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Overcoming Barriers

National Academies report looks at ways to encourage and foster interdisciplinary research

by SUSAN R. MORRISSEY, C&EN WASHINGTON
December 6, 2004 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 82, Issue 49

FACILITATORS
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Credit: PHOTO BY SUSAN MORRISSEY
Andreasen (left) and Brown field questions at the release of a National Academies report on improving support for interdisciplinary research in academic institutions.
Credit: PHOTO BY SUSAN MORRISSEY
Andreasen (left) and Brown field questions at the release of a National Academies report on improving support for interdisciplinary research in academic institutions.

Many of today's hottest research areas are at the interface of traditional scientific disciplines. Unfortunately, scientists pursuing such interdisciplinary research in academic settings don't always receive the support they need because the majority of current institutional structures are designed to maintain single-discipline research.

To help lower and remove some of these barriers, the National Academies Committee on Science, Engineering & Public Policy studied ways to improve the academic environment to make it more favorable for interdisciplinary research. The committee released its report, titled "Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research," on Nov. 19. The 18-month study was sponsored by the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative.

"This report identifies steps that individuals and institutions can take to more effectively conduct, facilitate, and evaluate interdisciplinary research programs and projects," said committee cochair Nancy C. Andreasen, Andrew H. Woods Chair of Psychiatry at the University of Iowa, at the report's release.

First, the committee set out to define interdisciplinary research. According to the report, interdisciplinary research 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."

The committee also identified four drivers that are increasing the importance of interdisciplinary research. These include the complexity of society and nature, the desire to study things that are not confined to one discipline, the need to solve societal problems, and the onslaught of powerful new technologies.

"Our objective is to stimulate interdisciplinary research, so we offer suggestions for everyone who plays a key role in the research process," said committee cochair Theodore L. Brown, founding director emeritus at the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science & Technology. Indeed, the 300-page report includes recommendations for students, postdocs, researchers, educators, funding agencies, professional societies, and journal editors.

In the report, the committee advises undergraduate students to seek out interdisciplinary experiences by taking classes and doing research at the interfaces of traditional disciplines. For graduate students, the report recommends that they broaden their experiences by studying areas outside their primary field of study. The educators who direct these undergraduates, graduates, and even postdocs need to provide the necessary education and training opportunities to increase the interdisciplinary experiences of the students, according to the report.

As those individuals interested in interdisciplinary research enter postdoctoral positions, they should choose institutions and mentors who support this type of work, the report advises. Postdocs should also take advantage of internships outside of academia and other informal activities such as networking to gain experience at discipline interfaces, the report notes.

Faculty members who supervise postdocs from outside their primary field also have a responsibility to teach them about the specialty that results from the melding of the two disciplines, warns the committee in the report. To make this possible, the faculty and researchers at this interface must immerse themselves in the language, cultures, and knowledge of their interdisciplinary collaborators.

Researchers who find themselves in the position of leading an interdisciplinary team are advised to bring together all potential collaborators early in the project and make sure there is agreement on research methods, goals, and timelines. The report also recommends that team leaders ensure that efforts among participants are balanced--that participants sometimes lead and at other times follow--and that credit is shared appropriately.

HYBRIDIZING
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Credit: PHOTO BY KWAME ROSS/UIUC
Some graduate students are already gaining experience outside their primary field of study, like this chemistry graduate student who is learning biological techniques.
Credit: PHOTO BY KWAME ROSS/UIUC
Some graduate students are already gaining experience outside their primary field of study, like this chemistry graduate student who is learning biological techniques.

THE REPORT also calls on academic institutions to reevaluate their research-related policies, creating new ones where needed and strengthening existing ones that reduce barriers to interdisciplinary research. Institutions should not be afraid to try innovative policies that ease research that cuts across disciplines.

Institutions can facilitate interdisciplinary work by offering expanded undergraduate research opportunities, giving credit for team teaching, and providing interdisciplinary management training. Additionally, institutions need to develop better budgetary and cost-sharing policies that support this type of research, the report suggests.

Alternative administrative structures and business models within institutions should also be explored, the report recommends. Recruitment practices, for example, whether for graduate students or the hiring of faculty, should include looking across department and college lines. And the faculty hiring and tenure decisions should include a greater consideration of the values inherent in interdisciplinary research.

The report recommends that, within academic institutions, resources should be allocated that directly fund interdisciplinary units. For example, the report suggests that increased support could be provided for graduate students working between fields with mentoring by multiple faculty members.

When evaluating grant applications, funding agencies must take into account the challenges faced by interdisciplinary researchers, the report notes. These scientists work with a unique set of risks, organizational modes, and timelines as compared with researchers working within a single discipline.

To that end, the study says that funding agencies should regularly evaluate--and change as necessary--proposal and review criteria for this work. Proposal review mechanisms should also be improved to include a breadth and depth of expertise. The report advises the agencies to offer ways to link education with interdisciplinary projects, including training opportunities for researchers and faculty members.

Congress also has a part to play in ensuring support for research that includes multiple disciplines. According to the report, Congress should keep encouraging federal funding agencies to develop a balance between interdisciplinary and single-discipline research.

As scientists move forward with their interdisciplinary research and produce results, journal editors should actively support the publication of these findings by developing special issues or sections within the journal for such work, the report recommends. Professional societies can help, too, by providing special sessions at national meetings, establishing awards to recognize interdisciplinary researchers, and providing other material to scientists who want to learn about a new field.

With more and more interdisciplinary programs being created, finding a way to evaluate these programs is also important. One factor for assessing these types of programs is whether there is a proper balance between interdisciplinary research and single-discipline research, the report says. Additionally, the level of interdisciplinary activities in these programs, such as the number and mix of graduate students involved in a project, should be included in evaluations.

The report recommends that comparative evaluations of academic research institutions--for example, those that assess doctoral programs or rank academic departments--include interdisciplinary activities that involve multiple departments as well as single-department contributions. For example, the report notes, surveys could include queries about emerging interdisciplinary areas to get better demographic information.

In addition to recommending a number of ways to enhance existing interdisciplinary research programs, the report calls for more social science-, humanities-, and information-science-based studies on the social and intellectual processes that factor into the evolution of these programs.

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