what is cdr? – a few examples water resources in a changing climate – idaho climate change large...
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What is CDR? – A Few Examples
Water Resources in a Changing Climate – Idaho Climate Change
Large CD consortia — not the case that everyone works on everything
Comprise individual teams engaged in different kinds of CDR with no overall integration
What is CDR? – A Few Examples
UI/CATIE IGERT Team
Focused CDR effort
A particular team working on projects that are integrating (i.e., yield unified, synthetic solutions)
What is CDR? – A Few Examples
USGS Water Quality Survey
Specific, multi-disciplinary team
No integration of component research other than at publication level
What is CDR? – A Few Examples
Entomologist Reading Philosophy
One individual—no team
Synthesis at individual level
‘CDR’ Analyzed
‘CDR’ defined: research involving the participation of more than one discipline
It concerns inquiry (research), as opposed to transmission (teaching)
It concerns disciplines
‘Discipline’ Analyzed
‘Discipline’ defined: an intrinsically constituted set of practices that is sufficiently widespread and stable to receive institutional support
Set of practices includes methods and principles
Intrinsic vs. extrinsic modes of classification
They are, roughly, epistemic communities
Examining CDR
Theoretical– There is a need to understand CDR along various
dimensionsParticipation: Individual ↔ Collaborative (Frodeman, et al.
2010)Disciplinary Breadth: Narrow ↔ Wide (Stokols, et al. 2003)Integration Level: Multi- ↔ Trans- (Eigenbrode, et al. 2007)
– How should differences along these dimensions be modeled?
– What are the processes necessary to the successful conduct of CDR?
Examining CDR
Theoretical– The integration dimension is key here
Integration is “widely regarded as the primary methodology of interdisciplinarity” (Klein 2011)
Integration is a “making whole” of different disciplinary elements (e.g., languages, concepts, models, methods, frameworks) that involves collective, iterative explanation and problem solving
This is the hallmark of interdisciplinarity
Examining CDR
Applied– How can CDR efforts be developed?– How can they be facilitated?– What problems undermine CDR efforts, and how
can these be avoided?– What impact will new technology have on the
conduct of CDR (e.g., new cybercollaborative tools, enhanced capacity for data storage, access, manipulation, and synthesis)?
Motivation – Drivers
“Interdisciplinary thinking is rapidly becoming an integral feature of research as a result of four powerful ‘drivers’:
Motivation – Drivers
The inherent complexity of nature and society
The desire to explore problems and questions that are not confined to a single discipline
Motivation – Drivers
The need to solve societal problems
The power of new technologies.”
– Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research, NAS, p. 40
Motivation – Responses
Universities and Colleges– Interdisciplinary curricula– Structures to encourage collaboration among
investigators
Federal and State Agencies– Funding opportunities– Internal structures
Private InstitutionsIndustry
Motivation – Responses
NSF IGERT – Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship – Educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers by building on the foundations of their disciplinary knowledge with interdisciplinary training
Office of Integrative Activities (OIA) – E.g., Science and Technology Centers – Conduct research at the intersection of multiple disciplines and foster transformative science and excellence in education
Motivation – Responses
NASA is looking to improve and advance cross-disciplinary activities, especially as the nation looks to global change impacts and adaptation
USDA - National Institute for Food and Agriculture new funding strategy emphasizes large scale, coordinated, cross-disciplinary projects
2006 saw the creation of the NIH Common Fund, which supports cross-cutting, trans-NIH programs. These include Global Health, Health Economics, Nanomedicine, and Interdisciplinary Research, which focuses on changing the “academic research culture” both within and without NIH.
Motivation – Challenges
The challenges to CDR are manifold:– The academic reward system (NAS 2005)– Lack of conducive institutional culture (Klein 2010)– Lack of training opportunities (Rosa and Machlis
2002)– Disciplinary chauvinism (Schoenberger 2001) – Turfism (Morse, et al. 2007)– Group dynamics (Jakobsen, et al. 2004)– Communication (Crowley et al. 2010)