Novel approach for tracking interdisciplinary research productivity using institutional databases

J Clin Transl Sci. 2022 Aug 30;6(1):e119. doi: 10.1017/cts.2022.455. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

This study proposes a new practical approach for tracking institutional changes in research teamwork and productivity using commonly available institutional electronic databases such as eCV and grant management systems. We tested several definitions of interdisciplinary collaborations based on number of collaborations and their fields of discipline. We demonstrated that the extent of interdisciplinary collaboration varies significantly by academic unit, faculty appointment and seniority. Interdisciplinary grants constitute 24% of all grants but the trend has significantly increased over the last five years. Departments with more interdisciplinary grants receive more research funding. More research is needed to improve efficiency of interdisciplinary collaborations.

Keywords: Interdisciplinary team science; program evaluation; research grants; scientific publications; temporal trends.