Forskningens nytta Om ambivalens i forskningspolitik och vardag

Sammanfattning: One important issue in this dissertation is understanding the concept of ambivalence in academic settings. This is addressed in two empirical studies. The first is an interview study on Swedish sociologists, focusing on how they look at and understand their own research as well as their place within academia. The second study is based on political documents and offers two possible perspectives on the historical development of research policy. On the one hand it can be viewed as a linear development toward more commercialized science, and on the other hand it can be viewed as an ongoing struggle between traditionalists and non-traditionalists. An important perspective in the interpretation of the results is Pierre Bourdieu's theory of cultural fields. This theory is especially useful in pinpointing the issues of ambivalence in science, showing how both the sociologists and the political documents can be understandable through the concept of "positions". Another important issue in the dissertation is understanding what type of norms are connected ambivalence in relationship to academia. In the final part of the dissertation, Robert Merton's CUDOS norms and John Ziman's PLACE norms are used to explain both the ambivalence itself as well as what kind of norms are related to different "positions".