Interdisciplinarity: From impact to solutions Claire Heffernan
• Work across seven University of London institutions • Remit: to foster interdisciplinary research collaborations • Support for £40 million of research in international development
• Wohl, R. (1955) Some observations on the social organization of interdisciplinary social science research. Social Forces. • Hardin, C.A (1955). A classic example of interdisciplinary research. Nursing Research. • Mead, M (1955) Effects of Anthropological Field Work Models on Interdisciplinary Communication in the Study of National Character. Journal of Social Issues . • Brody, E.B. (1955). Emotional Problems of Interdisciplinary Research in Psychiatry. Psychiatry .
Disruptive Innovation
Interdisciplinarity A process of answering a question [or] solving a problem…that is too broad or complex to be dealt with adequately by a single discipline…it integrates disciplinary insights through the construction of a comprehensive perspective. (Klein and Newell, 1998)
Mapping Knowledge http://idr.gatech.edu
The Barriers • Funding • Disciplinary Bias • Lack of Institutional Incentive Structure
Networks • Changing in composition and function • More social less hierarchical Convergence • Building Blocks: the interdisciplinary scaffold • Outcomes: • The emergence of new areas or bodies of knowledge. • New tools emerging from disciplinary intersections.
Solutions Based Research Supports the inter-disciplinary evaluation of a particular context in relation to ‘antecedents and consequences’ and explores how both existing and new knowledge can be harnessed in the pursuit of the goal itself and in the ‘enactment of transformative change’.
The Future [Interdisciplinarians are able to] integrate the best elements of disciplinary insights in order to generate a more comprehensive and nuanced appreciation of an issue. (Szostak, 2012)
It took an ex-physicist—Francis Crick—and a former ornithology student—James Watson— to crack the secret of life. They shared a certain wanderlust, an indifference to boundaries. —Robert Wright
The Future
Recommend
More recommend
