Synopses & Reviews
It is now widely recognized that research on human health requires more than a focus on human biology and disease entities. Lifestyles, attitudes, stress, education, income--all are now understood to contribute to the spread of disease, the effectiveness of curative therapies, and the prevention of illness, as well as to good health and an enhanced sense of well-being. However, despite such developments and the rise of interdisciplinary research, there is still considerable debate about how best to conduct research and shape policies that insightfully integrate concepts and methods drawn from the full range of the health, social, and behavioral sciences. Moreover, scholars and researchers who wish to engage in such interdisciplinary inquiry have no texts that serve as substantive and practical guides to the most effective avenues.
This volume fills this unfortunate gap by presenting a series of case studies that provide a variety of illustrative models of how best to undertake interdisciplinary research on health. All the authors have successfully carried out innovative, collaborative research programs; they give compelling accounts of the benefits of interdisciplinary research, and the central strategies required for successfully achieving such benefits. This volume will be an invaluable resource for scholars and scientists, as well as for decision-makers in academic settings, foundations, and government agencies seeking to develop and promote interdisciplinary programs that expand the boundaries of research dedicated to improving human health and well-being.
Review
"This new edition significantly advances our understanding of the circumstances that facilitate or impede effective interdisciplinary and interprofessional collaboration among health and social scientists, community professionals, and health practitioners. It is essential reading for anyone seeking a more complete understanding of the emerging science of team science."--Daniels Stokols, Professor of Social Ecology and Public Health, University of California, Irvine
"The debate is over. Interdisciplinary research has finally come of age. An impressive and rigorous updated volume."--Donna E. Shalala, President, University of Miami, and former Secretary of Health and Human Services
"Moves us beyond clichés about 'interdisciplinarity' to understanding how, in fact, research at and across disciplinary boundaries actually happens and why its scientific pay-offs are substantial."--Kenneth Prewitt, Carnegie Professor of Public Affairs, Columbia University, and former Director, United States Census Bureau
"Interdisciplinary research has been exceedingly difficult to accomplish, for many reasons. This significantly updated volume provides valuable lessons from some of the most important cutting-edge health and social science research of our time. It illuminates the way forward in research that will make a difference for humankind."--Anne C. Petersen, Professor of Psychology and Deputy Director, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University
"Individuals concerned about any and all of the five subject areas of the case studies will find this book informative. Others may find the volume inspirational and use it as a guide to their own research. Administrators and decision-makers can certainly read this book with an eye to making changes in their own domains."--Allen D. Spiegel, in JAMA
"Each of this welcome volume's case studies of successful interdisciplinary collaborations related to health is not only intrinsically interesting, but also illuminates how such research can be conducted."--Steven E. Hyman, Provost, Harvard University, and former Director, National Institute of Mental Health
"Interesting, informative, and motivational. The variety of subjects and perspectives...enhance my own latent interest in several areas of supervision and field instruction...Excellent!"--Donald R. Bardill, Professor, School of Social Work, Florida State University, Tallahassee
"This is a first-rate work with a first-rate message."--The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
"Many talk about the virtues of working across disciplines: this volume reveals how it can be accomplished."--Harvey V. Fineberg, President, the Institute of Medicine, the National Academies
"This important work reflects the increased understanding that addressing many of the most important and difficult questions facing both science and the rest of society demands interdisciplinary approaches. The essays also reflect increased understanding that mind and body are not separable domains; neither is independent of the other."--Alan I. Leshner, Chief Executive Officer, American Association for the Advancement of Sciencr
"These chapters reveal the excitement, the "hybrid-vigor", and the value of interdisciplinary research for tackling some of the greatest problems that we as human beings face. These problems simply cannot be addressed successfully without the type of research that is described in the pages of this provocative and fascinating book."--Bruce S. McEwen, Alfred E. Mirsky Professor and Head, Harold and Margaret Milliken Hatch Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology, The Rockefeller University
"This new edition significantly advances our understanding of the circumstances that facilitate or impede effective interdisciplinary and interprofessional collaboration among health and social scientists, community professionals, and health practitioners. It is essential reading for anyone seeking a more complete understanding of the emerging science of team science."--Daniels Stokols, Professor of Social Ecology and Public Health, University of California, Irvine
"The debate is over. Interdisciplinary research has finally come of age. An impressive and rigorous updated volume."--Donna E. Shalala, President, University of Miami, and former Secretary of Health and Human Services
"Moves us beyond clichés about 'interdisciplinarity' to understanding how, in fact, research at and across disciplinary boundaries actually happens and why its scientific pay-offs are substantial."--Kenneth Prewitt, Carnegie Professor of Public Affairs, Columbia University, and former Director, United States Census Bureau
"Interdisciplinary research has been exceedingly difficult to accomplish, for many reasons. This significantly updated volume provides valuable lessons from some of the most important cutting-edge health and social science research of our time. It illuminates the way forward in research that will make a difference for humankind."--Anne C. Petersen, Professor of Psychology and Deputy Director, Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University
"This book illustrates important cutting edge interdisciplinary research. It illustrates how teams have created new methods for combining social and biological measures, new ways to combine data from brain imaging and genetic analysis with social and behavioral analysis. New insights from these interdisciplinary studies have provided the knowledge base for recent state policy advances." --Robert O. Valdez, Executive Director, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center for Health Policy, University of New Mexico
Review
"Fills a gap in the academic and practice literature. Its interdisciplinary nature is highly attractive. Prevents professional Myopia. Helps remind us that great practitioners can be terrible teachers. Every issue contains at least one useful idea. In today's publishing world that is a major accomplishment. --Harris Chaiklin, Professor, University of Maryland at Baltimore
Interesting, informative, and motivationsal. The variety of subjects and perspectives . . . enhance my own latent interest in several areas of supervision and field instruction. . . . Excellent! -Donald R. Bardill, PhD, Professor, School of Social Work, Florida State University, Tallahassee
"Each of this welcome volume's case studies of successful interdisciplinary collaborations related to health is not only intrinsically interesting, but also illuminates how such research can be conducted."-- Steven E. Hyman, Provost, Harvard University, and former Director, National Institute of Mental Health
"Each of this welcome volume's case studies of successful interdisciplinary collaborations related to health is not only intrinsically interesting, but also illuminates how such research can be conducted."--Steven E. Hyman, Provost, Harvard University, and former Director, National Institute of Mental Health
In sum, this is a first-rate work with a first-rate message." --The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
"Many talk about the virtues of working across disciplines: this volume reveals how it can be accomplished."-Harvey V. Fineberg, President, the Institute of Medicine, the National Academies
"Each of this welcome volume's case studies of successful interdisciplinary collaborations related to health is not only intrinsically interesting, but also illuminates how such research can be conducted."--Steven E. Hyman, Provost, Harvard University, and former Director, National Institute of Mental Health
In sum, this is a first-rate work with a first-rate message." --The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
Interesting, informative, and motivationsal. The variety of subjects and perspectives . . . enhance my own latent interest in several areas of supervision and field instruction. . . . Excellent! -Donald R. Bardill, PhD, Professor, School of Social Work, Florida State University, Tallahassee
Fills a gap in the academic and practice literature. Its interdisciplinary nature is highly attractive. Prevents professional Myopia. Helps remind us that great practitioners can be terrible teachers. Every issue contains at least one useful idea. In today's publishing world that is a major accomplishment. --Harris Chaiklin, Professor, University of Maryland at Baltimore
"Each of this welcome volume's case studies of successful interdisciplinary collaborations related to health is not only intrinsically interesting, but also illuminates how such research can be conducted."-- Steven E. Hyman, Provost, Harvard University, and former Director, National Institute of Mental Health
"Many talk about the virtues of working across disciplines: this volume reveals how it can be accomplished."-Harvey V. Fineberg, President, the Institute of Medicine, the National Academies
"The book is likely to be of value not only to scientists but also to decision makers in universities, institutions, and funding agencies. The authors not only summarize interesting and important bodies of work, but also highlight bumps and directions along the winding road they took to achieve such success in their respective interdisciplinary fields."--Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
"For helpful work on interdisciplinary teaching and research specifically in the social sciences, I recommended [this book]."--Robert Axelrod, in his Presidential Address to the American Political Science Association
Synopsis
Interdisciplinary research now receives a great deal of attention because of the rich, creative contributions it often generates. But a host of factors--institutional, interpersonal and intellectual--also make a daunting challenge of conducting research outside one's usual domain. This newly updated and revised edition of Interdisciplinary Research is a substantive and practical guide to the most effective avenues for collaborative and integrative research in the social, behavioral, and bio-medical sciences. It provides answers to questions such as what is the best way to conduct interdisciplinary research on topics related to human health, behavior, and development? Which are the most successful interdisciplinary research programs in these areas? How do you identify appropriate collaborators? How do you find dedicated funding streams? How do you overcome peer-review and publishing challenges? This is the only book that provides answers directly from researchers who have carried out successful interdisciplinary programs. The editors give a concise of account of the lessons that can be taken from the book, and then present a series of case studies that reveal the most successful interdisciplinary research programs. These programs provide a variety of models of how best to undertake interdisciplinary research. Each of the chapter authors has carried out innovative, collaborative programs, and all give compelling accounts of the benefits of interdisciplinary research and the central strategies required to achieve them.