Interdiscipline - Wikiwand

An interdiscipline or inter-discipline is a field that involves two or more academic disciplines but which also meets the formal criteria (such as dedicated research journals, conferences and university departments) to be considered a discipline in its own right. A field may be both a discipline and an interdiscipline at the same time, such as demography as explained below. A field may also be regarded as a discipline in some countries but an interdiscipline in other countries, such as information science.

Conceptions

Giesecke (1981)^[1] says about educational research ("pedagogy") that is an "aporetic science", i.e. an interdiscipline.

Tengström (1993)^[2] emphases that cross-disciplinary research is a process, not a state or structure. He differentiates three levels of ambition regarding cross-disciplinary research:

The pluridisciplinary or multidisciplinarity level
The genuine cross-disciplinary level: interdisciplinarity
The discipline-forming level transdisciplinarity

What is described here is a view of social fields as dynamic and changing. Library and information science is viewed as a field that started as a multidisciplinary approach based on literature, psychology, sociology, management, computer science etc., which is developing towards an academic discipline in its own right.

Examples

"As a field with its own body of interrelated concepts, techniques, journals, and professional associations, demography is clearly a discipline. But by the nature of its subject matter and methods demography is just as clearly an 'interdiscipline', drawing heavily on biology and sociology for the study of fertility; on economics and geography for studies of migration; and on the health sciences for the study of mortality." (Stycos, 1989, vii).^[4]

Forensic Kinesiology^[5]
Genetic toxicology^[6]
Humor and translation^[7]
Information science

In America information science and communication studies are considered two academic disciplines. In France, however, they are considered one interdiscipline. (See also^[8]).

Planetary science
Public health^[9]
Social science in agriculture^[10]
Sociolinguistics^[11]

Literature

^[12]

[1]
Giesecke, Hermann (1981). Indføring i pædagogik. København: Nyt Nordisk Forlag. German original: Einführung in die Pädagogik. München: Juventa 1970 (2. Auflage)
[2]
Tengström, E. (1993). "Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskapen - ett fler- eller tvärvetenskapligt område?". Svensk Biblioteksforskning (1): 9–20.
[3]
Augustyn, P. (2008). "Biosemiotics: Protoscience, interdiscipline, new biology". Semiotica. 172 (1–4): 479–487. doi:10.1515/SEMI.2008.107. S2CID 170875958.
[4]
Stycos, J Mayone, ed. (1989). Demography as an interdiscipline. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Transactions Publishers.
[5]
Pelham, T.W.; Holt, L.E. & Holt, J. (2010). "Forensic Kinesiology Foundations of an Interdiscipline for Accident/Crime Investigation". American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology. 31 (2): 200–203. doi:10.1097/PAF.0b013e3181cfc890. PMID 20110802. S2CID 31269119.
[6]
Frickel, S. (2004). "Building an interdiscipline: Collective action framing and the rise of genetic toxicology". Social Problems. 51 (2): 269–287. doi:10.1525/sp.2004.51.2.269.
[7]
Zabalbeascoa, P. (2005). "Humor and translation – an interdiscipline" (PDF). Humor: International Journal of Humor Research. 18 (2): 185–207. doi:10.1515/humr.2005.18.2.185. hdl:10230/22492. S2CID 53326473. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-09-22. Retrieved 2016-08-13.
[8]
Newell, A. (1983). "Reflections on the structure of an interdiscipline". In Machlup, F. & U. Mansfield (eds.). The study of information: Interdisciplinary messages. NY: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 99–110.
[9]
Von Lengerke, T. (2006). "Public health is an interdiscipline, and about wholes and parts – Indeed, critical health psychology needs to join forces". Journal of Health Psychology. 11 (3): 395–399. doi:10.1177/1359105306063311. PMID 16774893.
[10]
Singh, Yogendra Pal; Pareek, Udai Narain; Arora, D. R. (1974). "Diffusion of an interdiscipline: social sciences in agriculture education". Delhi: New Heights for Indian Society of Extension Education.
[11]
Wolck, W. (1977). "Sociolinguistics: Revolution or interdiscipline?". American Behavioral Scientist. 20 (5): 733–756. doi:10.1177/000276427702000511. S2CID 220682291.
[12]
Dezago, M.B. (1978). "Interdiscipline: Search and discovery—systematization, application and transfer". Impact of Science on Society. 28 (2): 127–137.

Related Articles