Defining "Interdisciplinary"

Klein and Newell (1998) offer the following widely-quoted definition of interdisciplinary studies:

A process of answering a question, solving a problem, or addressing a topic that is too broad or complex to be dealt with adequately by a single discipline or profession… [It] draws on disciplinary perspectives and integrates their insights through construction of a more comprehensive perspective. (p. 393-4)

The National Academies definition is broadly similar:

Interdisciplinary research (IDR) is a mode of research by teams or individuals that integrates information, data, techniques, tools, perspectives, concepts, and/or theories from two or more disciplines or bodies of specialized knowledge to advance fundamental understanding or to solve problems whose solutions are beyond the scope of a single discipline or area of research practice.

Although definitions of interdisciplinarity are diverse and contested, there is an emerging consensus around certain key components:

· Interdisciplinarians focus on particular problem or questions that are too complex to be answered satisfactorily by any one discipline [Some Interdisciplinarians may be guided by a search for a particular policy or technology requiring input from different perspectives. Others may search for insights into what a concept means across different realms.] [This emphasis on problem-solving is echoed on the td-net website here.]

· Interdisciplinarians draw upon the insights of specialized research. Specialized research is performed by communities of scholars who share a set of guiding questions, concepts, theories, and methods.

· Interdisciplinarians evaluate the results of specialized research

· Interdisciplinarians utilize multiple theories and methods. They are conscious that all theories, methods, and disciplines are useful for some purposes but also have weaknesses. [See Classifying Theories, Classifying Methods]

· Interdisciplinarians appreciate that each discipline is characterized by an (evolving) ‘disciplinary perspective’ or way of looking at the world. We should nevertheless be careful of stereotypes, for members of that discipline will deviate from disciplinary perspective to varying degrees. [See Defining Disciplinary Perspective]

· Interdisciplinarians integrate the best elements of disciplinary insights in order to generate a more comprehensive (and often more nuanced) appreciation of the issue at hand. (This may come in the form of a new understanding, new product, or new meaning.) As we shall see below, interdisciplinarians often stress ‘integration’ as the defining element of interdisciplinarity. [See Defining Integration]

There is often a distinction made between Instrumental versus Conceptual Interdisciplinarity

Most definitions of interdisciplinarity focus on what interdisciplinarity is rather than how it is performed. The Klein and Newell definition refers to a process, but provides no details on the nature of that process. This process will be explored in more detail when best practices for interdisciplinary research are examined. [see Interdisciplinary Research]

Augsburg, Tanya (2009) Becoming Interdisciplinary: An Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies. Dubuque: Kendall-Hunt.

Klein, J. & Newell, W. (1998). Advancing Interdisciplinary Studies. In W. Newell (Ed.), Interdisciplinarity: Essays from the literature (pp. 3-22). New York: College Board.

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING,AND INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES (2004) FACILITATING INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH. WASHINGTON, D.C.: THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS. (definition on p.26)

Repko, Allen (2011) Interdisciplinary Research: Process and Theory. 2^nd. Ed. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Both Augsburg and Repko also discuss metaphors such as bridge building, boundary crossing, bilingualism, and the smoothie. William H. Newell’s "State of the Field: Interdisciplinary Theory," Issues in Interdisciplinary Studies 31 (2013), 22-43, discusses the importance of complexity to interdisciplinarity, and deals with two primary metaphorical portrayals of interdisciplinary studies. The article by Frederic Darbellay, "The circulation of knowledge as an interdisciplinary process: Travelling concepts, analogies, and metaphors," Issues in Interdisciplinary Studies 30 (2012) is interesting on the inherent interdisciplinarity of metaphor.

In addition to 'what' and 'how,' a comprehensive definition of interdisciplinarity might address 'why': why is interdisciplinary research and teaching performed. An overview of the literature on the question of purpose is provided on the website of td-net here.