct ways, as: (a) a technique within online interviews with academics to examine their use of research methods and methodologies; (b) a pedagogical tool for facilitating learning and collaboration among interdisciplinary research teams in methods-focused training sessions – the Methods Zoo; and (c) an activity to elicit researcher self-reflection. Here we detail four ‘method-animals’ created through conversations about our own methodological practices. In doing so, we aim to enhance understandings of creative research methods in practice, while emphasising the potentials and limitations of such creative reflection techniques for illuminating the often-overlooked nuances of doing methods. We conclude by reflecting critically on the zoo as a problematic metaphor, suggesting future directions for creative methodological reflection.