TIRAR Coursework

Required coursework includes "Building Interdisciplinary Research Models" (offered each Fall semester), as well as a "Supervised Field Experience" and several other research courses and activities.

Building Interdisciplinary Research Models

Course Directors: Elaine Larson, PhD, RN (212-305-0723), Melissa Begg, ScD (212-305-6555), Guest Lecturers

Course Number: Nursing N9260 or MSPHBIST 89260 or GSAS G9260, "Building Interdisciplinary Research Models"

Description: Interdisciplinary research is an approach to advancing scientific knowledge requiring mastery of specific competencies. This seminar will introduce the students to competencies in interdisciplinary research through a combination of readings and lectures in each necessary aspect, chosen from fields essential to successful interdisciplinary research. This course will assist learners to understand why and how different professional disciplines, each representing a body of scientific knowledge, must work together to generate and disseminate knowledge. Learners will develop a set of skills specific to be an effective member and leader of an interdisciplinary research team, including working with different value and knowledge sets across disciplines, running effective meetings, managing conflict, giving and receiving feedback, and group decision making techniques. Using the small group seminar approach and case studies, learners will practice individual and group communication, reflective and self-assessment techniques, and engage in experiential learning activities regarding effective teamwork in interdisciplinary research teams. Techniques to increase group creativity and frame new insights will be discussed.

Credits: 3

Objectives: At the completion of this seminar the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate a working knowledge and beginning mastery of research competencies shown to be important for successful interdisciplinary collaborations. These include:
  - Engage in discussion with scholars from other disciplines to gain their perspectives on research problems of relevance to your own discipline
  - Translate research from you disciplinary area into language meaningful to an interdisciplinary team
  - Articulate theories of disciplines other than your own through reading journals outside of your own discipline and discussion of issues with members of related disciplines
  - Collaborate respectfully, equitably and regularly with colleagues from other disciplines to develop sustainable interdisciplinary research teams
- Apply theories and methods of multiple disciplines in developing integrated theoretical and research frameworks
- Give and receive constructive feedback that will foster efficient and effective information exchange, strong working relationships and internal commitment among team members
- Modify his or her own work and/or research agenda as a result of interactions with colleagues from fields other than his or her own

Methodology
- The course will include didactic content describing the interdisciplinary research process, competencies essential to the conduct of interdisciplinary research, and findings from studies regarding barriers and facilitators of interdisciplinary research. A ‘B&B (Breaking the Barriers) Series’ of presentations and interviews by interdisciplinary researchers will be interspersed with the didactic content. Each researcher will provide an overview of an interdisciplinary project, discuss how their team was selected and why, and describe barriers and facilitators to the success of their work. These presentations will be illustrative of the challenges encountered in specific aspects of interdisciplinary scholarship, and will include one or more research critiques and structured interviews presented by students as assigned.

Evaluation
- Class participation. Students must be prepared for discussion with cogent and facilitative questions and rely on evidence from the literature to support their arguments rather than first-person testimonials and anecdotes (20%).
- Interdisciplinary Research Team Experience. At the beginning of the course, identify an interdisciplinary team with which you can interact throughout the semester. It may be one with which you are already involved, or you may seek a new one.
  - With their explicit agreement (i.e., inform them that you are fulfilling a course assignment), attend their meetings and become involved as appropriate.
  - Read: Stokols D, Misra S, Moser RP, Hall KL, Taylor BK. The ecology of team science. Am J Prev Med 2008;35 (2S): S96-S116
  - Assess the functioning of the team using the six factors discussed on pp S106-S111: intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational/institutional, physical/environmental, technologic, and sociopolitical. Use Table 2 and Figure 1 as guides. To gather your data, you may wish to interview team 'leaders' or members of the team.
  - Write a scholarly critique of the team functioning.
    - Include a short introduction which describes the team: purpose of the team, number of members, disciplines involved, duration of the team's existence.
    - Assess the team's strengths and weaknesses based on the six elements above.
    - Identify specific attributes of the team that have enhanced its success and/or hindered its progress. Make recommendations for improving the interdisciplinary nature of the team (30%).
    - Written paper should be a maximum of 8-10 pages. In addition, you will present your findings in class.
- Final Paper: Interdisciplinary Approaches to a Research Problem. See instructions (30%)
- Homework assignments, including serving as discussion leader for one of the required readings for the course (20%)

Course Schedule

Sessions	Topics	Assignments
1	Why interdisciplinary research?	Complete Self-Assessment Read Chapters 1 and 2, NAS text Brown T. Design thinking. Harvard Bus Rev June 2008;84-92. Rhoten D. Interdisciplinary research: Trend or transition. Items and Issues 2004;5(2-1):6-11. Rhoten D, Parker A. Risks and reward of an interdisciplinary research path. Science 2004;306:2046.
2	B&B (Breaking the Barriers) Session 1: Debate, pros and cons of interdisciplinary research (Lowy, Kessin)	Stokols D, Hall KL, Taylor BK, Moser RP. The science of team science. Am J Prev Med 2008;35(2S):S77-S89. Butler D. Crossing the valley of death. Nature 2008;453:840-842. Lepford H. The full cycle. Nature 2008;453:843-845.
3	Definitions of interdisciplinary research	Aboelela SW, Larson E, Bakken S, Carrasquillo O, Formicola A, Glied SA, Haas J, Gebbie KM. Defining interdisciplinary research: Conclusions from a criticial review of the literature. Health Serv Res 2007;42:329-346. Who'd want to work in a team? Nature 2003;424(6944):1. Mitchell PH. What's in a name? Multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary. J Prof Nursing 2005;21(6):332-334. Complete Survey: Defining Interdisciplinary Research
4	B&B Session 2: Various models of interdisciplinary research (Bakken) Interdisciplinary research competencies	Gebbie KM, Meier BM, Bakken S, Carrasquillo O, Formicola A, Aboelela SW, Glied S, Larson E. Training for interdisciplinary health research: Defining the required competencies. J Allied Health 2008;37:65-70. Rogers EM. Lessons for guidelines from the diffusion of innovations. Jt Comm Jl Qual Improv 1995;21:324-328. Stokols D. Toward a science of transdisciplinary action research. Am J Commun Psychol 2006;38:63-77.
5	B&B Session 3: How to select competencies needed for a specific project (Gebbie)	Larson EL, Saiman L, Haas J, Neumann A, Lowy FD, Fatato B, Bakken S. Perspectives on antimicrobial resistance: Establishing an interdisciplinary research approach. Am J Infect Contr 2005;33:410-418.
6	Institutional barriers and facilitators of interdisciplinary scholarship	Read Chapter 5, NAS text Garvin DA. Building a learning organization. Harvard Bus Rev 1993;71(4):78-91.
7	B&B Session 4: Institutional barriers to interdisciplinary research and how to minimize them (Glied)	Glied S, Bakken S, Formicola A, Gebbie K, Larson EL. Institutional challenges of interdisciplinary research centers. J Res Admin 2007;38:28-36.
8	B&B Session 5: Individual barriers and facilitators of interdisciplinary research	Stokols D, Misra S, Moser RP, Hall KL, Taylor BK. The ecology of team science. Am J Prev Med 2008;35(2S):S96-S115.
9	Developments in the science of team science	Fiore SM. Interdisciplinarity as teamwork: How the science of teams can inform team science. Small Group Res 2008;39:251-277. Wuchty S, Jones BF, Uzzi B. The increasing dominance of teams in production of knowledge. Science 2007;316:1036-1039. Hall KL, Feng AX, Moser RP, Stokols D, Taylor BK. Moving the science of team science forward: Collaboration and creativity. Am J Prev Med 2008;35(2S):S243-S249.
10	Predictors of success B&B Session 6: Exemplar of a successful interdisciplinary research project	Larson EL. Minimizing disincentives for collaborative research. Nurs Outlook 2003;51:267-271. Gray B. Enhancing transdisciplinary research through collaborative leadership. Am J Prev Med 2008;35(2S):S124-S132.
11	Assessing effectiveness of interdisciplinary research teams B&B Session 7: Evaluation techniques (Weng, Merrill)	Read Chapter 8, NAS text Stokols D, Harvey R, Gress J, Fuqua J, Phillips K. In vivo studies of transdisciplinary scientific collaboration. Lessons learned and implications for active living research. Am J Prev Med 2005;28(2S2):202-213. Aboelela SW, Merrill JA, Carley KM, Larson EL. Social network analysis to evaluate an interdisciplinary research center. J Res Admin 2007;38:61-75.
12	Research teams of the future (Byrne re: Sun study)	Read Chapters 9 and 10, NAS text Kessel F, Rosenfield PL. Toward transdisciplinary research: Historical and contemporary perspectives. Am J Prev Med 2008;35(2S)S225-234. Complete final self-assessment
13	STUDENT PRESENTATIONS

Final Paper: Interdisciplinary Approaches to A Research Problem

The purpose of this paper is to identify an important health or health care problem that warrants research, assess gaps in what is currently known, and articulate how a research study might be designed to address the problem, first from individual disciplinary points of view and then with an interdisciplinary approach.

Sections of Paper	Approximate Length	Grading
1. Describe an important health or health care problem, including, for example, its prevalence, severity, costs, impact on society, etc. This should be a problem of interest to you.	Generally 1-2 paragraphs, but a maximum of 1-2 pages	10 points
2. Identify gaps in our current understanding of this problem, i.e., what is not known that would help to address or add important information needed to resolve the problem.	Generally 1-2 paragraphs, but a maximum of 1 page	10 points
3. From your specific discipline, develop at least one research aim or question to address this problem. Describe the theoretical underpinnings associated with this aim (i.e., what is your disciplinary perspective).	A few paragraphs	10 points
4. Now, identify two other disciplines and develop at least one additional research aim or question to address this problem from each of these disciplinary perspectives. Again, describe the theoretical underpinnings associated with this aim (i.e., what are the respective disciplinary perspectives).	A few paragraphs	15 points
5. Develop a research aim or question which might emanate from an interdisciplinary perspective.	A few paragraphs	15 points
6. As principal investigator of this study, describe the research team that you assemble, your rationale for these selections, and what role each member would play.	A few paragraphs, maximum of 1-2 pages	20 points
7. Finally, describe potential challenges that might emerge during your project and steps you would take to maximize the potential for a successful interdisciplinary project.	1-2 pages	20 points

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Supervised Field Experience in Interdisciplinary Research on Antimicrobial Resistance

Description: An essential component of this pre- and postdoctoral fellowship in Interdisciplinary Research on Antimicrobial Resistance is a field experience in which each fellow is exposed to aspects of research regarding resistance with which they have not been previously familiar, or using research methods with which they have not developed skill. Therefore, the experience will be scheduled during the first year of the fellowship to assist fellows to further identify the interdisciplinary aspects of their research. The selection of the center or mentors will be based on the fellows’ proposed research interests and might include: working with a new population or in a setting in which the fellow has no previous experience (e.g. a laboratory scientist working in the community, health department or a healthcare setting; a social scientist working in a laboratory; a clinician using mathematical modeling or social networking analyses to examine transmission dynamics or working with an economist or health policy mentor to assess the potential systems effects or policy implications of his/her research.

Objectives: At the completion of this experience, the fellow will draft a publishable manuscript related to the field experience, having completed the following:
- Expand his/her research aims to include an interdisciplinary perspective.
- Identify collaborators/mentors for his/her research project.
- Participate in the ongoing interdisciplinary research of the assigned mentor(s).
- Complete a specific interdisciplinary project.

Requirements:
- Active participation in field experience
- Create publishable manuscript
Examples of Field Experience Preceptors/Sites

Peter Bearman	Director, Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy at CU
Robert MacArthur	Director, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center Research Pharmacy
Nathaniel Hupert	Physician & Mathematical Modeler, Weill Cornell Medical Center (Affiliated with CUMC)
Melissa Marx	Epidemiologist, NYC Dept of Health & Mental Hygiene
Barry Kreiswirth	Director, Public Health Research Institute Tuberculosis Center; Adjunct Prof, CUMC
Mary Ann Chiasson	Vice President for Research and Evaluation, Medical and Health Research Association of New York City, Inc.; Prof of Epidemiology, CUMC
Alwyn Cohall	Director, Harlem Health Promotion Center; Associate Prof, CUMC
Lester Wright	Medical Director, State Corrections

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Other Required Courses and Research Activities

All trainees will:

Complete the "Responsible Conduct of Research & Related Policy Issues" course.
Instructor: Richard Kessin; Co-Instructor: Jamie Rubin
Course # G4010; 1 Credit; Spring Semester
Complete the CUMC on-line Good Clinical Practices & HIPAA courses.
Regularly attend one Seminar Series outside of their discipline. Click here for a list of CUMC departmental research seminar series.
Attend Fogarty/CIDER Seminar Series and CIDER Fellows meetings. View the Calendar for schedule of meetings.
Attend at least one IRB meeting. View the meeting schedule and roster on the IRB homepage and obtain permission from the appropriate IRB chair prior to attending. Join the IRB listserv.
Lead one CIRAR seminar to update the group on his/her progress and turn in a written summary to the TIRAR Directors.
Attend at least one national meeting of relevance to his/her research (trainees have $800 available for travel).
Produce at least one publishable manuscript from CIRAR projects or coursework.
Track each of these requirements in his/her trainee portfolio.
Sign the TIRAR Trainee Agreement Form.