Explanatory norms and interdisciplinary research

Abstract This paper provides resources from the philosophy of science to identify differences between explanatory norms across disciplines and to examine their impact on interdisciplinary work. While the body of literature on explanatory norms is expanding rapidly, a consensus on a theoretical framework for systematically identifying norms across disciplines has yet to be reached. The aims of this paper are twofold: (i) to provide such a framework and use it to identify and compare explanatory norms across different domains; and (ii) to derive indications about interdisciplinary practice accordingly. By pursuing these goals, this work aims to be both theoretically significant and practically relevant. It contributes to the ongoing work on explanatory norms; and offers recommendations for the analysis of interdisciplinary science.