Transdisciplinary research: Approaches and methodological principles

Abstract

Transdisciplinary research is grounded in a pluralist epistemology that asserts the role of multiple values and ideologies in knowledge creation. The methods applied for transdisciplinary research entail more than the process of data collection, data analysis, etc. Transdisciplinary research consists of tools and methods that integrate a thorough process of knowledge production and a connected creative process of developing interventions in a given system. Transdisciplinary research is driven by the empirical cycle of knowledge creation in academia and a practical cycle of developing new options for societal problems. The analysis and discussion of the research data consist of a collaborative reflective process aimed at field validity: the fact that the research outcomes can be used by the academic actors facing the societal issue. The multidisciplinary perspective of transdisciplinary research has resulted in several methodological considerations and tools being lent from different social sciences approaches.