From Transdisciplinarity to Transdisciplinary Research

Abstract

Scholars promote various definitions and concepts of transdisciplinarity in the current dialogue. The concepts can be described as alternative combinations of four characteristic features of transdisciplinarity, namely (a) to relate to socially relevant issues, (b) to transcend and integrate disciplinary paradigms, (c) to do participatory research, and (d) to search for a unity of knowledge. The meaning of transdisciplinarity in the German- European environmental and sustainability research shifted during the last decades, making a feature (c) – to do participatory research – its major component. Against that background, td-net has developed and promoted a concept of transdisciplinary research that includes additional features. Formulated from the perspective of transdisciplinary researchers, our concept endeavors to frame, analyze, and process a socially relevant issue in such a way that the research project (1) grasps the complexity of the issue, (2) takes the diverse perspectives on the issue into account, (3) links abstract and case-specific knowledge, and (4) develops knowledge and practices that promote what is perceived to be the common good.