This article contributes to and extends critical scholarship on the philosophy and practical application of creative methods. I suggest that claims commonly made regarding the ‘potential’ of creative methods can be (re)organised as claims relating to (1) epistemology, (2) embodiment and (3) empowering participants. I evaluate these claims through the contextual lens of a research project on ‘non-sexualities’ wherein I incorporated a creative element (creative notebooks) into the research design. Through analysis of research artefacts and observations of the research process, I reflect upon how the notebooks were particularly good for ‘getting at’ embodiment and had a clear epistemological value in facilitating expressions of complexity, contradictions and ambiguities. However, I also discuss my scepticism with regard to claims made about the empowering potential of creative methods, as the notebooks potentially worked to reproduce certain power dynamics rather than eliminate them. I argue that class in particular needs to be given more attention in critical accounts of creative methods.

本文为有关创新方法的哲学和实际应用的批判性学术研究做出了贡献，并扩展了该理论。我建议，通常可以将有关创造性方法“潜力”的主张归纳为与（1）认识论，（2）实施方式和（3）授权参与者有关的主张。我通过有关“非性行为”的研究项目的情境视角来评估这些主张，在该项目中，我将创意元素（创意笔记本）纳入了研究设计。通过对研究文物的分析和对研究过程的观察，我反思了笔记本如何特别适合“入门”体现，并在促进复杂性，矛盾性和歧义表达方面具有明显的认识论价值。然而，我还讨论了关于创造性方法的授权潜力的怀疑论，因为笔记本可能会产生某些动力，而不是消除它们。我认为，在创造性方法的批判性论述中，尤其需要特别关注课堂。