crossing boundaries in the real world panel: intriguing interdisciplinary initiatives

Crossing boundaries in the Real World

Panel: Intriguing Interdisciplinary Initiatives

Claire McInerney

Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

ALISE_2005 C. McInerney Rutgers University

What counts as real?

Virtual teams Virtual workplaces Living in cyberspace A Google world Living on the screen

Much of our work, education, and play has moved out of the realm of “place” to a new landscape of activity and outcomes.


This presentation makes the case that

Our university work is very much in the real world… We could do well to treat it as such, We might talk with colleagues and students as

such, With an understanding that in the world off

campus knowledge is integrated across areas of expertise.


An overview

What counts as real? Interdisciplinary ways of working

Advantages Disadvantages

Case study: Interdisciplinary research project – Factors that influence choice of major Rationale Methodology Outcomes & implications

So what? Implications and future directions



Working across disciplines is much more real than the departmental silo approach that is traditional in higher education.

The comfort of epistemic communities may not be real.

The separation between professional and liberal education may not be real.

These two statements have implications for our undergraduate programs in library science, information science, information studies, and information management.



In the past to a large extent we worked in the comfortable confines of our own discipline (library and information science) – the epistemic community we understood and in which we were comfortable.

Today, many LIS departments are hiring faculty from other fields, and we are seeing the connections between ourselves and other university disciplines.


The time may be right to invest time and energy in examining our undergraduate programs

Undergraduate education in the US The coherence and integrity of No. American

undergraduate education has been criticized for over 20 years.

The blame is often placed on the growth of professional studies at the expense of an integrated view of the world fostered by the humanities.

The Syracuse experiment in the 1980’s attempted to address this criticism.

(Marsh, P. T. (1988). Contesting the boundaries of liberal and professional education. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.)


Most of our LIS undergrad programs are career focused.

This presents us with opportunities for interdisciplinary work – in the “informing” disciplines and with arts and humanities departments.

As information experts we have depth of knowledge and expertise to offer other university units.

As off-campus organizations have turned to multidisciplinary approaches to work, we too can gain from crossing departmental boundaries in our research and teaching.

ALA accredited LIS programs with undergraduate majors & required hours for the degree.

Hours Schools Offering Library Science Major Schools Offering Information Science Major

24 North Texas

25 Southern Mississippi

27 North Carolina/Chapel Hill

30 Southern Connecticut Pittsburgh

36 Florida State, Syracuse

39 Rutgers

43 Albany

45 Long Island

54 Drexel

120 Emporia State, Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Info Resources)

124 Oklahoma

137 Clarion

180(qt) Washington

Source: Barron, D. and Harris, C. L. (2003). Curriculum in ALISE Library and Information Science Statistical Report 2003. Retrieved January 3, 2005 from

http://ils.unc.edu/ALISE/2003/Curric/Curriculum01.htm


Interdisciplinary ways of working - Advantages

LIS department/school becomes more integral to the university’s mission (e.g. service courses)

Raise the profile of library and information science on campus (can be helpful for budget allocations, tenure decisions, other resource allocation decisions)

Increased opportunities to learn & grow (research methods, funding, fellowships, ideas about other ways to work, etc.)

Improve communication between units (help with student committees, course exchange, etc.)

Help establish identity.


Interdisciplinary ways of working - Disadvantages

Requires extra effort Requires more meetings May require moving physically to other locations for

meetings Requires adjustments in how meetings are conducted Requires an understanding and appreciation for other ways

of working.


Case Study: Interdisciplinary research re: undergrad students’ career choices

Sponsored by the National Science Foundation Conducted collaboratively by five units at Rutgers

University Library and Information Science Graduate School of Education School of Engineering School of Planning and Public Policy Douglass College (Rutgers’ women's college)

Goal: to learn how gender, choice of major, and work experience influence information technology career choices of undergraduates.

Methodology

Population: 2,000 Rutgers undergrad students Traditional IT degree students – Computer Science &

Computer Engineering

New IT major – Information Technology and Informatics (LIS degree)

General undergraduate students 1st year students who have not declared a major 3rd year students in arts and sciences

Student computing consultants


Methodology

Research methods Group interviews with students in Computer

Science (CS), Computer Engineering (CE) and Information Technology & Informatics (ITI)

Self-administered written surveys (CS, CE, ITI, arts & sciences students)

Alumni phone survey (3rd year of project) Group interviews with information technology

professionals


Preliminary results are helping us define our identity

in the world of information technology programs. Information Technology & Informatics students

Are often influenced to major in ITI as a result of experiences in high school,

Believe their degree is more flexible than others in seeking job opportunities,

Like the focus of the “human side of technology,” Appreciate the management skills (team work, project

management, etc) that they develop, Understand that they may not have the full array of

programming skills as their counterparts in CS, CE,


Preliminary results are helping us define our identity in the world of information technology programs.

Information Technology & Informatics students Feel confident in their project management skills and

expect to be managers and leaders in the IT profession,

Worry about the impact of outsourcing on job prospects (so do other technology-related majors),

Hope that they can compete with the combination of technology skills and understanding of human information behavior,


So what?

What are the implications of working across units? Adjustments have been made – in meeting

venues, communication methods, etc. We have had to develop trust. We have had real time accountability in the

project.


So what?

The faculty team collectively has learned new research and management skills: Using technology to organize and manage group

interviews (online signup, etc.) Using commercial calling firms for phone

interviews Working with students from different units Using content analysis software -- Nvivo (with

help from faculty in different units) Managing a large project across multiple

campuses.


So what? – Why should we care about this research?

From time to time it’s useful to learn about our students’ motivations, interests, and expectations from their life’s work. We may think we know what they’re thinking from reading applications or by talking to them informally, and maybe we do….however, rigorous research always has more power and authority than anecdotal records.


The results of the research should help the LIS faculty and administration:

Conduct effective career counseling and interventions with students

Sharpen the focus of the IT curriculum Speak with employers knowledgably Talk with colleagues in other units in the

university about how degrees compare/contrast Develop recruitment materials Understand the identity of the degree within the

context of the department, the university and the workplace.


Collateral benefits

Invitation to teach an interdisciplinary Ph.D. course.

Invitation to serve on another interdisciplinary research project.

Opportunity to sharpen skills in designing group interviews.

The “fun” of working with interesting people (students and faculty)!


What are other implications?

The natural answer – do a similar study with LIS students looking at influences on their choosing a degree program.


Conclusion

Garrett Hardin, author and professor emeritus (UC Santa Barbara) who is best known for his works “Tragedy of the Commons” and “Living on a Lifeboat” has given much thought to the wisdom of interdisciplinary efforts. He spoke about these efforts in a 1998 article in Science magazine.

(Hardin, G. (1998, May). Extensions of “The tragedy of the commons.”

Science, 289 (5364), 682-683.)


Conclusion

“It is easy to call for interdisciplinary syntheses, but will anyone respond? Scientists know how to train the young in narrowly focused work; but how do you teach people to stitch together established specialties that perhaps should not have been separated in the first place” (Harden, 1998)?

One way to expand our view of information and technology may be to start by getting to know our information colleagues through joint research efforts.


References

Barron, D. and Harris, C. L. (2003). Curriculum in ALISE Library and Information Science Statistical Report 2003. Retrieved January 3, 2005 fromhttp://ils.unc.edu/ALISE/2003/Curric/Curriculum01.htm

Hardin, G. (1998, May). Extensions of “The tragedy of the commons.” Science, 289 (5364), 682-683.

March, P. T. (Ed.). (1988). Contesting the boundaries of liberal and professional education. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.

McInerney, C., Daley, A., & Vandergrift, K. E. (2002, February). Broadening our reach: LIS education for undergraduates. American Libraries, 33 (2), 40-43.


Contact Information

Claire McInerney, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor

Library and Information Science Department

Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

[email protected]

crossing boundaries in the real world panel: intriguing interdisciplinary initiatives

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