Integration and Team Effectiveness: An Exploration of the Process of Integration in an Interdisciplinary Academic STEMM Team

Abstract

Understanding what defines successful interdisciplinary research and what team practices and processes can increase team effectiveness in interdisciplinary academic scientific research is essential. While leadership, communication, composition, and integration can contribute to team effectiveness, interdisciplinary teams, in particular, may have difficulty with these processes due to disciplinary differences. This case study focused on the process of integration in an interdisciplinary academic translational science team at a research-intensive university to investigate how integration is enacted in a translational science team. A qualitative approach to data collection used the critical incident technique combined with a group reflection section to generate data. The study's major finding was the importance of social processes to facilitate integration. The study extends the research on the process of integration by exploring three dimensions of integration: being together, being intentional, and knowing each other as people as well as scientists. Implications for future research and practice are also shared.