Interdisciplinary Research
Process and Theory
Fifth Edition
- Allen F. Repko - University of Texas at Arlington (Retired)
- Rick Szostak - University of Alberta, Canada
June 2025 | SAGE Publications, Inc
This book offers a comprehensive, systematic presentation of the interdisciplinary research process and the theory that informs it by drawing on student and professional work from a variety of fields. The book has been iterative in its development over editions, as the authors have learned from the work of instructors and students using it and have adjusted their advice in response. Notable changes in the Fifth Edition respond to feedback from the Forum devoted to this book in Issues in Interdisciplinary Studies in 2022. Examples have been updated so most are more contemporary, new content has been added on mixed methods and team research to respond to the needs of graduate students, and content has been revised throughout to address the current thinking on interdisciplinarity and integration, and strategies for achieving common ground as an interdisciplinary research team.
Preface
About the Authors
Part I: About Interdisciplinary Studies and Disciplines
Chapter 1: Introducing Interdisciplinary Studies
Chapter 2: Introducing the Disciplines and Their Perspectives
Part II: Drawing on Disciplinary Insights
Chapter 3: Beginning the Research Process
Chapter 4: Identifying Relevant Disciplines
Chapter 5: Conducting the Literature Search
Chapter 6: Developing Adequacy in Relevant Disciplines
Chapter 7: Analyzing the Problem and Evaluating Insights
Part III: Integrating Insights
Chapter 8: Understanding Integration
Chapter 9: Identifying Conflicts Among Insights and Their Sources
Chapter 10: Creating Common Ground Among Insights: Concepts
Chapter 11: Creating Common Ground Among Insights: Causal Relationships
Chapter 12: Constructing a More Comprehensive Understanding
Chapter 13: Reflecting on, Evaluating, and Communicating the Understanding
Conclusion: Interdisciplinarity for the New Century
Appendix: Interdisciplinary Resources
Glossary of Key Terms
References
Index