Daniel Stokols, Shalini
Misra, Richard Moser, Kara Hall, & Brandie Taylor talk
with ScienceWatch.com and answer a few questions
about this month's Emerging Research Front Paper in the
field of Social Sciences, general.
Article: The ecology of team science -
Understanding contextual influences on transdisciplinary
collaboration
Authors: Stokols,
D;Misra, S;Moser, RP;Hall, KL;Taylor, BK
Journal: AMER J PREV MED, 35 (2): S96-S115 Suppl. S AUG
2008
Addresses: Univ Calif Irvine, Dept Planning Policy &
Design, Sch Social Ecol, 206-C Social Ecology 1 Bldg,
Irvine, CA 92697 USA.
Univ Calif Irvine, Dept Planning Policy & Design, Sch
Social Ecol, Irvine, CA 92697 USA.
(addresses have been truncated.)
Why do you think your paper is highly
cited?
Over the past 10 years, government research agencies and public foundations
have invested heavily in promoting interdisciplinary team science and
training initiatives. As interest and investment in interdisciplinary team
initiatives have grown, the demand for evaluative information about the
effectiveness of these collaborative projects has increased as well.
Our article provides an overview of important personal and situational
factors that either constrain or facilitate successful interdisciplinary
collaboration in scientific, training, and applied research settings. This
article is part of the rapidly growing "science of team science," broadly
concerned with understanding and managing the circumstances that influence
the effectiveness of interdisciplinary collaboration in scientific,
training, community practice (e.g., clinical), and public policy contexts.
Does it describe a new discovery, methodology, or
synthesis of knowledge?
Coauthors (top to bottom)
Shalini Misra, Richard P. Moser, Kara L.
Hall
The article provides a critical and integrative review of several research
literatures which, when considered together, shed light on key determinants
of collaborative success in interdisciplinary research, training, and
translational contexts.
Four major research domains are reviewed, including (1) the social
psychology of teams and group dynamics; (2) organizational science studies
of corporate teamwork and productivity; (3) evaluative studies of
university-community partnerships undertaken to promote improved population
health practices and outcomes; and (4) evaluative studies of large scale
interdisciplinary science and training initiatives such as those funded by
the National Institutes of Health, the National Academy of Sciences, the
National Science Foundation, and private organizations such as the Robert
Wood Johnson, Keck, MacArthur, Carnegie, and WT Grant Foundations.
Would you summarize the significance of your paper in
layman's terms?
Our review of earlier research on the determinants of effective
interdisciplinary collaboration identifies certain pivotal and recurring
factors such as leadership styles, shared history of prior collaboration,
opportunities for frequent face-to-face communications among team members,
as well as the availability of cyberinfrastructures (e.g., intranet web
sites, listserves, teleconferencing facilities) to support smooth
collaboration) that exert a profound influence on the effectiveness of
interdisciplinary teams.
In the article, we present a typology of major contextual determinants of
collaborative success that are organized into six categories:
intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational/institutional, technological,
physical environmental, and sociopolitical.
How did you become involved in this research and were
any particular problems encountered along the way?
The co-authors of this article share a strong interest in understanding the
circumstances that influence the effectiveness of interdisciplinary
collaboration in scientific, training, community practice, and public
policy contexts. Our collective experiences span those of faculty members
and administrators based within interdisciplinary academic schools and
departments, as well as scientists working within the National Institutes
of Health who conduct interdisciplinary intramural research projects while
also creating, managing, and evaluating large-scale extramural science and
training initiatives—especially those designed to promote
interdisciplinary collaboration and integration.
Where do you see your research leading in the
future?
The science of team science is a relatively young field that has relied
heavily on anecdotal reports and retrospective case study designs in prior
years. The field is now moving toward more diverse and increasingly
rigorous research designs—for instance, quasi-experimental
time-series studies of the scholarly productivity and impact of scientists
working as members of large, multi-site interdisciplinary research centers,
as compared to those working in the same field (e.g., tobacco use and
control, cancer communications research, or health disparities) who are
supported by traditional single-investigator grants such as NIH R01 awards;
or by funds provided through smaller-scale research centers administered by
a single university.
Do you foresee any social or political implications for
your research?
In both scientific and non-scientific sectors of society, an increasing
emphasis is being placed on training individuals to participate effectively
as members of collaborative teams. The research findings summarized in our
article, as well as in the other papers published in the 2008 American
Journal of Preventive Medicine supplement on the science of team
science, extend our understanding of key factors that either facilitate or
hinder effective interdisciplinary collaboration in research, training,
clinical, and public policy contexts. This research offers a useful
foundation for subsequent studies that will broaden our understanding of
these issues further.
Daniel Stokols, Ph.D.
Chancellor's Professor
Department of Planning, Policy, and Design
Department of Psychology and Social Behavior
School of Social Ecology
Program in Public Health
College of Health Sciences
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA, USA Web
Shalini Misra, M.S.
Ph.D. Candidate
Department of Planning, Policy, and Design
School of Social Ecology
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, CA, USA
Richard P. Moser, Ph.D.
Research Psychologist
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences
National Cancer Institute
Bethesda, MD, USA
Kara L. Hall, Ph.D.
Health Scientist
Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences
National Cancer Institute
Bethesda, MD, USA
Brandie K. Taylor, M.A.
Evaluation Researcher
Strategic Planning and Evaluation Branch
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Bethesda, MD, USA
Keywords: interdisciplinary team science, effective
interdisciplinary collaboration, social psychology, group dynamics,
organizational science studies, university-community partnerships,
cyberinfrastructures.
2008 : December 2008 : Daniel Stokols, Shalini Misra, Richard Moser, Kara Hall, & Brandie Taylor