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Two hearts beating in a research centers’ chest: how scholars in interdisciplinary research settings cope with monodisciplinary deep structures

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  • Woiwode, Hendrik
  • Froese, Anna

Abstract

Interdisciplinary research is a popular mode of knowledge production that becomes intensively promoted by research centers all across the globe. Despite the facilitation of interdisciplinary research, however, scholars working in these centers are ‘disciplined.’ Career promotions, funding decisions and scientific publishing are based on peer-review procedures that tend to favor monodisciplinary research. This paper builds on a qualitative study with scholars in interdisciplinary research centers in Germany and asks how scholars cope with these monodisciplinary demands. After deriving a conceptual framework, the study identifies four coping strategies: disciplinary innovation, strategic compliance, niche-seeking, and field creation. Each of these strategies is characterized by a different degree of openness to knowledge bases of other disciplines and a different degree of proactivity towards monodisciplinary demands from the scientific field. The results illuminate how research agendas become disciplined despite interdisciplinary motivation and organizational support of interdisciplinary research.

Suggested Citation

  • Woiwode, Hendrik & Froese, Anna, 2021. "Two hearts beating in a research centers’ chest: how scholars in interdisciplinary research settings cope with monodisciplinary deep structures," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 46(11), pages 2230-2244.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:espost:218873
    DOI: 10.1080/03075079.2020.1716321
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Davide Donina & Marco Seeber & Stefano Paleari, 2017. "Inconsistencies in the Governance of Interdisciplinarity: the Case of the Italian Higher Education System," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 44(6), pages 865-875.
    2. Hessels, Laurens K. & van Lente, Harro, 2008. "Re-thinking new knowledge production: A literature review and a research agenda," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 740-760, May.
    3. Laurens K. Hessels & Harro van Lente, 2008. "Re-thinking knowledge production: a literature review and a research agenda," Innovation Studies Utrecht (ISU) working paper series 08-03, Utrecht University, Department of Innovation Studies, revised Feb 2008.
    4. Alfredo Yegros-Yegros & Ismael Rafols & Pablo D’Este, 2015. "Does Interdisciplinary Research Lead to Higher Citation Impact? The Different Effect of Proximal and Distal Interdisciplinarity," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(8), pages 1-21, August.
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    1. Woiwode, Hendrik, 2020. "Scholars as government-appointed research evaluators: Do they create congruence between their professional quality standards and political demands?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 15(10), pages 1-1.
    2. Hendrik Woiwode, 2020. "Scholars as government-appointed research evaluators: Do they create congruence between their professional quality standards and political demands?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(10), pages 1-14, October.

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