PG Seminar: Working in inter-disciplinary teams

Part of the 'Being a Specialist in a Complex World' PG seminar series

Location: G21 Devonshire Building
Time/Date: 10th January 2013, 11:00 - 13:00

  How do researchers work within interdisciplinary teams?  Including the perspectives of stakeholders or researchers from other fields can often lead to unexpected outcomes, where a project’s conclusions are vastly different from the initial project’s assumptions.  In such a situation, researchers have to “let go” of being in control of the research’s direction.  What are the benefits and costs to “giving up” or “keeping” project control?  The discussant will also explore how it feels as a researcher to “let go” from being in control of the research’s direction as a result of including other perspectives early on in the research project. 

The paper uses ten diverse case studies to explore the motivations for interdisciplinary work among researchers, funders and stakeholders.

Discussant:  Sharon Kuzensof, Lecturer in Food Marketing, Agriculture, Food, and Rural Development

Discussion paper:
Frances Harris, Fergus Lyon and Sarah Clarke (2008).  Doing interdisciplinarity: motivation and collaboration in research for sustainable agriculture in the UK.  Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 41(4), 374-384.

Attendance is free, and open to all postgraduate students. In order to help us get the numbers right for catering, please could you register to attend by completing this simple form: http://forms.ncl.ac.uk/view.php?id=3849

For the full programme of seminars in the 'Being a Specialist in a Complex World' series, please see: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/sustainability/assets/documents/PhDengagementseminarsbrochure.pdf

Published: 26th October 2012