The Snowbird Charrette: Integrative Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Environmental Research Design |
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Authors: | Edward J Hackett Diana R Rhoten |
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Institution: | (1) School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Box 872402, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402, USA;(2) Social Science Research Council, 1 Pierrepont Plaza, 15th Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA |
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Abstract: | The integration of ideas, methods, and data from diverse disciplines has been a transformative force in science and higher
education, attracting policy interventions, program innovations, financial resources, and talented people. Much energy has
been invested in producing a new generation of scientists trained to work fluidly across disciplines, sectors, and research
problems, yet the success of such investments has been difficult to measure. Using the Integrative Graduate Education and
Research Training (IGERT) program of the U.S. National Science Foundation as a strategic research site, we conducted an experiment
to determine whether and how the process and products of research of IGERT-trained scientists differ from those of scientists
trained in disciplinary graduate programs. Among scientists in the early years of graduate study we found substantial and
consistent differences suggesting that interdisciplinary training improved the quality and process of research, but this pattern
was equally strongly reversed among students in the latter years of graduate study. Using systematic observation and other
data we suggest why this might be so, then discuss the implications of these results for the design and conduct of graduate
education and research. |
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