EAGER: Collaborative Research: An Experimental Approach to Formulate Transformative Research Questions

EAGER：协作研究：制定变革性研究问题的实验方法

• 批准号: 1745891
• 负责人: Kemper Lewis
• 金额: $ 12.38万
• 依托单位: SUNY at Buffalo
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2017
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2017-09-01 至 2020-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1745891&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: EAGER; Collaborative; Research; Experimental; Approach

Today's societal challenges are complex and compelling. To increase the effectiveness of STEM research in addressing these challenges, it is essential to formulate appropriately significant research questions. This collaborative project from the SUNY System Administration and SUNY at Buffalo seeks to pilot a new platform -- Germination Space -- for aiding investigators to construct and define transformative research questions. The investigators will test a repetitive process with defined steps: question formulation, reflection, and redefinition. Participation will be open to all faculty members, post-doctoral fellows and graduate students in the SUNY system. This open-door approach should facilitate involvement of a diverse spectrum of participants, given SUNY's strong history in recruiting individuals from underrepresented and underserved groups into STEM fields. If successful, this study may develop a new approach that will lead to transformative research to address key societal challenges. If this project identifies underlying principles for formulating open and transformative research questions, the results could be applied more broadly by academic institutions to formulate strategies and innovative organizational and program structures to effectively stimulate risk-taking and impact-driven research activities.The platform to be developed -- Germination Space -- will consist of a multiple-iteration process including formulating, reflecting upon, and redefining research questions. Researchers will be guided to examine their research questions, challenge fundamental assumptions, and leverage existing knowledge and solutions in other disciplines, ultimately arriving at highly transformative research questions. Faculty and students from across SUNY campuses will be invited to participate in this project. Research will be conducted to understand the underlying principles of formulating open and transformative research questions. It is expected that these principles will inform both individual approaches to asking questions, and the social and institutional arrangements that can serve to catalyze individual explorations. Delineating underlying principles will be an essential prerequisite for effective scaling of the Germination Space process.

当今的社会挑战既复杂又引人注目。为了提高 STEM 研究应对这些挑战的有效性，有必要制定适当的重要研究问题。这个由纽约州立大学系统管理局和纽约州立大学布法罗分校合作的项目旨在试点一个新平台——萌芽空间——帮助研究人员构建和定义变革性的研究问题。调查人员将测试一个具有明确步骤的重复过程：问题制定、反思和重新定义。纽约州立大学系统的所有教职员工、博士后研究员和研究生均可参加。鉴于纽约州立大学在从代表性不足和服务不足的群体中招募个人进入 STEM 领域方面有着悠久的历史，这种开放的方法应该会促进各种参与者的参与。如果成功，这项研究可能会开发出一种新方法，从而引发变革性研究，以应对关键的社会挑战。如果该项目确定了制定开放性和变革性研究问题的基本原则，那么学术机构可以更广泛地应用其结果来制定战略以及创新的组织和计划结构，以有效地刺激冒险和影响驱动的研究活动。开发的“萌芽空间”将由多次迭代过程组成，包括制定、反思和重新定义研究问题。研究人员将被引导检查他们的研究问题，挑战基本假设，并利用其他学科的现有知识和解决方案，最终得出高度变革性的研究问题。来自纽约州立大学各校区的教师和学生将被邀请参加该项目。将进行研究以了解制定开放性和变革性研究问题的基本原则。预计这些原则将为个人提出问题的方法以及可以促进个人探索的社会和制度安排提供信息。描绘基本原则将是有效扩展萌芽空间过程的重要先决条件。