Provan Keith G, Clark Pamela I, Huerta Timothy
School of Public Administration and Policy, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA.
Am J Prev Med. 2008 Aug;35(2 Suppl):S173-81. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2008.05.015.
Progress in tobacco control and other areas of health research is thought to be heavily influenced by the extent to which researchers are able to work with each other not only within, but also across disciplines. This study provides an examination of the extent to which researchers in the area of tobacco harm reduction work together. Specifically, data were collected in 2005 from a national group of 67 top tobacco-control researchers from eight broadly defined disciplines representing 17 areas of expertise. Network analysis was utilized to examine the extent to which these researchers were engaged in research that was interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary, based on the outcome or product attained. Findings revealed that interdisciplinary network ties were much denser than transdisciplinary ties, but researchers in some disciplines were more likely to work across disciplines than others, especially when synergistic outcomes resulted. The study demonstrates for the first time how tobacco-control researchers work together, providing direction for policy officials seeking to encourage greater transdisciplinarity. The study also demonstrates the value of network-analysis methods for understanding research relationships in one important area of health care.
烟草控制及其他健康研究领域的进展被认为在很大程度上受到研究人员不仅在学科内部而且跨学科合作能力的影响。本研究考察了烟草危害降低领域的研究人员之间的合作程度。具体而言，2005年从全国范围内一组来自八个大致定义学科、代表17个专业领域的67名顶尖烟草控制研究人员中收集了数据。基于所获得的结果或产品，利用网络分析来考察这些研究人员参与跨学科或跨领域研究的程度。研究结果显示，跨学科网络联系比跨领域联系更为紧密，但某些学科的研究人员比其他学科的研究人员更有可能跨学科合作，尤其是在产生协同成果时。该研究首次展示了烟草控制研究人员如何开展合作，为寻求鼓励更大程度跨学科性的政策官员提供了方向。该研究还证明了网络分析方法在理解医疗保健一个重要领域的研究关系方面的价值。
