Börner, K., Contractor, N., Falk-Krzesinski
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COMMENTARY “ ” TEAM SCIENCE have as a major goal “… to develop teams of investigators from various fields of research A Multi-Level Systems Perspective for the who can take scientific discoveries in the laboratory and turn them into treatments Science of Team Science and strategies for patients in the clinic” (5). The National Science Foundation invites Katy Börner,1* Noshir Contractor,2 Holly J. Falk-Krzesinski,3 Stephen M. projects on Cyber-Enabled Discovery and Fiore,4 Kara L. Hall,5 Joann Keyton,6 Bonnie Spring,7 Daniel Stokols,8 William Innovation that place an “emphasis on bold Trochim,9 Brian Uzzi10 multidisciplinary activities that, through computational thinking, promise radical, Published 15 September 2010; Volume 2 Issue 49 49cm24 paradigm-changing research findings.” The This Commentary describes recent research progress and professional developments in MacArthur, Robert Wood Johnson, and the study of scientific teamwork, an area of inquiry termed the “science of team science” W.T. Grant Foundations all support inter- (SciTS, pronounced “sahyts”). It proposes a systems perspective that incorporates a disciplinary research networks. The Na- mixed-methods approach to SciTS that is commensurate with the conceptual, method- tional Academies’ KECK Futures Initiative ological, and translational complexities addressed within the SciTS field. The theoreti- promotes interdisciplinary research related cally grounded and practically useful framework is intended to integrate existing and to science, engineering, and medicine. At future lines of SciTS research to facilitate the field’s evolution as it addresses key chal- the same time, according to a White House lenges spanning macro, meso, and micro levels of analysis. memorandum, funding agencies, academic leadership, and industry must manage their portfolios in an objective, evidence-based RESEARCH PROGRESS IN THE wide (2). Speculation as to why this shift manner to address science and technology SCIENCE OF TEAM SCIENCE occurred centers on the nature of the prob- priorities of our nation and increase the At its most general, the production of lems increasingly studied: complex prob- productivity of our research institutions knowledge can involve either an incre- lems that cut across disciplinary areas and (6). The confluence of these developments mental change in understanding or a more require multiple divergent perspectives. is the critical need to understand, support, on January 17, 2011 radical, discrete change. Recently, a change Cross-disciplinary teams, whether utiliz- and measure the investment, return, and of the second sort occurred that altered ing approaches that are multidisciplinary effect of team science projects. our perception of the workings of science (in which experts from different scientific itself. A study of more than 21 million pa- fields collaborate yet reside in their topic PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT pers published worldwide from 1945 to the areas), interdisciplinary (results and ex- IN THE SCIENCE OF TEAM SCIENCE present reveals a fundamental and nearly pertise from two or more scientific fields The “science of team science” (SciTS, pro- universal shift in all branches of science: are combined), or transdisciplinary (disci- nounced “sahyts”) is an emerging area of Teams increasingly dominate solo scien- plinary boundaries are crossed to create a research centered on examination of the stm.sciencemag.org tists in the production of high-impact, holistic approach) (3) are expected to hold processes by which scientific teams orga- highly cited science; teams are growing in the key to success. More specifically, “team nize, communicate, and conduct research size; and teams are increasingly located science” is expected to combine specialized (7–9). The field is concerned with under- across university boundaries rather than expertise, theoretical approaches, and re- standing and managing circumstances that within them (1). Similar patterns were search methods across disciplinary bound- facilitate or hinder a range of collaborative found for all the patents published world- aries, solving these complex problems and research efforts—from determining the producing high-impact science. effectiveness of large-scale collaborative Downloaded from 1Cyberinfrastructure for Network Science Center, School In order to realize the unprecedented op- research, training, and translational initia- of Library and Information Science (SLIS), Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47401, USA. 2Department portunities posed by team science, we need tives to understanding how teams connect of Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences, to develop new means to recruit, retain, and collaborate to achieve scientific break- Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, USA. and empower scientists from many differ- throughs that would not be attainable by 3 Northwestern University Clinical and Translational ent fields to work together, support the ten- either individual or simply additive efforts. Sciences (NUCATS) Institute, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL 60611, USA. 4Department of Philosophy, ure and careers of younger scholars work- As evidence of the increasing importance University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32826, USA. ing across disciplines, and sustain funding of studying team science, a number of con- 5Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, for highly interdisciplinary research (4). In ferences on this topic have been convened. National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20850, USA. 6Department of Communication, North Carolina State fact, funding agencies, academic research Most recently, in April 2010 the CTSA- University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA. 7Department of institutions, and private sector organiza- supported Northwestern University Clini- Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, tions across the nation recognize the need cal and Translational Sciences Institute’s IL 60611, USA. 8Department of Planning, Policy and Design and Department of Psychology and Social to support team science. The National Insti- Research Team Support hosted the First Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, tutes of Health (NIH) funds several inter- Annual International Science of Team Sci- USA. 9Department of Policy Analysis and Management, and transdisciplinary research centers on ence Conference in Chicago (10). Build- Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. 10Kellogg cancer, health disparities, and other topics. ing on the 2006 National Cancer Institute School of Management and Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO), Northwestern University, In addition, the NIH’s National Center for Conference on the Science of Team Science Evanston, IL 60208, USA. Research Resources funds the Clinical and (11), the 2010 conference brought together *Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] Translational Science Awards (CTSAs) that leaders from a broad range of disciplines: www.ScienceTranslationalMedicine.org 15 September 2010 Vol 2 Issue 49 49cm24 1 COMMENTARY “ ” communications, social science, transla- dispositions, and education; and how such when (temporal), where (geospatial), what tional research, complex systems, technol- factors predispose them to particular types (topical), with whom (network), how (pro- ogy, business and management, research of collaboration. Micro-level studies can be cess), and why (modeling) questions. Table development, biomedical and life sciences, quantitative and, if considering network 1 presents key insights from studies apply- and physical sciences. The increasing inter- analyses, involve many attributes for nodes ing these differing levels of analysis. est in professional gatherings centered on and linkages. Other methods include indi- Each level of team science involves a set SciTS combined with recent progress in vidual-level analysis of researchers partici- of challenges. Macro-level challenges ad- SciTS research and practice suggest that pating within teams in which members are dress organizational change and the exist- this community is coalescing into its own queried about their experiences as team ing culture that either stifles or encourages area of inquiry. members (13, 14). collaboration and interdisciplinarity. Chal- Each of these levels addresses different lenges at the meso-level involve explicat- MULTI-LEVEL, MIXED-METHODS issues that can be roughly classified into ing the group dynamics emerging in team APPROACH FOR SCITS science as well as how to better understand The burgeoning field of SciTS can serve as a and train teamwork in science teams. At transformative melting pot of existing the- the micro-level (the individual level), but ories and scientific techniques. We propose tightly intertwined with the macro- and a multi-level, mixed-methods approach meso-level issues, are issues pertaining to that can serve as a framework capable of how individual scientists acquire training organizing the diverse forms of inquiry and in the scientific aspects of their work, in the interlink research on individual scientists, process of innovation and discovery, and teams, and populations of teams (Fig. 1). in communication and conflict resolution. Researchers working at different levels Table 2 lists key challenges that need to be study different facets of the team science addressed within these three levels. ecology, contribute different theories and techniques, and generate diverse findings. MOVING FORWARD WITH SCITS Each level might analyze different data; use We conclude with a description