Interdisciplinary Research by the Numbers. Van Noorden, R. Nature, 525(7569):306–307, September, 2015.
doi  abstract   bibtex   
An analysis reveals the extent and impact of research that bridges disciplines. [Excerpt] Interdisciplinary work is considered crucial by scientists, policymakers and funders – but how widespread is it really, and what impact does it have? Scholars say that the concept is complex to define and measure, but efforts to map papers by the disciplines of the journals they appear in and by their citation patterns are – tentatively – revealing the growth and influence of interdisciplinary research. [\n][...] [Interdisciplinary research takes time to have an impact] Whether interdisciplinary research gains more citations than disciplinary research is contentious. Over three years, papers with diverse references tend to pick up fewer citations than the norm, but over 13 years they gain more. Some studies suggest that a little interdisciplinarity is better than a lot: papers that combine very disparate fields tend to earn fewer citations. But interdisciplinary work can have broad societal and economic impacts that are not captured by citations. [...]
@article{vannoordenInterdisciplinaryResearchNumbers2015,
  title = {Interdisciplinary Research by the Numbers},
  author = {Van Noorden, Richard},
  year = {2015},
  month = sep,
  volume = {525},
  pages = {306--307},
  issn = {0028-0836},
  doi = {10.1038/525306a},
  abstract = {An analysis reveals the extent and impact of research that bridges disciplines.

[Excerpt] Interdisciplinary work is considered crucial by scientists, policymakers and funders -- but how widespread is it really, and what impact does it have? Scholars say that the concept is complex to define and measure, but efforts to map papers by the disciplines of the journals they appear in and by their citation patterns are -- tentatively -- revealing the growth and influence of interdisciplinary research.

[\textbackslash n][...]

[Interdisciplinary research takes time to have an impact]

Whether interdisciplinary research gains more citations than disciplinary research is contentious. Over three years, papers with diverse references tend to pick up fewer citations than the norm, but over 13 years they gain more. Some studies suggest that a little interdisciplinarity is better than a lot: papers that combine very disparate fields tend to earn fewer citations. But interdisciplinary work can have broad societal and economic impacts that are not captured by citations. [...]},
  journal = {Nature},
  keywords = {*imported-from-citeulike-INRMM,~INRMM-MiD:c-13768935,~to-add-doi-URL,cooperation,cross-disciplinary-perspective,integration-techniques,interdisciplinary-research,research-funding,research-management,research-metrics,transboundary-effects,transdisciplinary-research},
  lccn = {INRMM-MiD:c-13768935},
  number = {7569}
}

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