Lena Theiler

Arts-based approaches, through participatory and co-creative processes, offer particular ways to engage with challenges associated with inter- and transdisciplinary research projects.Arts-based approaches (ABA) are increasingly used in transdisciplinary research to complement traditional ways of knowledge production as well as to strengthen the public communication of scientific knowledge. However, a practice-oriented, methodological framework is still lacking. This article aims to strengthen the basis for meaningful systematization and integration of ABA into transdisciplinary research processes by suggesting a framework for arts-based methods (ABM) currently used or described in the community of inter- and transdisciplinary research. The article explores relevant epistemological foundations of ABA before suggesting a framework of ABM with four conceptual dimensions: 1. levels of bodily involvement, 2. artistic role constellations, 3. project phases, 4. artistic media. We complement this with an exemplary application of this framework to two instances of ABM within a transdisciplinary research project. The article provides both conceptual insights and an initial framework for the reflective use of ABM in transdisciplinary contexts.

Ideal-typical transdisciplinary research (TDR) aims to generate impacts both in science and society. This results in challenges for everybody who is involved. This article sheds light on this ambivalent field of TDR and introduces a Special Section of two articles addressing the tensions that may emerge when aiming for impacts in both realms. With this opening article, we present institutional, individual, and project strategies that enable and support TDR, and we reveal ambivalences that arise from their interplay with the current academic system.

Transdisciplinary research (TDR) is conceptualized as not only providing societal effects but also benefiting academia. However, recent literature on the evaluation of TDR has focused almost entirely on the societal effects of TDR. A discussion of the scientific effects of TDR is needed to do justice to the potential of this research mode. To date, little empirical research has focused on the effects of TDR on science. Our explorative study addresses this gap. The empirical basis are qualitative interviews with scientists engaged in transdisciplinary research and anchored in three sub-disciplines: environmental sociology, sustainable chemistry, and participatory health research. We identify as main effects of the transdisciplinary research mode: changes in the understanding of scientific problems, changes in the quality of scientific insights, and the promotion of a reflexive turn in science.

Since the emergence of transdisciplinary research, context dependencies, innovative formats and methods, societal effects, and scientific effects are key aspects that have been discussed at length. However, what is still missing is an integrative perspective on these four aspects, and the guidance on how to apply such an integrative perspective in order to realize the full transformative potential of transdisciplinary research. We provide an overview of each aspect and highlight relevant research questions that need to be answered to advance transdisciplinary research.