Research as craft..

I’ve just finished reading a book called the Wall of Fools by the Japanese thinker Takeshi Yoro which has got me thinking about the nature of ‘craft’. The following passage in particular caught my attention…

Salaried workers are loyal to the source of their salary, rather than to their occupation, whereas craftsmen can’t earn a living unless they are loyal to their occupation because they’re responsible for the work they produce

Reading this, several questions pop up. Is this definition fair? Can research be considered a craft? And if it can be then how is it similar to more traditional crafts? I took the topic up with a carpenter friend of mine, who makes furniture for a living. He considers himself to be a craftsman. When he’s working he aims to produce the best piece of work he can. He takes pride in his craftsmanship. Even so, he has to admit that he is not free of constraints. His work is usually commissioned and aims to suit somebody else’s need or idea. Even when this is not the case, he is creating with some end in mind – something for people to comfortably sit on, something to store food in etc. Creation for the sake of creation and with no end in mind would be anarchy. The finished article in a piece of research is a model of the world that helps you to understand it more clearly. It is a painting, an insightful picture of its subject. Of course, as for my carpenter friend, our research is conducted for somebody else, to illuminate our client’s view. And once it has been given over to them, it is up to them how they put it to use. But in the process of working, it is painting an accurate picture of our subject that should be our prime concern and not other, often more political, worries (something the best clients understand and those that are difficult to work with often don’t!). For me, the fundamental thing that the above definition does is put the emphasis on the finished article. As researchers, this is something we are and should be doing. Having this end in mind is what distinguishes good research, real craftsmanship, from bad research. This needn’t be exclusive of remaining loyal to the source of your salary. After all, our client’s aims may give some direction to our finished article but they don’t give it its final form. That comes from our observation and examination of the world around us and the way that the many people we speak to express themselves within that context. It is the skill of absorbing, understanding, analysing and presenting this that is the real craft of research