Abstract
Lessons are drawn from the literature on creative design for the interdisciplinary research process. It is argued that the interdisciplinary research process is a creative design process. It follows a similar set of steps and can/should employ many of the same strategies. Both processes are thought to blend conscious and subconscious thinking. Interdisciplinary researchers who aspire to be more creative, and interdisciplinary instructors wishing to encourage creativity among students, are given advice on how to integrate creative practices into various steps in the interdisciplinary research process. Potential psychological, institutional, and skill-based barriers to creativity are addressed. Several strategies are outlined that are conducive to creativity in the early conscious information gathering/evaluation steps of the interdisciplinary research process. The costs and benefits of such strategies are discussed. Quite different strategies for encouraging creative subconscious integration of the information collected are then outlined. These integrative insights must then be consciously evaluated: It is important not to expect perfection but not to ignore potential side-effects. Perhaps most importantly it is argued that persuading others of the value of one’s comprehensive understanding is a critical component of the interdisciplinary research process, and that this step also requires the blending of conscious and subconscious processes.
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Acknowledgements
I thank Michelle Phillips Buchberger, Julie Thompson Klein, Bill Newell, Allen Repko, and James Welch IV for very helpful advice.
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Szostak, R. (2017). Interdisciplinary Research as a Creative Design Process. In: Darbellay, F., Moody, Z., Lubart, T. (eds) Creativity, Design Thinking and Interdisciplinarity. Creativity in the Twenty First Century. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7524-7_2
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