Contrasting Approaches to Interdisciplinarity at Doctoral Level Students’ experiences María del...
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![Page 1: Contrasting Approaches to Interdisciplinarity at Doctoral Level Students’ experiences María del Carmen Calatrava Vienna University of Technology Mary Ann.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062715/56649da65503460f94a91501/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Contrasting Approaches toInterdisciplinarity at Doctoral Level
Students’ experiences
María del Carmen Calatrava Vienna University of Technology
Mary Ann Danowitz North Carolina State University
![Page 2: Contrasting Approaches to Interdisciplinarity at Doctoral Level Students’ experiences María del Carmen Calatrava Vienna University of Technology Mary Ann.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062715/56649da65503460f94a91501/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
Outline
• Need for the study• Context & Doctoral Programs• Methods• Results• Sense making and implications
![Page 3: Contrasting Approaches to Interdisciplinarity at Doctoral Level Students’ experiences María del Carmen Calatrava Vienna University of Technology Mary Ann.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062715/56649da65503460f94a91501/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
Need for the study
• Interdisciplinary approaches needed to solve complex real-world problems
• European universities responded creating new forms of doctoral education (i.e., doctoral schools and colleges)
• Little knowledge on interdisciplinary research (IDR) in such new doctoral programs
![Page 4: Contrasting Approaches to Interdisciplinarity at Doctoral Level Students’ experiences María del Carmen Calatrava Vienna University of Technology Mary Ann.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062715/56649da65503460f94a91501/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Context & Doctoral programs
Parallel programs in the same faculty:• Traditional European• Multidisciplinary PhD School• Specialized PhD College
Structured PhD
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Traditional European Multidisciplinary CS program Specialized program
• Loosely regulated- Admissions- Courses
• Majority univ and project assist
• Minority self-funded / scholarship
• Highly regulated‐ Admissions‐ Courses‐ Milestones
• Co-organized by multiple faculties
• Covers 1 area• Major area courses• Project ass. +
scholarship
PS FacultyS
• All 5 research areas in CS faculty
• Major and 2nd area courses
• Scholarship
529 Students 43 Students 8 Students
Research groupS
![Page 6: Contrasting Approaches to Interdisciplinarity at Doctoral Level Students’ experiences María del Carmen Calatrava Vienna University of Technology Mary Ann.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062715/56649da65503460f94a91501/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Methods
Mixed methods design:
1. Quantitative: Bibliometric analysis interdisciplinarity– Examine students’ scientific activity– Identify interdisciplinary students
2. Qualitative: – Factors and processes allowing IDR
![Page 7: Contrasting Approaches to Interdisciplinarity at Doctoral Level Students’ experiences María del Carmen Calatrava Vienna University of Technology Mary Ann.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062715/56649da65503460f94a91501/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Quantitative Method
Publication data extraction:
• # students: 223• # students’ publications: 1746• # students’ references: 16817
![Page 8: Contrasting Approaches to Interdisciplinarity at Doctoral Level Students’ experiences María del Carmen Calatrava Vienna University of Technology Mary Ann.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062715/56649da65503460f94a91501/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Methods
A total of 249 CTs
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Quantitative Method
Top-down approach– Disciplines defined in an existing taxonomy– Interdisciplinarity incorporates the work of 2 or more
disciplines [1].
Ref1 Ref2 Ref3 Ref4 Ref5 Ref8Ref6 Ref7
CT1 CT2 CT3 CT4
[1] National Academies report. Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research. (2005)
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Results - Quantitative Method
Purposive sampling of interview candidates
Trad Prog
Multidisc Prog
Specialized Prog
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0Students
Inte
rdis
cipl
inar
ity
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Qualitative Method
Semi-structured interviews• Questions developed from the literature• 50-80 minutes• 9 Participants
ExperiencesSupervision
Netw
ork
ing
Publications
Doctoral program
Facu
lty
Research groupOpportunities
Difficulties
Interdisciplinarity
Colla
bora
tion
Expectations
Back
gro
und
Meth
ods
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Results – Qualitative Method
Factors and processes allowing IDR:
One would expect influence from:• Courses different disciplines• Participation of different faculties• Interdisciplinary research projects interdisciplinary thinking
• Individual background characteristics• Program structure and processes
![Page 13: Contrasting Approaches to Interdisciplinarity at Doctoral Level Students’ experiences María del Carmen Calatrava Vienna University of Technology Mary Ann.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062715/56649da65503460f94a91501/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
“For me it is not so important that I have a big technological invention, but that I solve [a real-world problem]. For me it is not just a use case that I would easily exchange for some other problem.”
Results – Qualitative Method
Individual background characteristics• Values
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Results – Qualitative Method
Individual background characteristics• Values• Motivation
“I suddenly identified my field for me because it is the intersection of computation, which is my profession and my interest, and [other discipline] which is also my passion and my interest.”
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Results – Qualitative Method
Individual background characteristics• Values• Motivation• Skills and knowledge
“I have always been interested in [other discipline]. I have been working in [other discipline] for my master's thesis and a job that I had previously.”
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Results – Qualitative Method
Program structure & processes• Autonomy
“The doctoral school gives you a lot of independence, because no one is telling you what to do. You choose what you want to do. […] It is possible to do a PhD in these areas and this is where I contribute.”
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Results – Qualitative Method
Program structure & processes• Autonomy• Funding
• Project assistantship: Topic and contribution fixed by project
• University assistantship: Topic aligns with research group
• Scholarship and self-funding: Topic agreed with supervisor
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Results – Qualitative Method
Program structure & processes• Autonomy• Funding• Supervision
“My supervisor is not a hard-core disciplinary person, so that's makes it easier for me. […] He encourages us... he finds it very valuable that we combine two topics, one from IT and one from the real world.”
![Page 19: Contrasting Approaches to Interdisciplinarity at Doctoral Level Students’ experiences María del Carmen Calatrava Vienna University of Technology Mary Ann.](https://reader035.fdocuments.in/reader035/viewer/2022062715/56649da65503460f94a91501/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
Sense making and implications
• Courses/faculty from different disciplines is insufficient to foster IDR.
• Greater attention should be directed to:– Students’ characteristics and antecedent
experiences– Supervision supporting IDR– Funding – Interdisciplinary project work beyond one faculty
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Key References
• European University Association. (2007). Doctoral programmes in Europe’s universities: Achievements and challenges. Brussels, Belgium.
• Nyhagen, G. M., & Baschung, L. (2013). New organizational structures and the transformation of academic work. Higher Education, 66 (4), 409-423.
• Wagner, Caroline S., et al. (2011). Approaches to understanding and measuring interdisciplinary scientific research (IDR): A review of the literature. Journal of Informetrics 5.1 :14-26.
• Borrego, M., & Newswander, L. K. (2010). Definitions of interdisciplinary research: Toward graduate-level interdisciplinary learning outcomes. The Review of Higher Education, 34(1), 61-84.
• Stokols, D. (2012). Training the next generation of transdisciplinarians. Enhancing Interdisciplinary Communication. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
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Thank you
María del Carmen Calatrava Vienna University of [email protected]
Mary Ann Danowitz North Carolina State [email protected]