Can we learn from Herodotus? Available to Purchase

Assembling a group of researchers having different theoretical backgrounds, academic fields and cultural origins or nationalities is a complex matrix. This paper discusses the conditions and strategies that can make complex research groups work together in a productive way. The authors refer to the distinction between explaining and understanding as a useful illustration of the kinds of differences found within similar groups. Different basic purposes of international research projects are also taken into account. The authors also argue that developing a research instrument that produces data useful to the different theoretical frameworks might be a better procedure than coming to terms with complex issues such as whether paradigms are compatible or not. Finally, the authors discuss the kind of learning which can be extracted from the experience of working in an international research team.