Expanding research ethics for inclusive and transdisciplinary research

The societal and environmental problems that arise from stressors such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and the escalation of resource extraction and pollution have driven many toward research approaches that reach beyond standard Western science to include multiple knowledges, multiple disciplines, and multiple methods of collecting and interpreting data. We refer to these research approaches collectively as transdisciplinary (Td) research. In this chapter we describe four interrelated but distinct themes (representation, self-determination, deference, and reciprocity) and two cross-cutting themes (ethics beyond human dimensions and research skills) that we believe can be used to guide researchers and research teams toward a more expansive approach to research ethics. While our focus is explicitly on Td, much of what we describe below is relevant to interdisciplinary science or engaged and collaborative research more broadly.