Demarcating transdisciplinary research in sustainability science—Five clusters of research modes based on evidence from 59 research projects

Publikation: Beiträge in ZeitschriftenZeitschriftenaufsätzeForschungbegutachtet

Authors

The discourse revolving around “new modes of knowledge production”—particularly in sustainability-oriented research—seems to suggest a duality of transdisciplinary versus non-transdisciplinary research. Yet, in reality, a spectrum of transdisciplinary research modes may be expected. This article offers an empirically grounded distinction of five research modes, based on a cluster analysis of 59 completed sustainability-oriented research projects. Projects in one cluster approximate a transdisciplinary ideal type, while another cluster combines almost purely practice-oriented projects. Among the three remaining clusters with varying degrees of practitioner interaction, one cluster assembles projects with strictly academic research, while realizing substantial societal impact. Furthermore, our analyses indicate that the choice of research mode strongly depends on the funding context, with mission-oriented funding encouraging more collaborative modes. Overall, clusters with more practitioner interaction display stronger societal outputs and impacts at the cost of academic outputs and impacts. Beyond the demarcation of transdisciplinary research modes in sustainability science, our empirical analysis revealed three important tensions related to the theory and practice of this research approach: the duality of science and society (and scholars and practitioners); imbalances in the involvement and influence of different societal actor groups; and tensions between societal and academic outputs and impacts.

OriginalspracheEnglisch
ZeitschriftSustainable Development
Jahrgang30
Ausgabenummer2
Seiten (von - bis)343-357
Anzahl der Seiten15
ISSN0968-0802
DOIs
PublikationsstatusErschienen - 01.04.2022

DOI

Zuletzt angesehen

Presse / Medien

  1. Quantified Self

Publikationen

  1. Managing technology as a virtual enterprise
  2. An experimental approach to the optimisation of customer information at the point of sale
  3. Design of a Master of Science Sustainable Chemistry
  4. Deep drawing of high-strength tailored blanks by using tailored tools
  5. Matching between oral inward–outward movements of object names and oral movements associated with denoted objects
  6. Managing information in the case of opinion spamming
  7. Competition in fragmented markets
  8. Subverting Autocracy
  9. Facilitative-competitive interactions in an Old-Growth Forest: The Importance of Large-Diameter Trees as Benefactors and Stimulators for Forest Community Assembly
  10. Erratum
  11. Productivity and size of the export market
  12. Love in Paramyth
  13. Does self-control training improve self-control?
  14. Das Diktat des Hashtags
  15. Empathy and Donation Behavior Toward Happy and Sad Chimpanzees
  16. Leveling up? An inter-neighborhood experiment on parochialism and the efficiency of multi-level public goods provision
  17. Selbstreflexive Autorsysteme
  18. Answers to seven questions
  19. Schreiben
  20. An Empirical Note on Religiosity and Social Trust using German Survey Data
  21. Entwicklung von Netzwerken
  22. Determinants in Pay-What-You-Want Pricing Decisions—A Cross-Country Study
  23. Biocultural approaches to pollinator conservation
  24. Introducing education for sustainable development into Egyptian schools
  25. Was wissen Grundschulkinder über den Computer als Schreibwerkzeug?
  26. AAL-Onto
  27. Jurisdiction and applicable law in cases of damage from space in Europe
  28. Institutional change in the German higher education system
  29. Political Representation in the EU