Abstract
It is widely maintained that the study of policy alternatives, particularly if they are associated with introducing new tehcnologies that may engender vast social and environmental repercussions, ought to be interdisciplinary. There is, however, much confusion in the literature as to what exactly is meant by the term interdisciplinary. In the present paper, we quantitatively assess the extent of interdisciplinarity of studies and of research programs. First, we propose several working definitions of the concept of interdisciplinarity. Second, we consider the construction of indicators that quantify these definitions. Third, as an example, we examine whether or not a given policy oriented research program is truly interdisciplinary.
Similar content being viewed by others
References and notes
B. W. MAR, W. T. NEWELL, B. O. SAXBERG, Interdisciplinary research in the university setting,Environmental science and Technology, 10 (1976) 650.
R. T. BARTH, R. STECK (Eds),Interdisciplinary Research Groups: Their Management and Organization, University of Washington, Seattle, 1979.
I. L. WHITE, Interdisciplinarity,The Environmental Professional, 1 (1979) 51.
L. H. HATTERY, Interdisciplinary research management: research meeds and opportunities, in:Interdisciplinary Research Groups: Their Management and Organization, R. T. BARTH, R. STECK (Eds), University of Washington, Seattle, 1979, p. 9–25.
R. S. CUTLER, A policy perspective on interdisciplinary research in US universities, in:Interdisciplinary Research Groups: Their Management and Organization, R. T. BARTH, R. STECK (Eds), University of Washington, Seattle, 1979, 295–314.
G. DARVAS, A. HARASZTHY, Interdiciplinary Orientation of Research Teams in Six European Countries, in:Interdisciplinary Research Groups: Their Management and Organization, R. T. BARTH, R. STECK (Eds), University of Washington, Seattle, 1979, p. 34–48.
UNESCO, Proposed International Standard Nomenclature for Fields of Science and Technology, UNESCO/NS/ROU/2J7 1973.
H. G. SMALL, B. C. GRIFFITH, The structure of scientific literatures: identifying and graphing specialties,Science Studies, 4 (1974) 17.
H. G. SMALL, D. CRANE, Specialties and disciplines in science and social science: an examination of their structure using citation indexes,Scientometrics, 1 (1979) 445.
F. A. ROSSINI, A. L. PORTER, P. KELLY, D. E. CHUBIN, On the integration of the disciplinary components of interdisciplinary research, in:Interdisciplinary Research Groups: Their Management and Organization, R. T. BARTH, R. STECK (Eds), University of Washington, Seattle, 1979, p. 136–158.
S. AMIR, Environmental research in Israel in the Early 70's, Environmental Protection Service, Jerusalem, 1979, Publication no. 79-06 (Hebrew).
S. AMIR, A Preliminary Survey of Studies Financed by the Environmental Protection Service During the Years 1974–1980, Ms, 1981, (Hebrew).
S. AMIR, Environmental Research in Israel: a Proposal for a Novel Organizational Change, 1984, in press.
R. K. PEET, The measurement of species diversity,Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 5 (1974) 285.
E. C. PIELOU,An Introduction to Mathematical Ecology, Wiley Interscience, New York, 1969.
J. C. FLEISS,Statistical Methods for Rates and Proportions Wiley Interscience, New York, 1973.
F. A. ROSSINI, A. L. PORTER, Frameworks for integrating interdisciplinary research,Research Policy, 8 (1979) 70.
R. WASNIOWSKI, Management of interdisciplinary research programs in a university, in:Interdisciplinary Research Groups: Their Management and Organization, R. T. BARTH, R. STECK (Eds), University of Washington, Seattle, 1979, p. 266–277.
N. LINDAS, Conclusions from the American Society for Public Administration's Assessment of four interdisciplinary research management projects, in:Interdisciplinary Research Groups: Their Management and Organization, R. T. BARTH, R. STECK (Eds), University of Washington, Seattle, 1979, p. 278–294.
B. R. MARTIN, J. IRVINE, Assessing basic research: some partial indicators of scientific progress in radio astronomy,Research Policy, 12 (1983) 61.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Amir, S. On the degree of interdisciplinarity of research programs: A quantitative assessment. Scientometrics 8, 117–136 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02025225
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02025225