Creating Useful Knowledge in the Social Sciences through Interdisciplinary Research

Interdisciplinary research (IDR) attempts to advance systematic and rigorous “scholarly endeavors that integrate at least two different perspectives into a blended product” (Achenbaum, 1995). Ideally, it produces better results than conventional approaches. Effectively navigating this process resulted in two-thirds of all major social science advances during the social Copyright University of Houston, 2006 24 movements between 1930’s and 1965 (Deutsch, as cited in Achenbaum, 1995). It deviates from the reductionist spectrum of natural and social sciences by introducing a systems-oriented approach. Social Work has led the way in promoting a holistic view of human behavior, but we have not spent enough time talking about interdisciplinary research. This article attempts to articulate some of the process issues which support harmonizing disciplines.