Observational and Analytic Features for the Study of Transdisciplinary Teams [Abstract]

Aim/Purpose: This paper proposes to bridge transdisciplinary team characteristics with the study of communication in teams. It proposes the question “”what does the systematic study of transdisciplinary teams tell us about communication?” This paper addresses (1) a typology of transdisciplinary teams for observation and analysis; (2) features of communication within transdisciplinary teams; and (3) the role of complexity science in bridging the study of transdisciplinary teams with communication studies. Background: Working within transdisciplinary teams is a challenge as researchers and scholars strive to solve complex problems amidst rapid change and the complexities of coping with competing and shifting priorities. Inquiry into these sorts of complex teams requires a commitment to gathering and analyzing data that are dynamical representing emergent change within teams. Methodology: The paper draws on literature on transdisciplinary teams as well as highlights trends that can inform research and techniques for observing transdisciplinary teams. Contribution: By reviewing the definitions and impact these features have on the task of researching communication processes in transdisciplinary teams, scholars can inform the major challenges that transdisciplinary teams face on a regular basis: integration, praxis, and engagement.