Case Studies in Interdisciplinary Research

Self-contained case studies teach students best practices in interdisciplinary research

Interdisciplinary research is a burgeoning field, largely due to its ability to tackle complex problems facing humanity that extend beyond a single disciplinary perspective and require interdisciplinary thinking and research for their resolution.

Case Studies in Interdisciplinary Research successfully applies the model of the interdisciplinary research process outlined by author Allen F. Repko in Interdisciplinary Research, (SAGE ©2008) to a wide spectrum of challenging research questions. Self-contained case studies, written by leaders in interdisciplinary research, and utilizing best-practice techniques in conducting interdisciplinary research shows students how to apply the interdisciplinary research process to a variety of problems.

Allen F. Repko, PhD, is the former director of the interdisciplinary studies program in the School of Urban and Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Arlington, where he developed and taught the program’s core curriculum for many years. The program is one of the largest in the United States. Repko has written extensively on all aspects of interdisciplinary studies, has twice served as coeditor of the interdisciplinary journal Issues in Integrative Studies, and has served on the board of the Association for Interdisciplinary Studies (AIS).

William H. Newell is Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies Miami University (PhD, University of Pennsylvania) where he has been directing the two-semester 10-credit senior project workshop since 1995. He has edited two books, including the foundational Interdisciplinarity Essays from the Literature, and two special issues of journals. He has published over 30 articles and chapters on interdisciplinary studies, with seminal contributions to the theory and practice of interdisciplinarity recognized in his receipt of the Kenneth E. Boulding Award. Newell has served as consultant or external evaluator on interdisciplinary higher education over 100 times. The founding president of the Association for Integrative Studies in 1979, he has served since 1983 first as its Secretary-Treasurer and then as Executive Director.

Rick Szostak, PhD, is professor and chair of economics at the University of Alberta, where he has taught for 34 years. He is the author of a dozen books and 50 articles, all of an interdisciplinary nature. Several of his publications address how to do interdisciplinary research, teach interdisciplinary courses, administer interdisciplinary programs, or organize information in order to facilitate interdisciplinarity. As an associate dean, he created the Office of Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Alberta, the Science, Technology and Society program, an individualized major, and two courses about interdisciplinarity. He has twice served as coeditor of the interdisciplinary journal Issues in Integrative Studies. He was president of the Association for Interdisciplinary Studies (AIS) from 2011 to 2014. He can be contacted at rszostak@ualberta.ca.