Why, with whom, and how to conduct interdisciplinary research? A review from a researcher’s perspective

Many complex problems and emerging phenomena require joint research efforts across academic disciplines. Interdisciplinary research (IDR) is therefore widely considered a promising approach to knowledge production. At the same time, however, this form of research poses significant challenges for those involved. In this paper, we review the literature on IDR from the perspective of individual researchers engaging in or considering this type of research. We conducted a broad literature review covering the past 35 years of research on IDR. The review is structured along four typical questions that researchers have regarding IDR: “Why bother?” (Reasons for considering IDR); “Is it for me?” (The profile of IDR researchers); “How do I work with ‘them’?” (Obstacles of interdisciplinary collaboration); “What am I getting myself into?” (Challenges for IDR researchers). We analyzed the literature so that we could distill answers to those questions. We conclude our paper by emphasizing the inherent ambiguities of interdisciplinary research and proposing a set of self-reflective questions to help navigate the complexities of this research approach.