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BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE for |
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SUMMARY OF A WORKSHOP |
Beryl Lieff Benderly and Lois Peterson Kent, Rapporteurs
USNC/Psychology Workshop Planning Committee on Building Infrastructure for
International Collaborative Research in the Social and Behavioral Sciences
Board on International Scientific Organizations
Policy and Global Affairs
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
THE NATIONALACADEMIES PRESS 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This workshop was supported by Grant No. 201300148 between the National Academy of Sciences and the Spencer Foundation. Additional support was provided by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0908053. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine
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USNC/PSYCHOLOGY WORKSHOP PLANNING COMMITTEE ON
BUILDING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR INTERNATIONAL
COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH
IN THE SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
OSCAR A. BARBARIN, III (Cochair), Tulane University
JUDITH V. TORNEY-PURTA (Cochair), University of Maryland, College Park
MERRY BULLOCK, American Psychological Association
PAMELA E. FLATTAU, Institute for Defense Analyses
SONIA SUCHDAY, Pace University
CHARLES M. SUPER, University of Connecticut
BARBARA TVERSKY, Columbia University, Teachers College
JEFFREY ZACKS, Washington University in St. Louis
Staff
KATHIE BAILEY, Director
PAMELA GAMBLE, Administrative Associate
KARUMUNA A. KAIJAGE, Program Officer (until October 2013)
LOIS PETERSON KENT, Senior Program Officer (after October 2013)
LYNELLE VIDALE, Senior Program Assistant (until October 2013)
U.S. NATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR PSYCHOLOGY
SONIA SUCHDAY, Chair, Pace University
CHUANSHENG CHEN, University of California, Irvine
PAMELA E. FLATTAU, IDA Science and Technology Policy Institute
ROBERTA KLATZKY, Carnegie Mellon University
ANN MASTEN, University of Minnesota
VALERIE REYNA, Cornell University
CHARLES M. SUPER, University of Connecticut
JUDITH V. TORNEY-PURTA, University of Maryland
DANNY WEDDING, Alliant International University
GAIL WYATT, University of California, Los Angeles
JEFFREY ZACKS, Washington University in St. Louis
Ex-officio members
OSCAR A. BARBARIN, International Union of Psychological Science Executive Committee, Tulane University
JOHN HILDEBRAND, Foreign Secretary of the National Academy of Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson
Society Liaisons
LONNIE R. SHERROD, Society for Research in Child Development
NELSON COWAN, Psychonomic Society (Carnegie Mellon University)
ALAN KRAUT, Association for Psychological Science
MERRY BULLOCK, American Psychological Association
Staff
KATHIE BAILEY, Director
PAMELA GAMBLE, Administrative Associate
KARUMUNA A. KAIJAGE, Program Officer (until October 2013)
LOIS PETERSON KENT, Senior Program Officer (after October 2013)
ESTER SZTEIN, Assistant Director
LYNELLE VIDALE, Senior Program Assistant (until October 2013)
BOARD ON INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATIONS
TILAHUN YILMA (Chair), University of California, Davis
ROBERT CHEN, CIESIN, Columbia University
DANIEL GOROFF, Alfred Sloan Foundation
LISA GRANT LUDWIG, University of California, Irvine
WILLIAM H. HOOKE, American Meteorological Society
C. BRADLEY MOORE, University of California, Berkeley
LUENY MORELL, Lueny Morell and Associates
J. BRUCE OVERMIER, University of Minnesota
JAY S. PEARLMAN, J&F Enterprise (retired)
KAREN STRIER, University of Wisconsin
Ex-officio members
JOHN HILDEBRAND, Foreign Secretary of the National Academy of Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson
DOV JARON, International Council for Science Executive Board (until September 2014), Drexel University
KENNEDY REED, International Council for Science Executive Board (until September 2014), Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Staff
KATHIE BAILEY, Director
ESTER SZTEIN, Assistant Director
PAMELA GAMBLE, Administrative Assistant
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Preface and Acknowledgments
Enhancing the extent and quality of collaborations among scientists from different cultural and national settings is a matter of considerable importance to the National Research Council. This topic relates directly to the expertise found in the U.S. National Committee (USNC) for the International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS). The USNC/IUPsyS is the only committee under the National Academy of Sciences’ Board on International Scientific Organizations that is related to the behavioral and social sciences. About 10 years ago, because of the resources present in its membership, this committee found itself uniquely positioned to contribute to understanding the process of international collaboration and steps that might be taken to enhance it.
The USNC/IUPsyS organized a workshop entitled International Collaborations in the Behavioral and Social Sciences, held in 2006. That workshop’s report, released in 2008, established in compelling terms the value of cross-national research collaboration in an increasingly interdependent world of science, policy, and practice. It highlighted the benefits of international collaboration in improving social and behavioral science research. However, nearly every speaker referred to barriers and challenges in the collaborative research process. These were spelled out in detail in responses to a pre-workshop survey from 26 project leaders who had worked cross-nationally.
In 2012 the USNC/IUPsyS held a meeting to set its future agenda of projects. Members who had attended the 2006 workshop argued that the fostering of international collaboration remained an important but unfinished agenda item. In particular, problems such as the participation of early-career behavioral and social scientists in these collaborations had been raised, but few widely applicable solutions had been suggested. Pressure to limit the time spent earning a doctorate, as well as promotion and tenure policies, still discouraged participation by young scholars in cross-national research at the very time they were laying the foundations for their future careers. Other recurring issues related to training, to negotiating the institutional review board process, and to dissemination of findings. Since 2006,
additional issues had been raised by advances in data sharing and digital data collection. For example, some psychologists have expressed concern about the validity of generalizations drawn from the nonrepresentative samples that have been facetiously described as WEIRD (from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic societies)1.
On a more serious note, recurring surveys from the National Science Foundation showed that a relatively small proportion of social and behavioral scientists reported participating in international collaborative projects (compared with physical and life scientists and with mathematicians and computer scientists). USNC/IUPsyS was again uniquely positioned to make a contribution.
Consultations began with potential funders, with pivotal individuals in major professional organizations, and with scholars who had coordinated successful international collaborative projects. The National Research Council appointed a Planning Committee to organize the 2013 workshop, which we were appointed to chair. The intent was to move beyond identifying and discussing the problems associated with international collaboration (since the first workshop had largely accomplished this aim). Instead, we set out to identify existing approaches, policies, and infrastructure elements that might overcome some of the most serious impediments standing in the way of successful international collaboration. The workshop would engage scholars with experience in cross-national collaborations, individuals from professional associations, university administrators, and potential funders (in the public sector and foundations). We invited participants from outside of the United States to broaden our understanding of potential solutions. Although the participants came from developed countries, many had significant experience involving international collaborators from a wide geographic range, including but not limited to the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and Oceania.
Building Infrastructure for International Collaborative Research in the Social and Behavioral Sciences took place September 22–24, 2013, at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C. Over the course of two and a half days, 50 individuals from universities and federal agencies, professional organizations, and other parties with interests in international collaboration in the behavioral and social sciences and education made presentations and participated in discussions. They came from diverse fields, including cognitive, developmental, educational, and organizational psychologies; comparative education; educational anthropology; sociology; the health sciences; international development studies; higher education administration; international exchange; and human development.
Our goal in this effort has been to identify ways to reduce impediments and to increase access to cross-national research collaborations among a broad range of American scholars in the behavioral and social sciences (and education), especially early-career scholars. This effort began and ended with a great deal of optimism. The
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1 Joseph Henrich, Steven J. Heine, and Ara Norenzayan (2010). The weirdest people in the world? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 33, pp. 61–83. doi:10.1017/S0140525X0999152X.
optimism is justified by the availability of creative solutions to problems of training, preparation, support, and communication that have often seemed nearly insurmountable. In this report, we want to give life to the solutions and strategies offered by the distinguished group of participants who gave generously of their ideas and time. We hope that these ideas will be seriously considered and, if found to be effective, widely implemented.
The USNC, of which we are members, represents U.S. scientists to the IUPsyS, while the parent Board on International Scientific Organizations represents U.S. scientists to the International Council for Science. We believe that international scientific organizations such as these and their international scientific congresses provide an important opportunity for fostering and developing relationships among potential collaborators. In particular, travel grants for graduate students and early-career faculty to attend these congresses give them an unparalleled opportunity to see their research in an international perspective.
This document has been prepared by the workshop rapporteurs as a factual summary of what occurred at the workshop. The language used in this volume is that of the rapporteurs and is based on a transcript of the workshop sessions and on written documentation summarized during the sessions. The planning committee’s role was limited to planning and convening the workshop. The views contained in the report are those of individual workshop participants and do not necessarily represent positions of the workshop participants as a whole, the planning committee, or the National Academies.
This workshop summary is the result of substantial effort and collaboration among several organizations and individuals. We extend a sincere thanks to each member of the planning committee for their contributions in preparing the framework for discussion, developing the participants’ list, and thoughtfully participating in the sessions. The project was made possible by financial support from the National Science Foundation and the Spencer Foundation. We also recognize the assistance of the chair of the U.S. National Committee for Psychological Science (Sonia Suchday), the program officer (Karumuna Kaijage), and the program assistant (Lynelle Vidale) in the organization and holding of the workshop. We appreciate the assistance of Ester Sztein and Lois Peterson Kent, both Board on International Scientific Organizations staff, in the editing and production of the report.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Academies’ Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for quality and objectivity. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.
We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report: Carole Ames, Michigan State University; Robert Chen, Columbia University; Frederick Leong, Michigan State University; and Charles Super, University of Connecticut.
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the report, nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this report was overseen by J. Bruce Overmier, University of Minnesota. Appointed by the National Academies, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the rapporteurs and the institution.
Judith Torney-Purta
University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland
Oscar Barbarin
Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana
Cochairs of the Planning Committee on Building Infrastructure for International Collaborative Research in the Social and Behavioral Sciences
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