Page 9 - Interdisciplinary Approach to Research

Interdisciplinary Studies at Wayne State University; others such as the Department of

Interdisciplinary Studies at Appalachian State University, and George Mason University in

Fairfax Virginia and New Century College, have been cut back. Stuart (2005) has seen the trend

of the growth of interdisciplinary studies as part of the hegemony of the disciplines in their

attempt to recolonize the experimental knowledge production of otherwise marginalized fields of

inquiry. This is due to threat perceptions seemingly based on the ascendancy of interdisciplinary

studies against traditional academia (Stuart, 2005).

Interdisciplinary involves the combination of two or more academic disciplines into one

research project activity. The term is applied within education and training pedagogies to

describe studies that use methods and insights of several established disciplines or traditional

fields of study to resolve an issue or find facts (study.com/academy/.../interdisciplinary-research-

definition-process-and-theory.html).

In today’s academic world of contemporary research enterprise, the formula of

approaching issues in a more diverse and collaborative format seem to be very obvious. Research

experts in their various approaches to finding facts and reasons why issues are the way they are,

resort to the use of collaboration in the form of interdisciplinary platform of skills and variance

in approaches inviting diversity of thinking and application of resolve that invites experts and

scholars from different research and academic unit orientations. This approach of fact finding

otherwise referred to as interdisciplinary research has become an increasingly common method

of study. Its emergence has been in existence for quite some time but seem to have been

popularized in recent times as the much changing technology driven academic environment has

allowed for more flexible way of looking at issues and societal challenges through the lenses of

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