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Research Without Borders!Monday July 11 th
Dr Sharron Whitecross
Team Leader Bid Coordination, [email protected]
Ext 82043
Centre for Transport and Society
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SUPERGEN marine challenge:accelerating the deployment of
marine energy (wave and tidal) Proposals are invited for collaborative research
proposals for fundamental research that willovercome barriers to Marine energy deployment.The remit of this call will be those aspects ofmarine energy generation technologies, theenvironmental impacts of the technologies andthe socioeconomic aspects of marine energy(including policy) that are holding back thedeployment of marine energy.
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Autonomous and Intelligent Systems
The Engineering and Physical SciencesResearch Council (EPSRC) and a number ofindustrial partners have formed a strategicpartnership to fund novel research inautonomous and intelligent systems. It isexpected that many academic disciplines will
have research ideas to contribute to this call.
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ESRC-DFID Joint Scheme for Researchon International Development
ESRC and DFID have identified three thematicareas for this call where work will be ofparticular interest. These areas are:
Resource Scarcity, Growth and PovertyReduction;
Information and Communication Technologyand Development;
Measuring Development.
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Joint Call for Research Applications active and healthy ageing across the
life course Applications are invited from multidisciplinary researchgroups representing participating funding countries in areasrelating to the three objectives of the call:
Generate new knowledge on biological, clinical,behavioural, social and environmental factors
Explore comparatively different models, methods,approaches and good practices in societal responses toincreased longevity
Engage in effective knowledge exchange activities that willassist European and other countries to achieve the goal ofincreasing healthy life expectancy by 2 years by 2020.
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RCUK Sandpit We select 20-30 people to take part in each
sandpit through a call for participants. They comefrom a range of disciplines and backgrounds,have the right mix of personal attributes, such aswillingness to take risks, creativity, andcommunication skills.
Outcomes of sandpits range from a single largeresearch project to several smaller projects,
feasibility studies, networking activities, overseasvisits and so on.
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Terminology!
Multi-disciplinarity is a non-integrative mixtureof disciplines in that each discipline retains itsmethodologies and assumptions without changeor development from other disciplines within themultidisciplinary relationship.
Within a multi-disciplinary relationship thiscooperation "may be mutual and cumulative but
not interactive" (Augsburg 2005: 56)
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Terminology!
Trans-disciplinarity connotes a research strategythat crosses many disciplinary boundaries tocreate a holistic approach. It applies to researchefforts focused on problems that cross the
boundaries of two or more disciplines, such asresearch on effective information systems forbiomedical research (see bioinformatics ), and canrefer to concepts or methods that were originally
developed by one discipline, but are now used byseveral others, such as ethnography.
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Terminology! Inter-disciplinarity involves the combining of two
or more academic fields into one single discipline. Inter-disciplinarity involves researchers, students,
and teachers in the goals of connecting andintegrating several academic schools of thought,professions, or technologies - along with theirspecific perspectives - in the pursuit of a commontask.
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Terminology! Cross-disciplinarity describes any method,project and research activity that exa mines a
subject outside the scope of its own discipline without cooperation or integration from other
relevant disciplines. In cross-disciplinarity, topicsare studied using foreign methodologies ofunrelated disciplines.
Within a cross-disciplinary relationshipdisciplinary boundaries are crossed but notechniques or ideals are exchanged.
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Different Approaches to theProblem
Quantitative and qualitative approaches areunderpinned by different sets of assumptionsabout what we can know and how we canknow it
Incompatible?
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Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches
1. The use of words versus the use of numbers2. The research context of natural versus artificial settings
3. The focus on meanings versus the focus on behaviour
4. The adoption or rejection of natural science as a model
5. An inductive versus a deductive approach
6. The identification of cultural patterns versus the seeking ofscientific laws
7. Idealism versus realism (Hammersley, 1992)
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Pragmatic Approach Adhering solely to quantitative or qualitative
assumptions imposes rigid constraints on research
Human reasoning is flexible and complex
Real world research requires a flexible approach that
takes practicalities into account
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Transport: Real world research It takes place in real world settings It answers specific questions identified by a
range of people It is often concerned with taking action or
solving complex, multi-factorial problems Orientated to client needs rather than academic
peers
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Looking to both measure and understandmeaning
Qualitative elements Ask what and how in order to explore, gain insights, and
understand underlying issues
Quantitative elements Ask how many and how strong in order to measure, predict,
and correlate
Shared qualitative and quantitative aims Seek to identify, to look at relationships and at links
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To summarise The differences between qualitative and quantitative
ways of doing research may not be as distinct in practiceas they are in theory
Real world research requires flexibility and answers tospecific questions
From a pragmatic perspective, the research questionshould drive the choice of research methods
Useful and high quality research can be conducted fromwithin a variety of approaches
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Bronstein (2003) Social Work. Vol. 48, 3.Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Interdisciplinary collaboration is aneffective interpersonal process that facilitatesthe achievement of goals that cannot bereached when individual professionals act ontheir own
Bruner (1991). Ten Questions and Answers to Help policy
Makers improve childrens services
. Washington, DC:Education and Human Services Consortium
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Bronstein (2003) Social Work. Vol. 48, 3. Interdependence: Occurrence of and reliance on interactions
among disciplines, each dependent on others to accomplish goals/tasks Newly created Activities: Collaborative acts that can achieve
more than could be achieved by acting independently Flexibility: Deliberate occurrence of role blurring, productive
compromise an creative responding Collective Ownership of Goals: Shared responsibility in
process of reaching goals, joint design, definition, development andachievement
Reflection on Process: Attention to process of workingtogether, incorporating feedback to strengthen collaborative relationship
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Seaburn et al (1996)
A culture of collaboration does not just happen.It must be formed and fashioned by mayhands
Models of collaboration . New York: Basic Books.p23
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6 Cs of Collaboration
Co-production of project vision and aims Collective ownership of shared goals
Co-creation project design Clear roles and responsibilities Communication Co-register project products