The Integrative Approach

Integration is central to all phases of transdisciplinary research, from problem identification and structuring to implementation. Pohl et al. (2018) argued that integration is not a value in itself, but a necessary methodology to meet society's demands for knowledge. Some authors, such as Bergmann et al. (2012), classified interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research as integrative research, based on the degree of interaction between academic and non-academic participants. A specific feature of this classification is precisely the fact that it acknowledges the involvement of interested parties in integrative approaches, and this characteristic also poses the greatest challenge.

Disciplinary interactions, which evolve into interdisciplinary research, refer, in this continuum, to the degree of cooperation and integration of the various disciplines for resolution of the research problem. When the involvement of non-academic actors is added to this scenario, the continuum flows into transdisciplinary research (Tress et al. 2005). It is a trend that does not emphasize differentiation and specialization, but rather the need to unite various fields of knowledge and work experiences that can result in new specialties and types of socialization and, in the end, in more robust, resistant and healthier institutions.

Genuine transdisciplinary integrative research is concerned with coordinating different bodies of knowledge, after identifying gaps in the science, technology and society tripod, and understanding how to fill these gaps with appropriate scientific methodology and theoretical frameworks. It is the recognition that the bases of specialized knowledge are dispersed in the very heterogeneity of reality and that, therefore, only an integrative approach can possibly capture essential features of the context where the problem lies. It is about bringing to the scientific framework relevant social problems that need a solution and take science to the relevant problems that need a solution, wherever they are. It is about emphasizing the contextuality of transdisciplinary research, whose roots are founded on the needs of affected social actors, the inclusion of the participants involved and the commitment to mutual learning, and whose highest quality is ‘to have a practical effect on the world beyond science’ (p. 43).