Refining Established Practices for Research Question Definition to Foster Interdisciplinary Research Skills in a Digital Age: Consensus Study With Nominal Group Technique
BackgroundThe increased use of digital data in health research demands interdisciplinary collaborations to address its methodological complexities and challenges. This often entails merging the linear deductive approach of health research with the explorative iterative approa...
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JMIR Publications
2025-01-01
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| Series: | JMIR Medical Education |
| Online Access: | https://mededu.jmir.org/2025/1/e56369 |
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| author | Jana Sedlakova Mina Stanikić Felix Gille Jürgen Bernard Andrea B Horn Markus Wolf Christina Haag Joel Floris Gabriela Morgenshtern Gerold Schneider Aleksandra Zumbrunn Wojczyńska Corine Mouton Dorey Dominik Alois Ettlin Daniel Gero Thomas Friemel Ziyuan Lu Kimon Papadopoulos Sonja Schläpfer Ning Wang Viktor von Wyl |
| author_facet | Jana Sedlakova Mina Stanikić Felix Gille Jürgen Bernard Andrea B Horn Markus Wolf Christina Haag Joel Floris Gabriela Morgenshtern Gerold Schneider Aleksandra Zumbrunn Wojczyńska Corine Mouton Dorey Dominik Alois Ettlin Daniel Gero Thomas Friemel Ziyuan Lu Kimon Papadopoulos Sonja Schläpfer Ning Wang Viktor von Wyl |
| author_sort | Jana Sedlakova |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundThe increased use of digital data in health research demands interdisciplinary collaborations to address its methodological complexities and challenges. This often entails merging the linear deductive approach of health research with the explorative iterative approach of data science. However, there is a lack of structured teaching courses and guidance on how to effectively and constructively bridge different disciplines and research approaches.
ObjectiveThis study aimed to provide a set of tools and recommendations designed to facilitate interdisciplinary education and collaboration. Target groups are lecturers who can use these tools to design interdisciplinary courses, supervisors who guide PhD and master’s students in their interdisciplinary projects, and principal investigators who design and organize workshops to initiate and guide interdisciplinary projects.
MethodsOur study was conducted in 3 steps: (1) developing a common terminology, (2) identifying established workflows for research question formulation, and (3) examining adaptations of existing study workflows combining methods from health research and data science. We also formulated recommendations for a pragmatic implementation of our findings. We conducted a literature search and organized 3 interdisciplinary expert workshops with researchers at the University of Zurich. For the workshops and the subsequent manuscript writing process, we adopted a consensus study methodology.
ResultsWe developed a set of tools to facilitate interdisciplinary education and collaboration. These tools focused on 2 key dimensions— content and curriculum and methods and teaching style—and can be applied in various educational and research settings. We developed a glossary to establish a shared understanding of common terminologies and concepts. We delineated the established study workflow for research question formulation, emphasizing the “what” and the “how,” while summarizing the necessary tools to facilitate the process. We propose 3 clusters of contextual and methodological adaptations to this workflow to better integrate data science practices: (1) acknowledging real-life constraints and limitations in research scope; (2) allowing more iterative, data-driven approaches to research question formulation; and (3) strengthening research quality through reproducibility principles and adherence to the findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) data principles.
ConclusionsResearch question formulation remains a relevant and useful research step in projects using digital data. We recommend initiating new interdisciplinary collaborations by establishing terminologies as well as using the concepts of research tasks to foster a shared understanding. Our tools and recommendations can support academic educators in training health professionals and researchers for interdisciplinary digital health projects. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e6280d88737046db978834c05f78a1f7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2369-3762 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Medical Education |
| spelling | doaj-art-e6280d88737046db978834c05f78a1f72025-01-23T18:45:33ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Medical Education2369-37622025-01-0111e5636910.2196/56369Refining Established Practices for Research Question Definition to Foster Interdisciplinary Research Skills in a Digital Age: Consensus Study With Nominal Group TechniqueJana Sedlakovahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6887-5941Mina Stanikićhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6477-7164Felix Gillehttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2847-4633Jürgen Bernardhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8741-9709Andrea B Hornhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2729-7062Markus Wolfhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5660-6824Christina Haaghttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9662-5245Joel Florishttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8480-6495Gabriela Morgenshternhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4762-8797Gerold Schneiderhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1905-6237Aleksandra Zumbrunn Wojczyńskahttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3804-4781Corine Mouton Doreyhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-5513-1655Dominik Alois Ettlinhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7353-073XDaniel Gerohttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2941-9801Thomas Friemelhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8088-0113Ziyuan Luhttps://orcid.org/0009-0009-6606-369XKimon Papadopouloshttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7623-4298Sonja Schläpferhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0330-403XNing Wanghttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3342-4913Viktor von Wylhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-8754-9797 BackgroundThe increased use of digital data in health research demands interdisciplinary collaborations to address its methodological complexities and challenges. This often entails merging the linear deductive approach of health research with the explorative iterative approach of data science. However, there is a lack of structured teaching courses and guidance on how to effectively and constructively bridge different disciplines and research approaches. ObjectiveThis study aimed to provide a set of tools and recommendations designed to facilitate interdisciplinary education and collaboration. Target groups are lecturers who can use these tools to design interdisciplinary courses, supervisors who guide PhD and master’s students in their interdisciplinary projects, and principal investigators who design and organize workshops to initiate and guide interdisciplinary projects. MethodsOur study was conducted in 3 steps: (1) developing a common terminology, (2) identifying established workflows for research question formulation, and (3) examining adaptations of existing study workflows combining methods from health research and data science. We also formulated recommendations for a pragmatic implementation of our findings. We conducted a literature search and organized 3 interdisciplinary expert workshops with researchers at the University of Zurich. For the workshops and the subsequent manuscript writing process, we adopted a consensus study methodology. ResultsWe developed a set of tools to facilitate interdisciplinary education and collaboration. These tools focused on 2 key dimensions— content and curriculum and methods and teaching style—and can be applied in various educational and research settings. We developed a glossary to establish a shared understanding of common terminologies and concepts. We delineated the established study workflow for research question formulation, emphasizing the “what” and the “how,” while summarizing the necessary tools to facilitate the process. We propose 3 clusters of contextual and methodological adaptations to this workflow to better integrate data science practices: (1) acknowledging real-life constraints and limitations in research scope; (2) allowing more iterative, data-driven approaches to research question formulation; and (3) strengthening research quality through reproducibility principles and adherence to the findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR) data principles. ConclusionsResearch question formulation remains a relevant and useful research step in projects using digital data. We recommend initiating new interdisciplinary collaborations by establishing terminologies as well as using the concepts of research tasks to foster a shared understanding. Our tools and recommendations can support academic educators in training health professionals and researchers for interdisciplinary digital health projects.https://mededu.jmir.org/2025/1/e56369 |
| spellingShingle | Jana Sedlakova Mina Stanikić Felix Gille Jürgen Bernard Andrea B Horn Markus Wolf Christina Haag Joel Floris Gabriela Morgenshtern Gerold Schneider Aleksandra Zumbrunn Wojczyńska Corine Mouton Dorey Dominik Alois Ettlin Daniel Gero Thomas Friemel Ziyuan Lu Kimon Papadopoulos Sonja Schläpfer Ning Wang Viktor von Wyl Refining Established Practices for Research Question Definition to Foster Interdisciplinary Research Skills in a Digital Age: Consensus Study With Nominal Group Technique JMIR Medical Education |
| title | Refining Established Practices for Research Question Definition to Foster Interdisciplinary Research Skills in a Digital Age: Consensus Study With Nominal Group Technique |
| title_full | Refining Established Practices for Research Question Definition to Foster Interdisciplinary Research Skills in a Digital Age: Consensus Study With Nominal Group Technique |
| title_fullStr | Refining Established Practices for Research Question Definition to Foster Interdisciplinary Research Skills in a Digital Age: Consensus Study With Nominal Group Technique |
| title_full_unstemmed | Refining Established Practices for Research Question Definition to Foster Interdisciplinary Research Skills in a Digital Age: Consensus Study With Nominal Group Technique |
| title_short | Refining Established Practices for Research Question Definition to Foster Interdisciplinary Research Skills in a Digital Age: Consensus Study With Nominal Group Technique |
| title_sort | refining established practices for research question definition to foster interdisciplinary research skills in a digital age consensus study with nominal group technique |
| url | https://mededu.jmir.org/2025/1/e56369 |
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