Work

Documenting development of interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers by visualizing connections

Year: 2021

Type: article

Abstract: In 2015, a multidisciplinary group of academic researchers and extension personnel was awarded a US Department of Agriculture Coordinated Agricultural Project grant. The team’s goal was to understand human decision-making in the context of potential livestock disease outbreaks, investigating the impediments to increased adoption of biosecurity practices by producers from multiple perspectives. Counting publications and presentations was not deemed adequate evidence of growth of interdisciplinary collaboration. Instead, we took a developmental evaluation approach, collecting data to illuminate patterns of interconnectedness across disciplinary boundaries. These data, mapped annually on a baseline framework, reveal the team moving from disciplinary groups with disparate epistemologies and interests to a cohesive interdisciplinary team involved in many unexpected and emergent projects.

Source: Research Evaluation

DOI: 10.1093/reseval/rvab039

Authors: Linden E Higgins, Julia M Smith

Institution: University of Vermont

Language: English

Topic: Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration

Subfield: Information Systems and Management

Field: Decision Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Partnerships for the goals

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,159