Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research (2005) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
10 Findings and Recommendations
10 Findings and Recommendations
Pages 188-206
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From page 188... ...
Interdisciplinary research (IDR) is a mode of research by teams or individuals that integrates information, data, techniques, tools, perspectives, concepts, and/or theories from two or more disciplines or bodies of specialized knowledge to advance fundamental understanding or to solve problems whose solutions are beyond the scope of a single discipline or area of research practice.
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From page 189... ...
Over half indicated that after developing expertise in one field, they had sought training in additional fields through postdoctoral fellowships, additional advanced degrees, or day-to-day interactions with researchers in different fields to participate in interdisciplinary projects. These strategies were reflected in the top recommendations respondents made for institutions, principal investigators, postdocs and students: foster a collaborative environment (26 percent)
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From page 190... ...
A deeper understanding of these processes will further enhance the prospects for creation and management of successful IDR programs. Changes Needed 9.
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From page 191... ...
11. Professional societies have the opportunity to facilitate IDR by producing state-of-the-art reports on recent research developments and on curriculum, assessment, and accreditation methods; enhancing per sonal interactions; building partnerships among societies; publishing interdisciplinary journals and special editions of disciplinary journals and promoting mutual understanding of disciplinary methods, lan guages, and cultures.
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From page 192... ...
Students S-1: Undergraduate students should seek out interdisciplinary experi ences, such as courses at the interfaces of traditional disciplines that address basic research problems, interdisciplinary courses that address societal problems, and research experiences that span more than one traditional discipline. For example, students can · Begin preparation for IDR through an IDR project or summer IDR experience.
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From page 193... ...
· Enhance their interdisciplinary expertise by participating in conferences outside their fields and in poster sessions that represent multiple disciplines. Those venues provide opportunities for junior researchers to present their work to colleagues outside their fields.
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From page 194... ...
· Guide the postdoctoral scholars toward interdisciplinary learning opportunities, including workshops, research presentations, and social gatherings. Educators A-1: Educators should facilitate IDR by providing educational and training opportunities for undergraduates, graduate students, and post doctoral scholars, such as relating foundation courses, data gathering and analysis, and research activities to other fields of study and to society at large.
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From page 195... ...
· Discourage the notion that some disciplines rank higher than others. · Create more opportunities for students to learn how research disciplines complement one another by -- Developing policies and practices that support team teaching of interdisciplinary courses by faculty members in diverse departments or colleges.
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From page 196... ...
· Create specific IDR grants and training programs for distinct career stages to assist in learning new disciplines and participating in IDR programs. · Create mechanisms to fund graduate students and postdoctoral scholars whose research draws on multiple fields and may not be considered central to any one department.
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From page 197... ...
I-3: Institutions should support interdisciplinary education and train ing for students, postdoctoral scholars, researchers, and faculty by pro viding such mechanisms as undergraduate research opportunities, fac ulty team-teaching credit, and IDR management training. Such education and training could cover interdisciplinary research techniques, interdisciplinary team management skills, methods for teaching nonmajors, etc.
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From page 198... ...
For example, team leaders can · Catalyze the skillful design of research plans and the integration of knowledge and skills in multiple disciplines, rather than "stapling together" similar or overlapping proposals. · Establish early agreements on research methods, goals and timelines, and regular meetings.
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From page 199... ...
· Remove administrative barriers to, and explicitly encourage, partnerships between universities, industry, and federal laboratories to facilitate IDR. F-2: Funding organizations, including interagency cooperative activi ties, should provide mechanisms that link interdisciplinary research and education and should provide opportunities for broadening train ing for researchers and faculty members.
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From page 200... ...
F-4: Congress should continue to encourage federal research agencies to be sensitive to maintaining a proper balance between the goal of stimulating interdisciplinary research and the need to maintain robust disciplinary research. Professional Societies PS-1: Professional societies should seek opportunities to facilitate IDR at regular society meetings and through their publications and special initiatives.
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From page 201... ...
· Add researchers with interdisciplinary experience to editorial boards and review panels and develop specific techniques for evaluating interdisciplinary submissions. · Consider whether their publications' guidelines for authorship and submission of manuscripts are appropriate for IDR.
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From page 202... ...
E-2: Interdisciplinary education and training programs should be eval uated according to criteria specifically relevant to interdisciplinary activities, such as number and mix of general student population par ticipation and knowledge acquisition, in addition to the usual require ments of excellence in content and presentation. For example, organizations reviewing interdisciplinary education and training programs can begin with such criteria as the following, to be supplemented with others appropriate to the organizations' missions: · Are interdisciplinary courses attracting more of the general student population to science and engineering courses?
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From page 203... ...
Evaluate a proposal to its cell-biology research program by using researchers in cell biology and including a substantial number in chemistry, physics, computer science, the social sciences, and the humanities as appropriate; this practice would help to ensure disciplinary breadth and reduce bias. · Review a proposed interdisciplinary program in climate change by using input not only from experts in climate change and related fields-such as oceanography, meteorology, atmospheric chemistry, and land use-but also experts in the constituent disciplines -- such as physics, chemistry, and statistics -- and nonresearchers for whom the research is relevant; the contributions of different disciplines might be submitted separately in written form, and these reports would be offered to a full review panel, including both disciplinary and interdisciplinary researchers, for final assessment.
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From page 204... ...
Academic Institutional Structure U-1: Institutions should explore alternative administrative structures and business models that facilitate IDR across traditional organiza tional structures. For example, institutions can · Experiment with alternative administrative structures, such as the matrix model, in which people move freely among disciplinary departments that are bridged and linked by interdisciplinary centers, offices, programs, and curricula or, alternatively, create institutions "without walls" that have no disciplinary departments and are organized around problems rather than disciplines.
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From page 205... ...
· Monitor a tenure-track faculty member's progress toward tenure with both mentors from the faculty member's program and senior faculty in traditional fields of special interest to that faculty member. U-5: Continuing social science, humanities, and information-science based studies of the complex social and intellectual processes that make for successful IDR are needed to deepen the understanding of these processes and to enhance the prospects for the creation and manage ment of successful programs in specific fields and local institutions.
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