The Independence of Research—A Review of Disciplinary Perspectives and Outline of Interdisciplinary Prospects

Abstract

The independence of research is a key strategic issue of modern societies. Dealing with it appropriately poses legal, economic, political, social and cultural problems for society, which have been studied by the corresponding disciplines and are increasingly the subject of reflexive discourses of scientific communities. Unfortunately, problems of independence are usually framed in disciplinary contexts without due consideration of other perspectives’ relevance or possible contributions. To overcome these limitations, we review disciplinary perspectives and findings on the independence of research and identify interdisciplinary prospects that could inform a research programme.

Reframing study of research(er) funding towards configurations and trails

“…Registering variations in these funding descriptors systematically then aims to enable a separate, later analysis of influences related to collaboration compositions and intensities, as these are known to affect how research is done (Laudel,chapter 16 in this Handbook). This can be in how certain actors distinctly co-produce knowledge, co-design research problems, supply key data and materials and more (Ramos-Vielba et al, 2022; see also Gläser et al, 2022, for a discussion of influences due to actors from civil society, funding agencies, industry, the military, states, and universities). Funder type and origin register which kinds of funders are involved.…”

“…Previous literature has highlighted areas of funding effects to consider. These are somewhat fragmented, but indicate: funding can change whether novel topics and long-term intellectual innovations are researched; short-term project-based, and narrowly-prioritised funding can reduce the resilience of research(ers) to respond to societal shocks; explicit funder requirements for specified topics to be tackled, by particular funded consortia compositions, can lead to more users-and use-based perspectives being included in funded research than would occur without such intervention; and, funding requirements for openness can affect researcher choices about whether to keep their materials, methods and findings secret or not (Bourke & Butler, 1999;Geuna, 2001;Laudel, 2006a;Lepori et al, 2007;Hong & Walsh, 2009;Evans, 2010;Hallonsten, 2014;Czarnitzki et al, 2015;Franssen et al, 2018;Perkmann et al, 2021;Ryan, 2021;Gläser et al, 2022).…”

“…Such funding can be short-term, projectbased, and targeted towards prespecified problems and audiences. This potentially reduces researchers' freedom to self-determine directions they wish to follow, which research questions they would like answered, methods and equipment they prefer to use, and their collaboration choices (Franssen et al, 2018;Gläser et al, 2022;Laudel, chapter 16 in this Handbook).…”

An Analysis of PubMed Abstracts From 1946 to 2021 to Identify Organizational Affiliations in Epidemiological Criminology: Descriptive Study

“…Indeed, the independence of research has become a prominent societal issue but generally relates to companies and government agencies that influence research priorities and processes to satisfy investor or political agendas. Perceived independence is an important factor for gaining public trust in research findings [8]. Although independence and conflicts of interest have been extensively discussed in health and medical science literature [8], they remain underexamined in the criminology and justice health fields.…”

“…Perceived independence is an important factor for gaining public trust in research findings [8]. Although independence and conflicts of interest have been extensively discussed in health and medical science literature [8], they remain underexamined in the criminology and justice health fields.…”