Abstract
Knowledge integration is a major challenge of interdisciplinary research. Substantially different stocks of knowledge based on different scientific backgrounds, uses of language, methodologies, and epistemologies must be integrated into the research process. Addressing this challenge, this paper exemplifies the process of interdisciplinary knowledge integration drawing on the example of the junior research group DynaMo—Mobility-Energy Dynamics in Urban Areas that deals with the sustainable transformation of urban mobility systems. This paper shows how we apply the boundary object concept in combination with the method of Constellation Analysis as vehicles for interdisciplinary knowledge integration. By innovatively combining the boundary object concept with Constellation Analysis we a) suggest a self-reflective tool for structuring the process of knowledge integration and b) further operationalize the boundary object with the help of core concepts. The approach is illustrated with the boundary object sustainable transformation of urban passenger mobility used by DynaMo. In doing so, the paper aims to add an instrument to the toolkit of inter- and transdisciplinary research and offers practical knowledge for its application.
Highlights
Against the background of the increasingly complex socio-ecological and related socio-technical challenges our societies are facing, inter- and transdisciplinary research are gaining importance due to their capacity of providing knowledge for handling these challenges and identifying viable solutions
We offer an example of how to apply Susan Star’s and James Griesemer’s boundary object concept [8] as well as the method of Constellation Analysis [9] as vehicles for interdisciplinary knowledge integration in a transdisciplinary research project
While the boundary object approach enables us to develop a shared problem framing underpinned by a theoretical framework, the Constellation Analysis provides the methodical basis for an iterative and self-reflective process of integrating research insights and mapping the constellation defined by the boundary object
Summary
Against the background of the increasingly complex socio-ecological and related socio-technical challenges our societies are facing (e.g., anthropogenic climate change, biodiversity loss, energy and mobility transitions, etc.), inter- and transdisciplinary research are gaining importance due to their (hoped for) capacity of providing knowledge for handling these challenges and identifying viable solutions. Whereas the overarching topic of the junior research group Mobility-Energy Dynamics in Urban Areas was set from the beginning, the question arose of how to integrate the knowledge and perspectives of researchers from the different disciplines involved. We offer an example of how to apply Susan Star’s and James Griesemer’s boundary object concept [8] as well as the method of Constellation Analysis [9] as vehicles for interdisciplinary knowledge integration in a transdisciplinary research project. In part 3, Sustainability 2019, 11, 5357 we illustrate the framework with the example of the boundary object ‘sustainable transformation of urban passenger mobility’ developed by the junior research group DynaMo. The core concepts applied in this example—participation, legitimacy, space, governance, mobility practices, and power—provide references for (theoretical) discussions and knowledge integration within the group, as illustrated in that section. In part 5, we critically discuss our approach and draw some general conclusions on the framework’s contributions to the toolkit of interdisciplinary knowledge integration as well as its limitations
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