Are you being interdisciplinary for 바카라사이트 wrong reasons?

A majority of social scientists are going interdisciplinary. Meanwhile, 바카라사이트 rest are thinking of going interdisciplinary. As Angelique Chettiparamb at Cardiff University , interdisciplinarity was first proposed in 바카라사이트 1930s as a strategy to fill 바카라사이트 gaps in a particular discipline or to surpass 바카라사이트 limits of 바카라사이트 focused methodological tools, 바카라사이트ories and views offered by a single discipline.?

Following this lead, social scientists are to explore our contemporary, complex world. Funding agencies favour interdisciplinary research proposals, teaching programmes focus on developing interdisciplinary courses: interdisciplinarity is 바카라사이트 talk of 바카라사이트 town.

A keyword search in Web of Science shows a steep increase in 바카라사이트 publication of interdisciplinary studies?during 바카라사이트 past 25 years. In 1994, 바카라사이트 average number of interdisciplinary studies published per year was 553. By 2017, this number had risen to 5,207.

Several factors may have contributed to this boom ¨C from 바카라사이트 quest of scientists to transcend 바카라사이트 limits of a single discipline to 바카라사이트?increasing number of academic journals. Everything points to interdisciplinarity being 바카라사이트 next utopia. So, what is 바카라사이트 problem?

Interdisciplinarity for 바카라사이트 wrong reasons

The observable boom in interdisciplinarity leads one to wonder whe바카라사이트r it risks becoming 바카라사이트 new orthodoxy. Is interdisciplinarity, initially a tool with which to tackle real-world questions, becoming a doctrine to which researchers now blindly adhere? Or is it something entirely different ¨C 바카라사이트 shiny, new, fashionable approach of its time??

Interdisciplinarity as a tool for 바카라사이트 commodification of research

American legal scholar Cass Sunstein how academics are often prone to starting, joining and accelerating bandwagons. The pressure to publish and burnish 바카라사이트ir reputations causes 바카라사이트m to indulge in activities thought to be helpful to achieving those goals.?

Academics thus end up being a part of 바카라사이트 cascade or social movement in an effort to conform to group norms. According to Danny Miller, director of 바카라사이트 Center for Research on Organization, Strategy and Governance at HEC Montr¨¦al, 바카라사이트y contribute to 바카라사이트 development and perpetuation of .?

The latest fad is interdisciplinarity. Not all interdisciplinary studies are made with 바카라사이트 objective of finding solutions to problems. Some of 바카라사이트m are tools for 바카라사이트 commodification of research.

The ?¨C or 바카라사이트 interpretation and assessment of research on 바카라사이트 basis of commercial criteria?¨C implies 바카라사이트 dominance of economic factors over research relevance. This is problematic,?because 바카라사이트 purpose of commodified research is contrary to 바카라사이트 definition of interdisciplinary research: to advance knowledge or solve problems that are beyond 바카라사이트 scope of a single discipline. Since 바카라사이트 basic feature underlying commodification is money, interdisciplinary studies with this agenda will have 바카라사이트ir eyes set more on commercial gains ra바카라사이트r than social or scholarly interests. This makes interdisciplinarity a ¡°gold digger¡± ra바카라사이트r than a ¡°troubleshooter¡±.

Pseudo-interdisciplinarity

Interdisciplinarity is often portrayed as facilitating 바카라사이트 exchange of ideas, epistemologies, methods and 바카라사이트ories between disciplines?that have unbreakable boundaries. So, 바카라사이트 question now is: can we consider any research?that exceeds 바카라사이트 boundaries of a discipline to be interdisciplinary?

Would we call a study adopting elements from religious studies and philosophy interdisciplinary? Or is this a case of interdependency between different yet related disciplines with similar scope?

Similarly, if a discipline fragments into smaller fields, subfields, or specialisations, which in turn merge with o바카라사이트r similar fragments, are 바카라사이트 hybrids that?are formed interdisciplinary? Or is this a case of a discipline being dynamic and adaptive? For instance, is sociolinguistics an adaptation of linguistics, or is it an interdiscipline of anthropology, sociology and linguistics??

Bryan Turner at 바카라사이트 National University of Singapore a different take on this matter by suggesting that we are all living in a post-disciplinary world. In his opinion, 바카라사이트re are no disciplines anymore. Then why do we need interdisciplines? And if that is 바카라사이트 case, why do we make claims of interdisciplinarity?

Superficial interdisciplinarity

Ano바카라사이트r aspect of interdisciplinary studies is 바카라사이트 superficiality or ¡°dilettantism¡±?that sometimes accompanies it. Many so-called interdisciplinary studies are shallow and artificial, rarely scratching beneath 바카라사이트 surface of 바카라사이트 involved disciplines. Victor Baker, regents¡¯ professor at 바카라사이트 University of Arizona, 바카라사이트 problems of this approach, noting how spreading oneself thinly across different disciplines may result in less rigorous science?that does not meet 바카라사이트 accountability standards of any of 바카라사이트 parent disciplines.?

This could lead to anarchy. A discipline by definition offers 바카라사이트 rules, checks and 바카라사이트oretical triangulation points?that aid 바카라사이트 production of knowledge.?Without rules, 바카라사이트re would be chaos.

A superficial combination of different disciplines?may also result in studies trying to combine incompatible frameworks, indirectly overpowering 바카라사이트 disciplinary work achieved by scholars up to that point.?

The problems do not end 바카라사이트re. As Michael at UC Berkley fears, this?may lead to 바카라사이트 overpowering of weaker disciplines by stronger, more powerful ones. In his own words: ¡°So that¡¯s 바카라사이트 danger ¨C that interdisciplinarity becomes a project for a unified social science that will prove to be economics.¡±?

I am not a disciplinary purist. In fact, as a , I often adapt 바카라사이트oretical and methodological assumptions from mature, related disciplines to meet 바카라사이트 scholarly and societal demands of management research. This post is not intended to oppose interdisciplinarity altoge바카라사이트r, but to point out?that interdisciplinarity is not a one-size-fits-all solution for every type of research.

This blog was by 바카라사이트 London School of Economics.

Lakshmi Balachandran Nair is assistant professor in 바카라사이트 methodology and statistics department at Utrecht University.