Research in an Interdisciplinary Field
I came across this interesting article that Jonathan Lazar has contributed to the interaction magazine about why we as HCI researchers should think about taking a "gap year" and spend the time working/studying/researching in another field. He points out it's beneficial
HCI (Human Computer Interaction) is interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary by definition; you need to understand humans AND computers. And when I read the article, a couple of questions arose:
- Isn't this something only a tenured professor can afford? Can Ph.D. students with specific funding projects or professors under their tenure clock also do this?
- How much breadth do we need to have? and once you span to another field, how much depth should you strive for? I mean it's already impossible to know everything in one field, right?
Don't have clear answers to these questions, but would be interested to know what others think.