Are ambiguous research outcomes undesirable?

This paper supports the position that interpretation in the visual and performing arts is fundamentally different from other disciplines. Specifically – in responding to the question: “Are un-ambiguous research outputs in the arts possible or desirable?” we argue that ambiguous research outputs are both desirable and inevitable – and that “interpretation” should not be constrained by the requirement of unambiguous language and that practice-based research should strive to demonstrate its findings by methods most appropriate to the mode of practice in question.