Team science in interdisciplinary health professions education research: a multi-institutional case study

Area of Science:

• Health Professions Education
• Interdisciplinary Research
• Team Science

Background:

• Health professions education increasingly demands interdisciplinary approaches to complex problem-solving.
• Interdisciplinary research teams are essential for addressing multifaceted challenges in health professions education.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the processes and experiences of an interdisciplinary research team.
• To identify key elements contributing to successful collaboration within such teams.
• To provide a practical framework for interdisciplinary research teams.

Main Methods:

• A qualitative case study methodology was employed.
• Data were collected from a nine-member interdisciplinary research team across six universities.
• Data sources included meeting minutes and researcher reflective journals.

Main Results:

• Themes from meeting minutes and researcher reflections aligned with the Dynamics of Cross-disciplinary Research Development framework constructs.
• Key constructs included Contexts and inputs, social learning processes, social capital outcomes, and knowledge and human capital outcomes.
• Transparent, distributed leadership emerged as a critical factor for successful collaboration.

Conclusions:

• Successful interdisciplinary research collaboration is facilitated by transparent, distributed leadership.
• Social learning processes, social capital, and knowledge/human capital are integral to achieving positive research team outcomes.
• The study offers a blueprint for optimizing interdisciplinary research team functioning in health professions education.