Domsa Károlyné, Fekete Gézáné, Kovács Mária (szerk.): Gondolatok a könyvtárban / Thoughts in the Library (A MTAK közleményei 30. Budapest, 1992)
KÖNYVTÁR ÉS KORSZERŰSÉG – LIBRARY AND MODERNITY
L. Kiuzadjan direction of the analysis of transnational developments requires a systematic reconsideration of the methodological and theoretical experiences which will flow from this change in orientation. The fascinating new European scene, with all its pros and cons, should become the first priority for international social scientific efforts and thus for all kinds of activities pursued by the Vienna Centre. In the aftermath of radical change in Europe, social science research must face completely new issues of content, namely the description and explanation of processes of presumably rapid and large-scale change, as against more specific topics that proceed from the assumption of an environment with near-stable parameters. But these new problems are inseparable from questions of methodology. It is of course both necessary and useful to investigate particular comparative topics. Often in the past the criteria of choice were dependent on a general proviso: to provide all sides with data in the most easily attainable way without raising questions about the rationality and/or legitimacy of the general framework within which those data under investigation lay. Other things being equal, a general political climate of détente - but not of substantial change - necessarily led to a reinforcement of the condition of expediency in bilateral research projects. With the collapse of the general framework, this criterion's exclusiveness could not be retained any more, given a sensible selection of topics. The changes are neither terminated nor foreseeable, nor can they be limited to such countries where official re-shaping of the political system has already taken place. This means it is not possible to simply replace some of the previous assumptions by more up-to-date ones. It is nearly impossible to isolate specific topics as we could under the previous conditions, with many given fixed parameters. What now has to be taken into consideration, both in the selection and the implementation of any new research project, is that the general context of any specific issue is under constraints of rapid and large-scale change with an amount of complexity that we should not underestimate. A conceptual framework is needed to capture, at least approximately, the multiple interdependences within one particular field of investigation. Thus there is necessarily a shift towards new methodological problems. This calls for two different but interconnected strategies. On the one hand, there is a need for theory-oriented projects, in order to re-assess the criteria of relevance for research in the different areas of social science under conditions of rapid and global change; on the other hand, a large-scale participation of all countries affected and interested in these recent developments is necessary in order to come to grips with these complex interdependences. Thus urgent questions of methodology call for more multilateral work in all areas of the social sciences. As a European organisation covering various fields of research the Vienna Centre provides an appropriate forum for this approach. 160 Thoughts in the library "
