Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40297552›Full record

ArticleSustainability science2025

Roles of researchers in inter- and transdisciplinary sustainability research: a reflection tool.

Benjamin Hofmann, Hanna Salomon, Sabine Hoffmann

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Sustainability science, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Benjamin Hofmann *Department of Environmental Social Sciences, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-5639-098X
Hanna Salomon *Department of Environmental Social Sciences, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0008-9105-5336
Sabine HoffmannDepartment of Environmental Social Sciences, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6750-8069

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Inter- and transdisciplinary (ITD) research is increasingly called for and supported to promote sustainable transformation through knowledge co-production, knowledge integration, and solution development. The paper explores what is needed to support researchers in reflecting on their new roles in ITD research. We introduce a reflection tool that makes the growing literature on researchers' roles in sustainability science applicable to ITD projects. Its design is based on the arguments that each researcher can have several roles within one research project and that focusing on a few key roles increases clarity compared to differentiating many specialized roles. The tool consists of (1) a researcher survey that operationalizes six prominent roles (traditional scientist, self-reflexive scientist, knowledge integrator, knowledge broker, process facilitator, and change agent), (2) a visualization of role profiles from the survey, and (3) a set of reflection questions on related opportunities, challenges, and coping strategies on individual and project level. We empirically applied the tool in two ITD research projects focused on sustainable food production and water and forest ecosystem management. Comparative application of the tool yielded diverse role profiles of researchers in both projects, with different patterns for senior and junior researchers as well as natural and social scientists. The reflection produced a collection of opportunities, challenges, and coping strategies that corroborates and extends insights from ITD literature. We discuss how the tool triggers multi-dimensional reflection on roles (individual and project level, role combinations, self-perception and external perception) and outline opportunities for further strengthening such reflection in ITD research. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11625-024-01619-x.

Indexed as

Inter- and transdisciplinary researchOperationalizationReflectionRoles of researchersSustainability scienceTool

Identifiers

PMID40297552
PMCPMC12033213

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.