The Societal Impact Of Social Science Knowledge In Austria
Die englische Version der Studie "Der gesellschaftliche Impact sozialwissenschaftlichen Wissens in Österreich: Wirkungswege, Messung, Potentiale" ist online und kann unter der Seite Publications herunter geladen werden.
Over the past two decades the question of the impact of scientific knowledge has been posed with ever increasing emphasis in a diversity of societal contexts. While the science and technology were the centre of focus for quite some time, the social sciences are now also confronted with this development. Correspondingly, we can witness a number of attempts to develop indicators and forms of representation, which should allow to show/measure the societal impact of the social sciences and, if possible, make it comparable as well.
This report is based on an exploratory study on the societal impact of the university-based social sciences in Austria and on the possibilities to capture/measure this impact. The goal is to provide differentiated input to the discussion on the societal importance of social science research in Austria. Our elaborations are based on a broad analysis of the relevant academic literature, on a series of expert interviews with people engaged in different national contexts with the issue of societal impact1, and on an explorative, qualitative sample of interviews with experienced social scientists working in Austrian universities. The disciplines covered in the interviews are communication science, political science and
sociology.
