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Published in:
2016 | OriginalPaper | Chapter
Dimensions of Research
Author : William Sims Bainbridge
Published in: Handbook of Science and Technology Convergence
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
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Abstract
In order to understand discovery and innovation, social scientists and historians have developed several systems for mapping kinds of thought and action, especially to learn where the convergence of multiple factors may achieve unusual progress. Even a simple descriptive scheme provides perspectives from which to see insights, such as how vision-inspired research can literally think outside the box. Thus it is worth considering how the individual scientist or engineer thinks, using a mind that is not merely the result of technical education, but that also reflects human personality dispositions. Yet progress requires individuals to cooperate, in teams and communication networks, through a dynamic division of labor assigning different roles to participants, according to changing conditions and opportunities. The convergence-divergence cycle plays out in ever more complex ways, as humanity becomes integrated into a single information society, so new kinds of research on the very dimensions of research will be required.