Creative Journeys Report 2019

Creative Journeys 71 As with all research there were a number of limitations to this study which need to be acknowledged when considering the research findings. Firstly, the case study care homes were identified by the Essex County Council Culture and Community Engagement Team as being innovative and open to participatory arts interventions provided by external organisations taking place in the home. As such they highlight good practice but are not likely to be ‘typical’ of all residential care homes. Secondly, the quantitative measures used in this study whilst validated for the sample population did not work well with the resident group. Consequently this aspect of the data may not be a true representation of the bonding that took place between residents or changes in wellbeing that may have occurred as a result of the activity. We have since come across measures that may be more helpful in the future. Thirdly, the focus of the stage one data is on participatory arts where the richest data was gathered. We deliberately left the survey open to capture a broader range of creative arts and cultural experiences but the lack of definitions provided to participants around what constitutes an arts activity makes it more difficult to directly compare findings from the survey with the data collected in the interviews and focus groups. Fourthly, there were challenges capturing the observational data because of the logistics of the space and positioning of the observers without being intrusive to the dynamics of the group. 5. Limitations of the research