Research Article 2025 Open access Catalogue record

Interdisciplinary Approaches in Doctoral and Higher Research Education: An Integrative Scoping Review

  • Kritika Rana
  • Sarah J. Aitken
  • Ritesh Chimoriya

Education Sciences · Vol. 15 · Issue 1 · pp. 72 · Article 72 · 13 Jan 2025

Read at the publisher

Abstract

Interdisciplinary approaches are increasingly integral in doctoral and higher research education, addressing complex global challenges through collaborations across disciplines. This review investigates the benefits, challenges, and educational impact of interdisciplinary approaches in doctoral research. This scoping review follows the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and uses an integrative narrative synthesis. The review was conducted using four major academic databases (ERIC, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science) with an exploratory search using keywords related to interdisciplinary approaches, doctoral studies, and academic collaborations. The review synthesized evidence from studies published in English, focusing on interdisciplinary research in doctoral education, with no restrictions on study design. Eligibility criteria were based on the SPIDER tool (Sample, Phenomenon of Interest, Design, Evaluation, Research Type). The search was completed on 25 September 2024. The initial search retrieved n = 954 articles, with n = 167 articles being reviewed for the integrative synthesis. The review included studies that examined interdisciplinary collaborations in doctoral research, highlighting the benefits such as skill versatility, career readiness, and research adaptability. The challenges discussed included academic culture differences, communication barriers, and institutional silos. The role of academic institutions and supervisors in supporting interdisciplinary research through fostering collaborative environments was emphasized. The review provides insights into how interdisciplinary approaches can enhance doctoral education, preparing graduates to tackle global challenges. It highlights the need for improved integration of interdisciplinary practices in doctoral research and outlines future directions for fostering interdisciplinary collaborations in higher education.

Keywords

  • interdisciplinary; doctoral studies; PhD; academic collaboration; methodological integration; innovative scholarship

Details

Type
Research Article
Journal
Education Sciences
Publisher
MDPI AG
Published
13 Jan 2025
Volume
15
Issue
1
Pages
72
Article number
72
ISSN
2227-7102 (online)
Language
English
Access
Open access
Licence
CC BY 4.0
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci15010072

References (84)

  1. Aboelela (2007). Defining interdisciplinary research: Conclusions from a critical review of the literature. Health Services Research. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6773.2006.00621.x
  2. Albert (2020). Problematizing assumptions about interdisciplinary research: Implications for health professions education research. Advances in Health Sciences Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-019-09911-7
  3. Austin (2008). From interdisciplinary to transdisciplinary research: A case study. Qualitative Health Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732307308514
  4. Benson (2016). Five ways to support interdisciplinary work before tenure. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-015-0326-9
  5. Bhaskar, R., Frank, C., Hoyer, K. G., Naess, P., and Parker, J. (2010). Interdisciplinarity and climate change. Transforming knowledge and practice for our global future, Routledge.
Show all 84
  1. Bolger (2021). Delivering on the promise: How are sustainability research institutes enabling interdisciplinary research?. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSHE-10-2020-0415
  2. Boon (2018). Epistemology for interdisciplinary research—Shifting philosophical paradigms of science. European Journal for Philosophy of Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13194-018-0242-4
  3. Borrego (2010). Definitions of interdisciplinary research: Toward graduate-level interdisciplinary learning outcomes. The Review of Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1353/rhe.2010.0006
  4. Bridle (2013). Preparing for an interdisciplinary future: A perspective from early-career researchers. Futures. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.futures.2013.09.003
  5. Bromham (2016). Interdisciplinary research has consistently lower funding success. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature18315
  6. Broto (2009). Practising interdisciplinarity in the interplay between disciplines: Experiences of established researchers. Environmental Science & Policy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2009.04.005
  7. Brown (2019). Interdisciplinary research and impact. Global Challenges. https://doi.org/10.1002/gch2.201900020
  8. Bruzzese (2020). Professional development outcomes associated with interdisciplinary research: An integrative review. Nursing Outlook. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2020.03.006
  9. Campbell (2005). Overcoming obstacles to interdisciplinary research. Conservation Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2005.00058.x
  10. Clark (2015). Integration and interdisciplinarity: Concepts, frameworks, and education. Policy Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11077-015-9210-4
  11. Committee on Science, Public Policy, and Committee on Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research (2005). Facilitating interdisciplinary research, National Academies Press.
  12. Cooke (2020). Diverse perspectives on interdisciplinarity from members of the college of the royal society of Canada. Facets. https://doi.org/10.1139/facets-2019-0044
  13. Cronin (2023). The why and how of the integrative review. Organizational Research Methods. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428120935507
  14. Cummings (2005). Collaborative research across disciplinary and organizational boundaries. Social Studies of Science. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306312705055535
  15. Dalieva (2023). Navigating the interplay of terminology, language, and knowledge. Academia Repository
  16. Daniel, K. L., McConnell, M., Schuchardt, A., and Peffer, M. E. (2022). Challenges facing interdisciplinary researchers: Findings from a professional development workshop. PLoS ONE, 17, (4).
  17. Graesser (2018). Advancing the science of collaborative problem solving. Psychological Science in the Public Interest. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100618808244
  18. Graff, H. J. (2015). Undisciplining knowledge: Interdisciplinarity in the twentieth century, JHU Press.
  19. Grove, L. (2017). The effects of funding policies on academic research, University College London.
  20. Haddaway (2022). PRISMA2020: An R package and Shiny app for producing PRISMA 2020-compliant flow diagrams, with interactivity for optimised digital transparency and Open Synthesis. Campbell Systematic Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1230
  21. Hara (2003). An emerging view of scientific collaboration: Scientists’ perspectives on collaboration and factors that impact collaboration. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.10291
  22. Hinds (2011). Putting the global in global work: An intercultural lens on the practice of cross-national collaboration. Academy of Management Annals. https://doi.org/10.5465/19416520.2011.586108
  23. Holland, D. (2013). Integrating knowledge through interdisciplinary research: Problems of theory and practice, Routledge.
  24. Hora, M. T., and Millar, S. B. (2023). A guide to building education partnerships: Navigating diverse cultural contexts to turn challenge into promise, Taylor & Francis.
  25. King, N. B. (2016). Justice, evidence, and interdisciplinary health inequalities research. Understanding Health Inequalities and Justice: New Conversations across the Disciplines, University of North Carolina Press.
  26. Klein (2005). Integrative learning and interdisciplinary studies. Peer Review
  27. Klein (2008). Evaluation of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research: A literature review. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2008.05.010
  28. Diehl (2013). A framework for structuring interdisciplinary research management. Research Policy. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2012.05.006
  29. Krishnan, A. (2009). What are academic disciplines? Some observations on the disciplinarity vs. interdisciplinarity debate, ESRC National Centre for Research Methods.
  30. Lee (2009). Professional doctorate supervision: Exploring student and supervisor experiences. Nurse Education Today. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2009.02.004
  31. Lin (2008). Opportunities and challenges for interdisciplinary research and education. Journal of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Education
  32. Louvel, S. (2016). Going interdisciplinary in French and US universities: Organizational change and university policies. The university under pressure, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
  33. Lyall, C. (2019). Being an interdisciplinary academic: How institutions shape university careers, Springer.
  34. Lyall (2013). The role of funding agencies in creating interdisciplinary knowledge. Science and Public Policy. https://doi.org/10.1093/scipol/scs121
  35. Lyall, C., Bruce, A., Tait, J., and Meagher, L. (2011). Interdisciplinary research journeys: Practical strategies for capturing creativity, Bloomsbury Academic.
  36. Malone (1994). The interdisciplinary study of coordination. ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR). https://doi.org/10.1145/174666.174668
  37. Manathunga (2006). Imagining an interdisciplinary doctoral pedagogy. Teaching in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562510600680954
  38. Mason (2008). Complexity theory and the philosophy of education. Educational Philosophy and Theory. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-5812.2007.00412.x
  39. Menken, S., and Keestra, M. (2016). An introduction to interdisciplinary research: Theory and practice. An Introduction to Interdisciplinary Research, 1–128.
  40. Mezirow, J. (2018). Transformative learning theory. Contemporary theories of learning, Routledge.
  41. Miller, M., and Mansilla, V. B. (2004). Thinking across perspectives and disciplines (Goodwork project report series, 9), Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education.
  42. Miller (2008). Epistemological pluralism: Reorganizing interdisciplinary research. Ecology and Society. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-02671-130246
  43. Moher (2009). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. Annals of Internal Medicine. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-151-4-200908180-00135
  44. Morse (2007). Bridges and barriers to developing and conducting interdisciplinary graduate-student team research. Ecology and Society. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-02082-120208
  45. Newell, W. H., Doty, W. G., and Klein, J. T. (1990). Interdisciplinary curriculum development. Issues in Interdisciplinary Studies, 69–86. Available online: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/William-Newell-2/publication/260676721_Interdisciplinary_Curriculum_Development/links/02e7e531f811b5b887000000/Interdisciplinary-Curriculum-Development.pdf.
  46. Nisselle, A. E., and Duncan, R. E. (2008). Multiple supervisors from multiple disciplines: Lessons from the past as multidisciplinary supervision becomes the way of the future. Traffic (Parkville), 143–166. Available online: https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A192853047/AONE?u=anon~73f786a3&sid=googleScholar&xid=89d0f22a.
  47. Novak (2014). Promoting interdisciplinary research among faculty. The Journal of Faculty Development
  48. Nowotny (2003). Introduction: ‘Mode 2’ revisited: The new production of knowledge. Minerva. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1025505528250
  49. Page (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71
  50. Palmer (1999). Structures and strategies of interdisciplinary science. Journal of the American Society for Information Science. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1097-4571(1999)50:3<242::AID-ASI7>3.0.CO;2-7
  51. Quan-Haase, A., McLaughlin, R., and McCay-Peet, L. (2022). Building social media interdisciplinary research teams across academia, industry, and community: Motivations, challenges, and policy frameworks. The SAGE Handbook of Social Media Research Methods, SAGE Publications.
  52. Rana, K., Page, A., Kent, J. L., and Arora, A. (2022). Pathways linking housing inequalities and health outcomes among migrant and refugee populations in high-income countries: A protocol for a mixed-methods systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19, (24).
  53. Rana, K., Poudel, P., and Chimoriya, R. (2023). Qualitative methodology in translational health research: Current practices and future directions. Healthcare, 11, (19).
  54. Rana (2020). The effect of housing on health and challenges of demographic changes. Global Journal of Science Frontier Research
  55. Reich (2006). Cultural competence in interdisciplinary collaborations: A method for respecting diversity in research partnerships. American Journal of Community Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-006-9064-1
  56. Rosenfield (1992). The potential of transdisciplinary research for sustaining and extending linkages between the health and social sciences. Social Science & Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-9536(92)90038-R
  57. Siedlok (2014). The organization of interdisciplinary research: Modes, drivers and barriers. International Journal of Management Reviews. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12016
  58. Smith (2023). An Interdisciplinary approach to the grand challenges: Tackling the climate crisis using multisolving. Journal of Social Work Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2023.2203197
  59. Sun (2021a). Interdisciplinary researchers attain better long-term funding performance. Communications Physics. https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-021-00769-z
  60. Sun, Y., Livan, G., Ma, A., and Latora, V. (2021b). Interdisciplinary researchers attain better performance in funding. arXiv.
  61. Tash, W. R. (2006). Evaluating research centers and institutes for success!, Bill Tash.
  62. Thomas, J. A., Williams, M., and Zalasiewicz, J. (2020). The anthropocene: A multidisciplinary approach, John Wiley & Sons.
  63. Tobi (2018). Research design: The methodology for interdisciplinary research framework. Quality & Quantity. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-017-0513-8
  64. Trinh (2022). Forging paths to interdisciplinary research for early career academics. Academy of Management Learning & Education. https://doi.org/10.5465/amle.2019.0386
  65. Ullrich (2014). From student to steward: The Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience at Georgetown University as a case study in professional development during doctoral training. Medical Education Online. https://doi.org/10.3402/meo.v19.22623
  66. Ursić, L., Baldacchino, G., Bašić, Ž., Sainz, A. B., Buljan, I., Hampel, M., Kružić, I., Majić, M., Marušić, A., and Thetiot, F. (2022). Factors influencing interdisciplinary research and industry-academia collaborations at six european universities: A qualitative study. Sustainability, 14, (15).
  67. Vajaradul (2021). Key steps and characteristics for successful interdisciplinary research: An analytical review. The Journal of Behavioral Science
  68. MacLeod (2020). Interdisciplinary engineering education: A review of vision, teaching, and support. Journal of Engineering Education. https://doi.org/10.1002/jee.20347
  69. Vanstone (2013). Interdisciplinary doctoral research supervision: A scoping review. Canadian Journal of Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.47678/cjhe.v43i2.2403
  70. Vienni Baptista, B., Fletcher, I., and Lyall, C. (2023). Understanding interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research. Foundations of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research, Bristol University Press.
  71. Pohl (2023). Exploring interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity as knowledge regimes: A heuristic tool for disentangling understandings in academia and policy. Science, Technology, & Human Values
  72. Vienni-Baptista, B., Fletcher, I., and Lyall, C. (2023). Foundations of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research: A reader, Policy Press.
  73. Vygotsky, L., and Cole, M. (2018). Lev Vygotsky: Learning and social constructivism. Learning theories for early years practice, SAGE Publications Inc.
  74. Wagner (2011). Approaches to understanding and measuring interdisciplinary scientific research (IDR): A review of the literature. Journal of Informetrics. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joi.2010.06.004
  75. Wenger, E. (2011). Communities of practice: A brief introduction, National Science Foundation.
  76. White (2020). Designing an interdisciplinary research culture in higher education: A case study. Interchange. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10780-020-09406-0
  77. Whitelock (2008). Promoting creativity in PhD supervision: Tensions and dilemmas. Thinking Skills and Creativity. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2008.04.001
  78. Wisker, G. (2012). The good supervisor: Supervising postgraduate and undergraduate research for doctoral theses and dissertations, Bloomsbury Publishing.
  79. Woelert (2013). The ‘paradox of interdisciplinarity’ in Australian research governance. Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-013-9634-8