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

今天的社会挑战是复杂和紧迫的。为了提高STEM研究在应对这些挑战方面的有效性，制定适当的重要研究问题至关重要。这个来自纽约州立大学系统管理局和纽约州立大学布法罗分校的合作项目旨在试点一个新的平台-萌芽空间-帮助研究人员构建和定义变革性的研究问题。研究人员将测试一个重复的过程，其中包括定义的步骤：问题制定，反思和重新定义。参与将开放给所有教职员工，博士后研究员和研究生在纽约州立大学系统。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领域方面的悠久历史，这种开放式的方法应该有助于不同领域的参与者的参与。如果成功的话，这项研究可能会开发出一种新的方法，这将导致变革性的研究，以解决关键的社会挑战。如果这个项目确定了制定开放和变革性研究问题的基本原则，其结果可以更广泛地应用于学术机构制定战略和创新的组织和计划结构，以有效地激励冒险和影响驱动的研究活动。将开发的平台-萌芽空间-将包括一个多迭代过程，包括制定，反思，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，最终达到高度变革性的研究问题。来自纽约州立大学校园的教师和学生将被邀请参加这个项目。将进行研究，以了解制定开放和变革性研究问题的基本原则。预计这些原则将告知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。界定基本原则将是有效扩大萌芽空间进程的一个基本先决条件。

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.