Deck 6: The Dna of Interdisciplinary Studies

Question 1

"Over the last century there have been many lessons learned in the health field. A key lesson is that health is a complex phenomenon and the underlying causal pathways for disease and illness are more than just biological. . . . Health is a phenomenon deeply rooted within a social system, and health outcomes result from a dynamic interplay between actors across the lifetime, originating from the cellular level, to the sociopoliti?cal level. . . . As such, efforts to improve health must consider the multifactorial nature of the problem and integrate appropriate knowledge across disciplines and levels of analysis. . . . Health research has implicated a myriad of factors involved in HIV preven?tion. . . Unfortunately, incidence rates continue to rise because the knowledge is not being applied in the unified manner necessary to address the complexity of the problem" (Terpstra et al., pp. 508-509). The authors are discussing

A) The inadequacy of the disciplines to address complex problems in the health field.
B) The disciplines, especially those in the natural sciences, are uniquely able to address the problem of HIV comprehensively.
C) Since health is a phenomenon deeply rooted within a social system, scientists should limit their focus to the social science disciplines.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Interdisciplinarity assumes that

A) Disciplinary inadequacy is the problem behind most complexity.
B) The complex reality beyond the university makes its approach necessary
C) Disciplinary jargon should be part of a holistic response.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

That which is created between conflicting disciplinary insights assumptions, concepts, or theories and makes integration possible is called

A) Contextualization.
B) Common ground.
C) Complexity.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

If you wanted to study the subject of fresh water scarcity as a complex whole, you should

A) Consult only the natural science disciplines of Earth science, biology, and chemistry.
B) Consult only the interdiscipline of environmental studies.
C) Consult the relevant disciplines in the social sciences as well as those in the natural sciences.

Question 5

This interdisciplinary theory states that interdisciplinary study is necessitated when the phenomenon is multifaceted and functions as a "system:"

A) Perspective taking theory.
B) Integration theory.
C) Complexity theory.

Question 6

Seeing a homeless person pushing a cart filled with plastic bags of what most of us would consider junk is, tragically, a familiar sight in most cities. Disciplinary approaches to the problem of homeless?ness typically view it through narrow disciplinary lenses. Disciplinary experts set forth theoretical explanations of homelessness that tend to reflect their discipline's narrow perspective on reality. For example, political science typically views homelessness as a public policy issue, and psychology views it primarily as a mental health issue. But interdisciplinarity would view homelessness

A) As a public policy issue.
B) As a mental health issue.
C) As a complex problem caused by multiple factors.

Question 7

The "DNA" of interdisciplinary studies refers to

A) Its origins.
B) Its many forms.
C) Its assumptions, concepts and theories.

Question 8

As developed by cognitive psychologists, perspective-taking theory makes four important claims that are critical to your ability to become interdisciplinary and function successfully in the contem?porary world. Identify three of these.
1. ______________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________
3. ______________________________________________________________

Question 9

Interdisciplinarity, particularly in its instrumental form,

A) is not a rejection of the disciplines; it is firmly rooted in them, but offers a corrective to their dominance
B) is a rejection of the disciplines.
C) is outside of the disciplines.

Question 10

The core of the integrationist position is that integration

A) Is generally achievable.
B) Is achievable only for problems that are not complex.
C) Is an ideal that is seldom achievable.

Question 11

"No one can predict the issues that science and society will consider most pressing in the decades to come. But if we look at some high priority issues of today-world hunger, biomedical ethics, sustainable resources, homeland security, and child development and learning - and pressing research questions, such as the evolution of virulence in patho?gens and the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystems functions, we can predict that those of the future will be so complex as to require the insights from multiple disci?plines" (National Academies (2005, p. 26). The point that the National Academies is making is that:

A) No one can predict the future.
B) The complex reality beyond the university makes an interdisciplinary approach necessary.
C) Only scientific problems requires an interdisciplinary approach.

Question 12

Of the five assumptions of interdisciplinary studies, identify four:
1. _______________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________
4. _______________________________________________________________

Question 13

These interdisciplinarians regard integration as the key distinguishing characteristic of interdisciplinarity and the goal of fully interdisciplinary
Work:

A) Generalist interdisciplinarians.
B) Integrationist interdisciplinarians.
C) Reductionist interdisciplinarians.

Question 14

These interdisciplinarians reject the notion that integration should be the defining feature of genuine interdisciplinarity:

A) Generalist interdisciplinarians.
B) Integrationist interdisciplinarians.
C) Cognitive interdisciplinarians.

Question 15

Complexity has become the cornerstone of interdisciplinarity because it

A) Approaches knowledge as open-ended and ill-defined, acknowledging its dependence on context, and focusing on relationships between [system] elements
B) Rejects notions of absolute truth and embraces the ambiguity that arises out of conflict and difference.
C) Rejects both critical and instrumental forms of interdisciplinarity.

Question 16

Interdisciplinarity views homelessness as

A) An economic problem.
B) A complex problem.
C) A political problem.

Question 17

Over time, says Welch, "the interdisciplinary idea has evolved from a mere critique of the disci?plines to the more sophisticated and pragmatic mission of negotiating within and beyond the episte?mological frameworks they project". The beginnings of instrumental interdisciplinarity emerged from the idea that truth is not established by authorities but is worked out through the exchange of ideas. This idea led to another idea:

A) That truth is relative.
B) That utter reliance on reason and empirical evidence is the way to know truth.
C) That progress can result from the interplay of ideas.

Question 18

Which of the following statements accurately expresses this book's position on interdisciplinarity, particularly in its instrumental form?

A) It is not a rejection of the disciplines but is firmly rooted in them and offers a corrective to their dominance.
B) It is a rejection of the disciplines and offers a replacement of them.
C) We no longer need the specialization, depth of analysis, and the expertise that disciplines provide.

Question 19

The cognitive process of critically evaluating disciplinary insights and creating common ground among them to construct a more comprehensive understanding is called

A) Interdisciplinary metacognition.
B) Interdisciplinary borrowing.
C) Interdisciplinary integration.