Research
The fact sheets have been developed to serve as practical guides with detailed information on individual topics relating to the areas for action, and refer to further literature and standards.
Here you will find all fact sheets addressing the areas for action relating to governance. Their contents are summarised as short abstracts here. Each fact sheet is available for download as a PDF file, currently only in German.
Ethics
Area for action Socially responsible research
Ethical conflict in research can arise not only from the implications of research results, but also from the choice of research questions, methods, cooperation partners, and use of the results. In general, it is important to consider differing values in order to ensure "good moral conduct" in the research process. It is especially important to consider ethical issues when the research objectives go against the values of many people.
Integrative approach
Area for action Socially responsible research
Ideally, an integrative approach systematically considers all aspects relevant to the object of research and the interaction of those aspects. This means first identifying relevant elements that may emerge from the interaction between different economic/social subsystems, actors, and scientific disciplines. Based on this, interactions between subsystems must be addressed at the spatial, temporal, analytical, and methodological level.
Interdisciplinarity
Area for action Socially responsible research
Interdisciplinary research is a mode of research that combines the methods and tools of different disciplines. This allows approaches to solving complex societal problems to be produced that a single, pure discipline could not produce. The main challenges in deriving value from the combined expertise of the humanities and social sciences, the natural sciences, and engineering arise from the different disciplinary paradigms and, with it, the different technical jargons.
User orientation
Area for action Socially responsible research
In a socially responsible research process, it is necessary to involve groups of actors from science, economics, politics, or society who represent the potential users of the ultimate research results. Use refers to various, sometimes direct, follow-on processes: further scientific use of the results, the marketing of newly developed products, or the integration of recommendations and concepts into politics, economics, or daily life.
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Impact assessment
Area for action Socially responsible research
The potential impact of research on society and the environment should be considered in the entire process of research. This includes effects that can arise from the choice of the research object or strategy, design of the research process, or application of the results. The potential impact can be assessed before or after the research process (ex-ante or ex-post), and should also include any possible consequences of not performing the research.
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Transdisciplinarity
Area for action Socially responsible research
Transdisciplinary research integrates empirical knowledge of actors external to science – for example companies, the public sector, or stakeholder groups – into the research process. It strives towards expanding or even synthesising these stocks of knowledge. Participatory methods and feedback into social discourse help to identify practical needs for research and to develop corresponding solutions in cooperation between researchers and practitioners.
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Dealing with complexity and uncertainty
Area for action Socially responsible research
The risks and knowledge gaps in complex systems should be given due consideration in research processes and reflected upon in relation to the research question, the methods applied, and the results. Among other things, modelling methods and scenario analysis can assist in dealing with uncertainties.
