HYBRID SURVEY TOOL VALIDATION FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT

Abstract

Evaluation of performance within interdisciplinary research and collaboration remains a complex ongoing challenge, as assessing cross-cutting scientific and societal problems is inherently multifaceted. Integrated within a single study, the combined quantitative and qualitative assessment frameworks of collaborative/collective research effort, knowledge synthesis, innovation, and impact guided the development of a hybrid survey interdisciplinary research performance measurement system. The creation of this assessment involved a rigorous, multistep approach consisting of four methodological phases. The development of the survey framework is aligned with the principles of interdisciplinary research encompassing collective factor and criterion development, expert peer review, iterative refinement, and empirical evaluation through a pilot study followed by rigorous statistical validation. Defining the measurement of interdisciplinary impact employed quantitative indicators and qualitative metrics, encompassing integration, collaboration, collective innovation, and impact. To achieve reliability, the study suggested Two metrics of interdisciplinary research performance, the Interdisciplinary Research Performance Score (IRPS) and the Composite Interdisciplinary Index (CII) were developed based on weighted, standardized frameworks and found significant positive results. With a sample of 150 researchers as a pilot, the study achieved positive results showing the frameworks controlled measurement integrity were impactful and valid as constructed. By enabling precise measurement and evaluation, gaining interdisciplinary credibility, and binning indicator thresholds, the frameworks achieved interdisciplinary impact.