Interactional roles and social actions to foster translation within meetings of interdisciplinary research teams

Abstract

This project uses conversation analysis to identify key social actions that support knowledge sharing in interdisciplinary science teams. By analyzing meetings within a neuroscience collaboration, the researchers identified six interactional roles, chairlike, clarifying, skeptical, connecting, practical, and expert-like, that help integrate diverse disciplinary perspectives. Since these roles can be learned, fostering awareness and practice of them can enhance team collaboration, promote interdisciplinarity, and accelerate scientific innovation.