Many contemporary social and environmental problems are increasingly ‘wicked.’ Convergence research offers an effective approach to tackle wicked problems by integrating diverse epistemologies, methodologies, and expertise. Yet, there exists little discussion of how to develop and employ a convergence research approach. This article describes our collaborative research efforts to achieve convergence research and team science. For over a decade, we have sought to understand how drug trafficking activities, and the counternarcotics efforts designed to thwart them, catalyze catastrophic changes in landscapes and communities. We first discuss how understanding our wicked problem called for epistemological convergence of diverse data through a team science approach. We then unpack the potential insights and challenges of methodological convergence by drawing upon examples from our land cover and land use change analysis. Third, we argue that the nature of complex, pressing problems requires convergence research to be politically engaged and accountable to the multiple communities affected. This article aims to provide research teams insight into how to pursue epistemological and methodological convergence while attending to the inherent politics of producing knowledge about wicked problems.
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To Share or Not to Share? Knowledge Convergence and Divergence in Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration
For cross-disciplinary teams to be effective, what knowledge should be shared and what knowledge should remain unique to individual team members? We adopted a mixed-method approach using a sample of grant-funded teams composed of principal and co-principal investigators of diverse disciplines. Interviewees and survey respondents especially favored knowledge similarity over uniqueness for team vision and teamwork, but less preference for convergence emerged for research outcomes and research content (theory, operational details of methodology, analysis). Moreover, more team knowledge convergence was associated with higher perceived collaboration satisfaction and trended in the direction of more grants, publications, and conference presentations.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1939163
- PAR ID:
- 10512655
- Publisher / Repository:
- North American Business Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Organizational Psychology
- Volume:
- 23
- Issue:
- 3
- ISSN:
- 2158-3609
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- organizational psychology, team cognition, knowledge convergence, knowledge divergence, cross-disciplinary teams, interdisciplinary teams, team mental models
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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