Creating Inspiring Workshops and Courses in Transdisciplinarity: A Guide - Manual / Resource - Page 81
Identify actors, roles, and expectations
Practices in transdisciplinary research
Identify actors, roles, and expectations
Role(s) of researchers
In conventional research, the goal of developing new knowledge
or understanding that builds from (and builds on) the existing
body of disciplinary work is commonly regarded as objective and
free from values and norms. While this assumption of valuefree objectivity is hotly contested, even in conventional research
circles, researchers are trained to aspire toward objectivity,
impartiality, and truth-seeking. TDR, however, is in part defined
by a problem-focus; that is, starting from recognizing that an
issue, situation, or process is causing harm, increasing risk, or
generating other undesirable outcomes. The idea that research
has a role to play in reducing harm for human or non-human
entities in complex societal challenges implies a degree of
normativity (see Normativity, page 92) and shifts the role of
researcher from that of a detached, impartial truth-seeker to an
action-oriented person aligned with or at least working in the
tension of divergent subjective goals, values, and judgments.
What does this mean for the role of the researcher?
A transdisciplinary researcher should carefully consider their
role in the broader social and political context of their chosen
problem, and this can start with a clear understanding of their
own perception of the problem itself. What are the main concerns
or issues being addressed? Who or what is most affected by
the problems that currently exist? Who would the successful
completion of the research help, why, and in what way? Answers
to these questions may sometimes seem obvious, redundant,
Practices Role(s) of researchers
or feel irrelevant, but they are fundamental to becoming selfaware and conscious of the nuances of TDR, and thus to being
able to embrace this different mode of research. For example,
if the research is concerned with “justice” or “marginalization,”
the researcher is taking an active stance on a social, economic,
and political issues. Even if the research is seeking to “increase
biodiversity” or “reduce CO2 emissions,” researchers are also
taking a position about what is right, good, or better in relation
to these challenges. Still further, the people, communities, or
organizations they are working with will also have views about
what is desirable. In this way, transdisciplinary research is
inevitably political, and being aware of the political commitments
embedded in the conceptualization of the research problem
opens up a range of roles the researcher can then take.
The idea that researchers can play diverse roles in relation to
complex issues is not at all new, and these different roles do
not change underlying principles and practices of rigorous,
transparent, accurate research. It may be helpful to think of
the different roles as being on a spectrum of social and political
action – from the relatively less active role of building new
understanding of a complex issue by developing an evidence
base, to full active representation of communities or individuals
in political processes. In between are roles that are focused on
supporting and fostering the empowerment of others toward
transformative change, or challenging powerful actors with
strategic critical assessments. Of course, a researcher may
take on several of these roles simultaneously (empowering
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