Juxtaposing disciplines and conquering interdisciplinary research challenges: the researchers perspe

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• Juxtaposing disciplines and conquering
  interdisciplinary research challenges the
  researchers perspective
• Michelle Heward - mh3_at_soton.ac.uk
• Centre for Human Service Technology
• Centre for Research on Ageing
• JSWEC Social Work Research Conference
• University of Hertfordshire - 9th July 2009

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Outline of the presentation

• Overview of interdisciplinary research
• Why is interdisciplinary research important in
  topics related to social work
• How does my research fit in?
• Making connections between the topics
• Research questions and design
• Why conduct interdisciplinary research on this
  topic
• How did I juxtapose disciplines
• The challenges I faced undertaking
  interdisciplinary research and how to overcome
  them
• Lessons learnt for future interdisciplinary
  researchers
• The value of interdisciplinary research
• Summary

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Overview of interdisciplinary research

• Interdisciplinarity is best seen as bringing
  together distinctive components of two or more
  disciplines
• Within academic discourse interdisciplinarity
  becomes more complex as the four realms of
  knowledge, research, education and theory also
  tie together
• There is a need for disciplines as a way of
  organising institutions and dividing knowledge
  into components
• However, the shift towards multi-discipline and
  multi-method ways of working has the potential to
  enable the discovery of new ways of looking at
  traditional aspects of society
• Nissani (1997 201-213)

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• Traditional research Interdisciplinary
  research
• Detailed focus Broader picture
• Depth of knowledge Breadth of
  knowledge
• Understanding one Understanding
  several
• topic/discipline topics/disciplines

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• The sociological imagination.in considerable
  part consists of the capacity to shift from one
  perspective to another, and in the process to
  build up an adequate view of society and of its
  components.
• Wright Mills, 1959 211-212

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Why is interdisciplinary research important in
topics related to social work

• One of the most difficult problems encountered
  in interdisciplinary collaboration is the
  perception and understanding of disciplinary
  terminologies and working norms
• Bishop Hubbard, 2006 267
• Collaboration among disciplines that have similar
  terminologies and working norms rather than among
  diverse disciplines
• Social work research combines well with other
  social science disciplines such as sociology,
  gerontology and social policy
• Research in the field of social work, like
  gerontology is a fairly new area, thus drawing on
  multiple disciplines is an important part of
  moving the field forward

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How does my own research fit in?

• Ageing in the information society
• The role of information and communication
• technology within later life mobility

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Making connections between the topics
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Research questions

• What patterns of travel behaviour are associated
  with later life? 
• What motivates older people to undertake
  travel-based mobility and how important is it to
  them?
• What factors impact upon the travel-based
  mobility of older people?
• In what ways can information and communication
  technology support the travel-based mobility of
  older people, and what are the limitations?
• Does accessible travel information assist older
  people in getting out and about?
• Would the provision of tailored handheld
  navigational devices support older people in
  getting out and about further and more often?
• In what ways do older people substitute physical
  with virtual journeys and how do they feel about
  it?
•  

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Research design
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Why conduct interdisciplinary research on this
topic?

• Traditional transportation research employs
  quantitative methodologies which focus upon a
  supply and demand model that map current patterns
  of travel behaviour, which are then used to
  predict and plan the future use of transportation
  systems and services (Metz, 2000 150)
• There is a paucity of qualitative empirical
  research within the field of transportation
  studies (Lazendorf, 2003 6)
• The nature and scale of technological advances
  within the transport field mean that it is now
  essential for research to consider the
  surrounding social, behavioural and motivational
  dimensions (Lyons and Urry, 2006 3)
• Therefore, amalgamating the philosophical,
  methodological, theoretical and epistemological
  ideas from the social science with those from
  transportation studies means that this study
  through interdisciplinary reflections has the
  potential to move the field forward

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How did I juxtapose disciplines?
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The challenges I faced undertaking
interdisciplinary research and how to overcome
them (1)

• Where to start?
• You have to start somewhere so begin by
  completing lots of searches on the internet and
  the most relevant databases if you find
  ideas/articles that interest you keep hold of
  them if you find things uninteresting or
  irrelevant then keep them out of the way at the
  back of your filing cabinet
• Feeling lost/not knowing which direction to
  follow?
• This is part of the process so firstly DO NOT
  PANIC!!! Continue to read, make notes or write
  and eventually your ideas will fall into place

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The challenges I faced undertaking
interdisciplinary research and how to overcome
them (2)

• When to stop reading?
• It is difficult to know when to stop reading
  there are so many articles and books that could
  be useful, however you cannot read everything so
  timetable some writing periods into your week so
  that you make use of the things that you have
  read. This will also help to direct the next
  steps that you make in terms of your reading and
  the overall direction of your research
• What to use/what to leave out?
• You may well read far too much around a topic and
  end up not using it but again this is part of the
  process so dont worry too much!
• Keep a research notebook and make notes about the
  things you read and find interesting, that way
  you can easily go back and pick up ideas once you
  are writing or reflecting

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The challenges I faced undertaking
interdisciplinary research and how to overcome
them (3)

• Which philosophical, methodological, theoretical
  and epistemological direction to take?
• This may take a while to decipher so just keep
  working on the project until you are able to link
  it to other philosophical, methodological,
  theoretical and epistemological ideas
• If you are really unsure then speak to your
  supervisors or other colleagues discussing your
  work can often help you to see the wood for the
  trees
• Its alright to change your mind if you find some
  stronger connections, however do remember that
  all projects are limited both in terms of time
  and finance so always remember this before making
  major changes
• Which disciplines to pursue/which not to?
• A vital part of the process is to check other
  peoples reference lists they will give you
  hints for further avenues to follow
• You will come to realise which are most
  applicable, however this may take a while so let
  it happen naturally
• Just keep working on ideas that are linked and it
  will come together

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Lessons for future interdisciplinary researchers

• Whatever happens DO NOT GET TOO STRESSED OUT - it
  is usually part of the process and often during a
  period of reflection you will discover something
  that can lead a project into a more innovative or
  interesting directions
• Use what others have done to plant a seed in your
  imagination and let it grow from there
• Never think it is too hard, yes it is challenging
  but the rewards at the end are well worth it
• You may have to read more than usual and on
  different topics than you are familiar with but
  that is what being a researcher is all about
  learning is what we thrive on

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The value of interdisciplinary research

• Interdisciplinary research can be complex and
  confusing
• There is a place for interdisciplinary research
  alongside research from more traditional
  disciplines, as ultimately both can provide
  insights that the other cannot
• This paper supports the usefulness of
  interdisciplinary research particularly for
  developing inventive intertwines between
  traditional disciplines and researcher creativity

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Summary

• Interdisciplinary research is
• A broader understanding of multiple topics
• Often confusing and complex
• Useful for developing inventive intertwines
  between traditional disciplines
• Able to speed up the growth of knowledge
• A tool for developing researcher creativity.

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References
Bishop Hubbard, H. (2006) Interdisciplinary
research The role of nursing education, in
Journal of Professional Nursing, Vol 22(5) 266
269. Lanzendorf, M. (2003) 'Mobility biographies.
A new perspective for understanding travel
behaviour'. Paper presented at the 10th
International Conference on Travel Behaviour
Research. Session 1 10-15th August 2003,
Lucerne. Lyons, G. and Urry, J. (2006)
Foresight the place of social science in
examining the future of transport. Paper
presented at Evidence-Based Policies and
Indicator Systems, 11-13 July, London. Metz, D.
(2000) Mobility of older people and their
quality of life, in Transport Policy, volume 7
149-152. Elsevier Science Limited. Nissani, M.
(1997) Ten cheers for interdisciplinarity The
case for interdisciplinary knowledge and
research, in The Social Science Journal, volume
34(2) 201-216. Wright Mills, C. (1959) The
Sociological Imagination. New York Oxford
University Press.