What characterises creativity in narrative writing, and how do we assess it? Research findings from a systematic literature search

This paper reports findings from a systematic search of the empirical literature from 2000 to 2020 on the assessment of creativity in narrative writing. It seeks to synthesise the designs, methods and findings on how different disciplines have gathered relevant data to the question of how creativity in writing might be assessed, and feedback made more effective. It draws together the established knowledge base around two research questions. The methodology for the systematic involved searches on five academic databases for relevant keywords, producing 1796 papers. Initial screening of the abstracts identified 97 studies for further scrutiny, and for which full texts were accessed for secondary screening based on the inclusion criteria. The final 39 papers judged to satisfy the selection criteria were subject to in-depth analysis and synthesis. The findings of the review reveal that four main techniques have been utilised in efforts to assess creativity in writing, each with their own merits and limitations, and a paucity of research in several crucial areas. The review indicates that, while several disciplines have contributed to the knowledge base in this area, few interdisciplinary studies exist that draw together multiple techniques and provide clear answers for the research questions used in the study. Furthermore, there is little empirical evidence suggesting that assessment improves student creativity with regard to writing, and new research in the field would be advanced by addressing explicit definitions of creativity, the practices of writing 'experts', and writing considered within its social and cultural context.