Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T11:54:57.416Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Multidisciplinary Research: Implications for Agricultural and Applied Economists

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2015

Siân Mooney
Affiliation:
Department Economics, College of Business and Economics, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho
Douglas Young
Affiliation:
School of Economic Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington
Kelly Cobourn
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, College of Business and Economics, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho
Samia Islam
Affiliation:
Department of Economics, College of Business and Economics, Boise State University, Boise, Idaho

Extract

We detail the rewards and barriers to participating in multidisciplinary research (MDR) using a 2011 survey of applied economists at U.S. universities. We compare these findings with an earlier 1993 survey to assess if rewards and barriers have changed over time. Different administrative levels of U.S. universities are sending contradictory signals regarding rewards from MDR. External funding agencies convey positive signals. Although the scope and breadth of questions addressed by applied economists are changing over time, institutional incentives and reward structures are not keeping pace with these changes. Progress toward adapting to new professional demands has been slow.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 2013

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Agricultural and Applied Economics Association. Agricultural and Applied Economics Departments. Internet site: www.aaea.org/outreach/programs.php (Accessed October 11, 2010).Google Scholar
Ahearn, M.Why Economists Should Talk to Scientists and What They Should Ask: Discussion.Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 29(1997):113–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Antie, J.M., and Wagenet, R.J.. “Why Scientists Should Talk to Economists.Agronomy Journal 87(1995):1033–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Apostel, L., Berger, G., Briggs, A., and Michaud, G., eds. Interdisciplinarity: Problems of Teaching and Research in Universities. Paris, France: Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 1972.Google Scholar
Batie, S.S.Wicked Problems and Applied Economics.American Journal of Agricultural Economics 90(2008):1176–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bracken, L., and Oughton, E.. ‘“What Do You Mean?’ The Importance of Language in Developing Interdisciplinary Research.Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers 31(2006):371–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clason, D.L., and Dormody, T.J.. “Analyzing Data Measured by Individual Likert-type Items.Journal of Agricultural Education 35(1994):3135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Colwell, R.The National Science Foundation's Role in the Arctic.” Opportunities in Arctic Research: A Community Workshop. Arlington, VA: National Science Foundation, 1998.Google Scholar
de Winter, J.CF., and Dodou, D.. “Five-point Likert Items: T Test versus Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon.Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation 15(2010):112.Google Scholar
Dillman, D.A., Smyth, J.D., and Christian, L.M.. Internet, Mail and Mixed-mode Surveys: The Tailored Design Method. 3rd ed. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 2009.Google Scholar
Dobbs, T.Toward More Effective Involvement of Agricultural Economists in Multidisciplinary Research and Extension Programs.Western Journal of Agricultural Economics 12(1987):816.Google Scholar
Duffy, P.Agricultural Economics and Interdisciplinary Work.Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 43(2011):283–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eggins, H., and MacDonald, R., eds. The Scholarship of Academic Development. Buckingham, UK, and Philadelphia, PA: SRHE and Open University Press, 2003.Google Scholar
Eidman, V.R.The Continuing Search for Relevance in Agricultural Economics.American Journal of Agricultural Economics 77(1995):1083–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harris, F., Lyon, F., and Clarke, S.. “Doing Interdisciplinarity: Motivation and Collaboration in Research for Sustainable Agriculture in the UK.Area 41(2008):374–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hilmer, CE., and Hilmer, M.J.. “How Do Journal Quality, Co-authorship, and Author Order Affect Agricultural Economists' Salaries?American Journal of Agricultural Economics 87(2005):509–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, G.L.The Quest for Relevance in Agricultural Economics.American Journal of Agricultural Economics 53(1971):728–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kilmer, R.L.The Southern Agricultural Economics Association's Declining Membership.Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 36(2004):265–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klein, J.T.Interdisciplinarity: History, Theory, and Practice. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press, 1990.Google Scholar
Klein, J.T.A Taxonomy of Interdisciplinarity.” Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity. Frodeman, R., Klein, J.T., and Mitcham, C., eds. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2010.Google Scholar
Kragt, M., Robson, B.J., and Macleod, C.J.A.. “Modellers’ Roles in Structuring Integrative Research Projects.Environmental Modelling & Software 39(2013):322–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marks, L.A., Cobourn, K., and Mooney, S.. “Publishing in Agricultural Economics and the Demand for Multidisciplinary Skills on the Economic Job Market.” Organized Symposium, Multidisciplinarity in Agricultural Economics: Practitioner Attitudes, Publishing, and the Job Market. Agricultural and Applied Economics Association Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA, July 24-26, 2011.Google Scholar
Marzano, M., Carss, D.N., and Bell, S.. “Working to Make Interdisciplinarity Work: Investing in Communication and Interpersonal Relationships.Journal of Agricultural Economics 57(2006):185–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mellon Foundation. New directions fellowships (2008). Internet site: www.mellon.org/grant programs/programs/higher-education-and-scholarship/new-direction-fellowships/#Program Description (Accessed May 3, 2011).Google Scholar
National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research. Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research. National Academies Press, Washington, DC, 2004. Internet site: www.nap.edu/catalog/11153.html (Accessed January 12, 2013).Google Scholar
National Academy of Sciences, Committee on a New Biology for the 21st Century. A New Biology for the 21st Century. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2009. www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12764 (Accessed October 4, 2011).Google Scholar
National Academy of Sciences, Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy. Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future. Committee on Prospering in the Global Economy of the 21st Century: an agenda for American science and technology. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2007. Internet site: www.nap.edu/catalog/11463.html (Accessed January 12, 2013).Google Scholar
Pfirman, S.L., Collins, J.P., Lowes, S., and Michaels, A.F.. “Collaborative Efforts: Promoting Interdisciplinary Scholars.” The Chronicle of Higher Education (February 11, 2005). Internet site: http://chronicle.com/article/Collaborative-Efforts-/35536 (Accessed February 1, 2012).Google Scholar
Popper, K.Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of Scientific Knowledge. New York, NY: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1963.Google Scholar
Rawson, D.Models of Interprofessional Work: Likely Theories and Possibilities.” Going Interprofessional. Working Together for Health and Welfare. Leathard, A., ed. London, UK: Routledge, 1994.Google Scholar
Reis, R.M.Interdisciplinary Research and Your Scientific Career.” The Chronicle of Higher Education (September 29, 2000). Internet site: http://chronicle.com/article/Interdisciplinary-Research-/46386/(Accessed February 1, 2012).Google Scholar
Rhoten, D., and Pfirman, S.. “Women in Interdisciplinary Science: Exploring Preferences and Consequences.Research Policy 36(2007):5675.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenbaum, RR., and Rubin, D.B.. “The Central Role of the Propensity Score in Observational Studies for Causal Effects.Biometrika 70(1983):4155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rossini, F.A., Porter, A.L., Kelly, P., and Chubin, D.E.. Frameworks and Factors Affecting Integrating within Technology Assessments. Dept. Soc. Sci. Final Tech. Report NSF Grant ERS76-04474. Atlanta, GA: Georgia Institute of Technology, 1978.Google Scholar
Segarra, E.Current State and Future Directions of SAEA.Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 30(1998):119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, J.A., and Todd, P.E.. “Reconciling Conflicting Evidence on the Performance of Propensity-Score Matching Methods.The American Economic Review 91(2001):112–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Somerville, M., and Rapport, D., eds. Trans-disciplinarity: Recreating Integrated Knowledge. Oxford, UK: EOLSS, 2000.Google Scholar
Strang, V.Integrating the Social and Natural Sciences in Environmental Research: A Discussion PaperEnvironment, Development and Sustainability 11 (2009):118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sutter, M., and Kocher, M.. “Patterns of Co-authorship among Economics Departments in the USA.Applied Economics 36(2004):327–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swanson, E.Working with Other Disciplines.American Journal of Agricultural Economics 61(1979):849–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vastag, B.Assembly Work.Nature 453(2008):422–23.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Young, D.L.Agricultural Economics and Multi-disciplinary Research.” WAEA/CAEFMS Presidential Address. July 1993.Google Scholar
Young, D.L.Agricultural Economics and Multidisciplinary Research.Review of Agricultural Economics 17(1995):119–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zapata, H.The Intellectual Impact of Agricultural Economists.Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 41(2009):293314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zilberman, D.Economics and Interdisciplinary Collaborative Efforts.Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 26(1994):3542.CrossRefGoogle Scholar