Ep 172: Dr. Nicola Ulibarri on Tools for Creativity in Research

Research in Action | A podcast for faculty & higher education professionals on research design, methods, productivity & more

On this episode, Katie is joined by Dr. Nicola Ulibarri, an assistant professor of Urban Planning and Public Policy at the University of California, Irvine, where she leads an interdisciplinary research group that studies water and infrastructure management. Her group combines approaches from environmental planning, public administration, and water resource engineering to improve the interactions between people, infrastructure, and the environment. In 2010, while doing her PhD at Stanford, Nicola collaboratively developed a workshop curriculum to enhance busy researchers’ creativity with design thinking, a human-centered approach to innovation. That team recently turned the curriculum into a book, Creativity in Research: Cultivate Clarity, Be Innovative, and Make Progress in your Research Journey (Cambridge University Press, 2019). The book presents key abilities that underlie creative research practice through a combination of scientific literature, vignettes, experiential exercises, and guided reflection.

Segment 1: Benefits of Creativity in Research [00:00-18:59]

In this first segment, Nicola shares about her recent book project on creativity and research.

In this segment, the following resources are mentioned:

• Ulibarri, N., Cravens, A. E., Nabergoj, A. S., Kernbach, S., & Royalty, A. (2019). Creativity in research: Cultivate clarity, be innovative, and make progress in your research journey. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press.
• Creativity in Research website
• Getting Started with Design Thinking from the d.school at Stanford University
• Linder, K. (2016). The blended course design workbook: A practical guide. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.
• "Research in Action" episodes related to creativity and research:
  • RIA # 90: Dr. Ben Hatton on Creativity and Research
  • RIA # 147: Christopher Plummer on Research and Creative Expression
• Other "Research in Action" episodes mentioned in this episode:
  • RIA # 1: Dr. Wendy Belcher on Writing Productivity
  • RIA # 100: Dr. Wendy Belcher Returns to Celebrate 100 Episodes!

Segment 2: Empirically-based Tools for Creativity [19:00-37:48]

In segment two, Nicola discusses some of her favorite tools for strengthening creativity.

Bonus Clip #1 [00:00-04:34]: Writing Collaboratively

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The views expressed by guests on the Research in Action podcast do not necessarily represent the views of Oregon State University Ecampus or Oregon State University.