Understanding Interdisciplinary Ecosystems: Social Construction of Scholarly Communication

Disciplinary characteristics, work practices, and conventions of academic conduct play an important role in researchers’ adoption and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) such as digital repositories and e-publishing systems. Technology deployment cannot be fully understood without comprehending how a specific technology is embedded in its social context. The presentation provides an overview of two case studies in progress at Cornell University seeking to explore interdisciplinary collaboration patterns among researchers. Based on social networking and ethnographic methodologies, the case studies involve two distinct disciplinary ecosystems: the scholars of humanities, and medical scientists and biomedical engineers. Studying scholars’ collaboration styles reveals useful design principles to factor in the development of e-scholarship services. Also included in the presentation is a brief overview of how social constructivist theories can be applied to inform ICT design, assessment, and promotion processes in support of scholarly conduct.

Presentation (PDF)