TY - JOUR
T1 - Perceived discontinuities and continuities in transdisciplinary scientific working groups
AU - Crowston, Kevin
AU - Specht, Alison
AU - Hoover, Carol
AU - Chudoba, Katherine M.
AU - Watson-Manheim, Mary Beth
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank the members of the DataONE project for their support for and cooperation with the study, in particular the Principal Investigator, William Michener. Special thanks to Amber Budden and Rebecca Koskela for facilitating the survey distribution. DataONE is supported by US National Science Foundation Awards 08-30944 and 14-30508 .
Funding Information:
Project success can be considered in different ways: acceptability of outcomes to project sponsors as well as satisfaction and continued participation of project participants. The DataONE project was considered a success by its sponsor, the US National Science Foundation, as evidenced by the decision to renew the project funding (award 14-30508).
Funding Information:
Alison Specht was supported by the Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis , a facility of the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network ( www.tern.org.au ), which is funded through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy . Carol Hoover was supported by the US Department of Energy , Contract No. DE-AC52-06NA25396 Kevin Crowston was supported by the National Science Foundation . Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2015/11/15
Y1 - 2015/11/15
N2 - We examine the DataONE (Data Observation Network for Earth) project, a transdisciplinary organization tasked with creating a cyberinfrastructure platform to ensure preservation of and access to environmental science and biological science data. Its objective was a difficult one to achieve, requiring innovative solutions. The DataONE project used a working group structure to organize its members. We use organizational discontinuity theory as our lens to understand the factors associated with success in such projects. Based on quantitative and qualitative data collected from DataONE members, we offer recommendations for the use of working groups in transdisciplinary synthesis. Recommendations include welcome diverse opinions and world views, establish shared communication practices, schedule periodic synchronous face-to-face meetings, and ensure the active participation of bridge builders or knowledge brokers such as librarians who know how to ask questions about disciplines not their own.
AB - We examine the DataONE (Data Observation Network for Earth) project, a transdisciplinary organization tasked with creating a cyberinfrastructure platform to ensure preservation of and access to environmental science and biological science data. Its objective was a difficult one to achieve, requiring innovative solutions. The DataONE project used a working group structure to organize its members. We use organizational discontinuity theory as our lens to understand the factors associated with success in such projects. Based on quantitative and qualitative data collected from DataONE members, we offer recommendations for the use of working groups in transdisciplinary synthesis. Recommendations include welcome diverse opinions and world views, establish shared communication practices, schedule periodic synchronous face-to-face meetings, and ensure the active participation of bridge builders or knowledge brokers such as librarians who know how to ask questions about disciplines not their own.
KW - Boundaries
KW - Continuities
KW - Discontinuities
KW - Organization theory
KW - Transdisciplinary synthesis
KW - Working groups
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U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.04.121
DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.04.121
M3 - Article
C2 - 25957788
AN - SCOPUS:84940440291
SN - 0048-9697
VL - 534
SP - 159
EP - 172
JO - Science of the Total Environment
JF - Science of the Total Environment
ER -