- Project Leader : Ubukata Fumikazu (Okayama University, Grad. Sch. of Environmental and Life Science)
- Collaborators : Kimura Syuhei (Tsukuba University, Fac. of Humanities and Social Sciences)
- : Watanabe Kazuo (Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Research Department)
- : Sato Shiro (Osaka International University, Fac. of International Communication)
- : Kono Yasuyuki (Kyoto University, Center for Southeast Asian Studies)
- : Sato Takahiro (International Rice Research Institute, Crop and Environmental Science Division)
Outline of Research
This research examines how researchers confront, struggle and overcome the difficulties during the process of interdisciplinary research projects, which try to collaborate between natural and social sciences. As a case study, we chose our experience of Global-COE program “In Search of Sustainable Humanosphere in Asia and Africa” which was conducted during 2007-2012. Through project documentation and interviews, we will try to analyze what happened during the formation of “integrated knowledge” in the project. This is an attempt at a meta-study which seeks for possibilities and conditions of inter-disciplinary research collaborations, as well as exploring methodologies to compare different interdisciplinary research projects.
Description
Reflecting on the emergence of multifaceted problems worldwide, such as human security, environment, natural disaster and STS (science, technology and society), there are currently numerous collaborative research projects which aim for “inter-disciplinarity” or “collaboration” between natural and social sciences. Most of their actual collaborations, however, have not academically examined yet. This research therefore tries to examine how researchers from different backgrounds confront, struggle and overcome difficulties during the process of interdisciplinary research projects which try to create bridges between the natural and social sciences.
As a case study, we chose the experience of Global-COE program “In Search of Sustainable Humanosphere in Asia and Africa” conducted during 2007-2012. This project is regarded as a highly unique collaborative research project which included a wide range of natural and social sciences: such as history, anthropology, economics, agronomy, geography, political science, ecology and engineering.
All the members of this research actively engaged in the program, enabling us to share experiences. Through detailed project documentation and interviews, we will analyze what happened during the formations of “integrated knowledge” in the project. Here we assume the dynamic process that 1) sociopolitical and scientific framing, and 2) configurations of different backgrounds and “cultures” of the participants and 3) organization structures and participants’ commitment of the project affected the overall process of knowledge integration.
This is an attempt at a meta-study which seeks for possibilities and conditions of inter-disciplinary research collaborations, as well as exploring methodologies to compare different interdisciplinary research projects. Finally we expect following results from the research.
1) An analysis of both the stimulants and constraints of collaborative research between the natural sciences and social sciences as well as their production and function.
2) An analysis of the conditions for research collaborations and the methods for comparing different interdisciplinary research projects.
 Discussion in a symposium. One of the important occasions for the natural and social researchers to communicate each other |
 Field sharing by natural and social researchers had been frequently done as a method to stimulate inter-disciplinarity (Sarawak, Malaysia) |