Many scientists take a certain pride in the objective nature of their work. The data are the data, no matter who’s conducting the experiment. But growing body of research suggests that’s not necessarily true, and that personalities can influence the science. A new study builds on that notion, suggesting that one’s “transdisciplinary orientation,” a personal quality predisposing one to engage in cross-disciplinary work, can affect the quality of interdisciplinary research -- good or bad. “Scholars reporting higher levels of [transdisciplinary orientation] produced scientific outputs that were judged to be more interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary in nature as rated by independent evaluators -- that is, they were more successful in synthesizing concepts, ideas or methods from multiple disciplines and extending behavioral routines exemplifying a [transdisciplinary orientation],” the paper says.

May 6, 2016 ・ From Inside Higher Ed