Multidisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Research
The faculty advisors are intentionally selected to lay the groundwork for multidisciplinary research, taking it to the level of transdisciplinary research with time. Many of the strategies for promoting research are designed to maximize research across disciplines, breaking the silos that limit the impact of CSU research on the industry and the community at large. Implicit in working across disciplines is the intention to work closely with colleges, other centers, and student services offices across campus.
The CSU T.E.C.H. Hub is aligned with the IOTC's transdisciplinary approach. To learn more, visit: https://iotcollaborative.org/our-approach/
What’s different about the trandisciplinary approach versus other research/collaborative approaches?
Intradisciplinary — Within
Working within the frame of a single, recognized discipline.
Multidisciplinary — Add, multiply
Looking at one problem by adding multiple perspectives and disciplines to the mix.
Crossdisciplinary — Intersect, transfer
Intersecting knowledge from two or more disciplines, viewing one discipline from the perspective of another.
Interdisciplinary — integrate, synthesize
Integrating knowledge and methods from different disciplines using a synthesis of approaches. Interdisciplinary concerns collaborations between contrasting academic disciplines or research methods for new applications, new analyses, or the creation of entirely new disciplines (Nicolescu 1997).
Transdisciplinary – across, over, beyond
Emergence of a new discipline transcending the boundaries of disciplinary perspective. Transdisciplinary also has a wholism associated with it. While interdisciplinary collaborations create new knowledge synthesized from existing disciplines, a transdisciplinary team relates all disciplines into a coherent whole (McGregor, 2004). The field of ‘sustainability’ in essence is a transdisciplinary one.