| Title |
Barriers and Solutions to Conducting Large International, Interdisciplinary Research Projects
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Environmental Management, September 2017
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s00267-017-0939-8 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Erin C. Pischke, Jessie L. Knowlton, Colin C. Phifer, Jose Gutierrez Lopez, Tamara S. Propato, Amarella Eastmond, Tatiana Martins de Souza, Mark Kuhlberg, Valentin Picasso Risso, Santiago R. Veron, Carlos Garcia, Marta Chiappe, Kathleen E. Halvorsen |
| Abstract |
Global environmental problems such as climate change are not bounded by national borders or scientific disciplines, and therefore require international, interdisciplinary teamwork to develop understandings of their causes and solutions. Interdisciplinary scientific work is difficult enough, but these challenges are often magnified when teams also work across national boundaries. The literature on the challenges of interdisciplinary research is extensive. However, research on international, interdisciplinary teams is nearly non-existent. Our objective is to fill this gap by reporting on results from a study of a large interdisciplinary, international National Science Foundation Partnerships for International Research and Education (NSF-PIRE) research project across the Americas. We administered a structured questionnaire to team members about challenges they faced while working together across disciplines and outside of their home countries in Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. Analysis of the responses indicated five major types of barriers to conducting interdisciplinary, international research: integration, language, fieldwork logistics, personnel and relationships, and time commitment. We discuss the causes and recommended solutions to the most common barriers. Our findings can help other interdisciplinary, international research teams anticipate challenges, and develop effective solutions to minimize the negative impacts of these barriers to their research. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 10 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 3 | 30% |
| Australia | 1 | 10% |
| Belgium | 1 | 10% |
| Spain | 1 | 10% |
| Unknown | 4 | 40% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 5 | 50% |
| Scientists | 4 | 40% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 10% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 83 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Unknown | 83 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Master | 10 | 12% |
| Researcher | 10 | 12% |
| Other | 9 | 11% |
| Student > Bachelor | 8 | 10% |
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 8 | 10% |
| Other | 12 | 14% |
| Unknown | 26 | 31% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Social Sciences | 13 | 16% |
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 9 | 11% |
| Business, Management and Accounting | 6 | 7% |
| Environmental Science | 6 | 7% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 4 | 5% |
| Other | 12 | 14% |
| Unknown | 33 | 40% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 6. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 05 October 2017.
All research outputs
#6,300,178
of 25,382,440 outputs
Outputs from Environmental Management
#527
of 1,914 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#90,553
of 325,430 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Environmental Management
#10
of 21 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,382,440 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done well and is in the 75th percentile: it's in the top 25% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,914 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a little more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 7.0. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 72% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 325,430 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 72% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 21 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has gotten more attention than average, scoring higher than 52% of its contemporaries.