Integrating Social Sciences and Humanities in Interdisciplinary Research
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Jun 9, 2024
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Bassel Almasalmeh
https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1472-5278
https://orcid.org/0009-0001-1472-5278
Abstract
Recent attempts to integrate the social sciences and humanities (SSH) in funding for interdisciplinary research have been challenged by a number of barriers. In funding programmes, such as the EU Horizon 2020, the SSH are absent in most calls for contributions. This article revisits the main policy drivers for embedding SSH research in interdisciplinary research. By analysing recent policy initiatives, the article shows how policymakers across the world continue to be ambivalent regarding the role of the SSH. While many stakeholders acknowledge the need to integrate SSH research in solving key societal challenges, such as climate change, migration or national security, funding for SSH is limited and tends to focus on strategic interventions and instrumental solutions. By accounting for the diversity of interdisciplinary collaborations the article recommends a more context- sensitive approach to research funding, which acknowledges the heterogeneity and volatility of research across different knowledge environments. This article is published as part of a thematic collection on the concept of interdisciplinarity.
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Keywords
InterdisciplinarySSH researchfunding programmesinterdisciplinarity
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Bondebjerg, I. “The embodied mind: When biology meets culture and society”, Palgrave Communications, No. 1 (2015), pp. 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1057/palcomms.2015.15.
Bozeman, B. and Boardman, C. Research Collaboration and Team Science - A State-of-the-Art Review and Agenda. New York: Springer, 2014.
Budtz Pedersen, D. “ Real impact is about influence, meaning and value: Mapping contributions for a new impact agenda in the humanities ” LSE Impact Blog, 27/7/2015, accessed 25/1/2015, at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2015/07/27/mapping-the-public-influence-of-the-humanities/.
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Budtz Pedersen, D. and Stjernfelt, F. (eds). Mapping research practices in Danish Humanities (Kortlægning af dansk humanistisk forskning. [in Danish]). Denmark: Reitzels Press: Copenhagen, 2016.
Callard, F., Fitzgerald, D. & Woods, A. “Interdisciplinary collaboration in action: tracking the signal, tracing the noise”, Palgrave Commun, No. 1, 15019 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1057/palcomms.2015.19.
Cronin, B. and Sugimoto, CR. Beyond Bibliometrics—Harnessing Multi-dimensional Indicators of Scholarly Impact. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2014.
Dupré, J. “The disunity of science” In: Newall P (ed). Galilean Library, www.galilean-library.org, accessed 1/2/2016.
European Commission (EC). Horizon 2020 Work Programme 2014–2015. Brussels, Belgium: European Commission, 2014. 10/12/2013. Revised 20/3/2014.
–––. Proposal for a Council Decision Establishing Horizon 2020. Brussels: European Commission, 2011.
Faye, J. “The pragmatic-rhetorical theory of explanation,” Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, Vol. 252, (2007), pp. 43–68.
Frodeman, R. “Interdisciplinary research and academic sustainability: Managing knowledge in an age of accountability”. Environmental Conservation, Vol. 38, No. 2 (2011), pp. 105–112.
Fuller, S. Humanity 2.0. What it Means to be Human Past, Present and Future. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
Georghiou, L., Harper, JC. and Scapolo, F. “From priority-setting to societal challenges in future-oriented technology analysis”, Futures, Vol. 43, No. 3 (2011), pp. 229–231.
Hirsch, PD. and Luzadis, VA. “Scientific concepts and their policy affordances: How a focus on compatibility can improve science-policy interaction and outcomes,” Nature and Culture, Vol. 8, No. 1(2013), pp. 97–118.
Holbrook, JB. “What is interdisciplinary communication? Reflections on the very idea of disciplinary integration,” Synthese, Vol. 190, No. 11 (2013).
Huutoniemi, K.et al. “Analyzing interdisciplinarity: Typology and indicators”, Research Policy, Vol. 39, No. 1 (2010), pp. 79–88.
Klein, JT. “Education” In: Hirsch Hadorn G,et al (eds). Handbook of Transdisciplinary Research. The Netherlands: Springer, 2008.
–––. Creating Interdisciplinary Campus Cultures. San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass and the Association of American Colleges and Universities, 2010.
König, T. and Mayer, K. “Integrating Social Sciences and Humanities in Horizon 2020 Societal Challenges: Will it work?” In: Europe of Knowledge Blog, 2/10/2013, accessed 1/1/2016, https://era.ideasoneurope.eu/2013/10/02/integrating-social-sciences-and-humanities-in-horizon-2020-societal-challenges-will-it-work/
Krohn, W. “Interdisciplinary cases and disciplinary knowledge,” In: Frodeman, R., Klein, JT. and Mitcham, C. (eds). The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.
KTH Royal Institute of Technology. Division of History of Science, Technology and Environment Report 2012–2014. Sweden, Stockholm: KTH Royal Institute of Technology, 2015.
Kuhlmann, S. and Rip, A. The challenge of addressing Grand Challenges. A think piece on how innovation can be driven towards the “Grand Challenges” as defined under the European Union Framework Programme Horizon 2020. Report to ERIAB. Belgium: Brussels, 2014.
Langfeldt L, et al. “Integration modes in EU research: Centrifugality versus coordination of national research policies”, Science and Public Policy, Vol. 39, No. 1 (2012), pp. 88–98.
Lattuca, L. Creating Interdisciplinarity: Interdisciplinary Research and Teaching Among College and University Faculty. Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press, 2001.
League of European Research Universities (LERU). Social Sciences and Humanities—Essential Fields for European Research. The Netherlands: LERU, League of European Research Universities: Amsterdam, 2013.
Mcleish, T. and Strang, V. “How to value research that crosses more than one discipline,” The Conversation, 31/7/,2015, at: https://theconversation.com/how-to-value-research-that-crosses-more-than-one-discipline-45324.
Moran, J. Interdisciplinarity. New York: Routledge, 2002.
Nowotny, H. Mayer, K. and König, T. “Horizons for Social Sciences and Humanities—Conference Report” Vilnius, Lithuania, 2014, accessed 16/1/2016, at: http://horizons.mruni.eu.
Nowotny, N. “Social sciences and humanities for a global world” In: Björkman, J. and Fjæstad, B. (eds). Think Ahead—Research, Funding and the Future. Stockholm, Sweden: Makadam Press, 2015.
O’Rourke, M. And Crowley, SJ. “Philosophical intervention and cross-disciplinary science: the story of the Toolbox Project,” Synthese, Vol. 190, No. 11 (2012), pp. 1937–1954.
Porter, AL., et al. “Measuring researcher interdisciplinarity”, Scientometrics, Vol. 72, No. 1 (2007), pp. 117–147.
Rabinow, P., Bennett, G. “Human practices: Interfacing three modes of collaboration,” In: Bedau, MA. and Parke, EC. (eds). The Prospect of Protocells: Social and Ethical Implications of Recreating Life. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2008.
Rafols, I. and Meyer, M. “Diversity measures and network centralities as indicators of interdisciplinarity ” Scientometrics, Vol. 82, No. 2, (2010), pp. 263–287.
Repko, AF. Interdisciplinary Research: Process and Theory. Los Angeles, CA: Sage, 2008.
Richards, DG. “The meaning and relevance of synthesis in interdisciplinary studies,” The Journal of Education, Vol. 45, No. 2(1996), pp. 114–128.
Scavenius, T. “Moral responsibility for climate change, a fact-sensitive political theory”. PhD dissertation. University of Copenhagen, 2014.
Science Europe. Humanities in the Societal Challenges - 12 Compelling Cases for Policymakers. Bruxelles, Belgium: Science Europe, 2013.
–––. The Human Factor in the 2014–2015 Work Programme of the Horizon 2020 Societal Challenges. Bruxelles, Belgium: Science Europe, 2014.
Sörlin, S. “The changing nature of environmental expertise”. Eurozine, Published/11/21 2013, accessed 20/2/2016. https://www.kth.se/en/2.48036/omoss/nyheter/the-changing-nature-of-environmental-expertise-1.436053?page=18
Stokols D, et al. “Evaluating transdisciplinary science,” Nicotine & Tobacco Research, Vol. 5, Suppl. 1 (2003), pp. 21–39.
Vilnius Declaration. Vilnius Declaration-Horizons for Social Sciences and Humanities. Vilnius: Mykolas Romeris University, 2013
Viseu, A. “Integration of social science into research is crucial,” Nature ; Vol. 525, No. 7569 (2015).
Wæver, O., Leydesdorff, L.“Inclusive, innovative and secure societies” In: Hoejgaard L (ed). Copenhagen Research Forum.Denmark: Copenhagen, 2012.
Wagner, CS. et al. “Approaches to understanding and measuring inter- disciplinary scientific research”, Journal of Informetrics, Vol. 5, No. 1 (2011), pp. 14–26.
How to Cite
Almasalmeh, Bassel. 2024. “Integrating Social Sciences and Humanities in Interdisciplinary Research”. Tajseer Journal 6 (1). https://doi.org/10.29117/tis.2024.0169.
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