EP PI Survey_Att A-2A EP PI Survey-Masse 2008

Methodologic Contributions

Measuring Collaboration and Transdisciplinary
Integration in Team Science
Louise C. Mâsse, PhD, Richard P. Moser, PhD, Daniel Stokols, PhD, Brandie K. Taylor, MA,
Stephen E. Marcus, PhD, Glen D. Morgan, PhD, Kara L. Hall, PhD, Robert T. Croyle, PhD,
William M. Trochim, PhD
Purpose:

As the science of team science evolves, the development of measures that assess important
processes related to working in transdisciplinary teams is critical. Therefore, the purpose of
this paper is to present the psychometric properties of scales measuring collaborative
processes and transdisciplinary integration.

Methods:

Two hundred-sixteen researchers and research staff participating in the Transdisciplinary
Tobacco Use Research Centers (TTURC) Initiative completed the TTURC researcher
survey. Confirmatory-factor analyses were used to verify the hypothesized factor structures.
Descriptive data pertinent to these scales and their associations with other constructs were
included to further examine the properties of the scales.

Results:

Overall, the hypothesized-factor structures, with some minor modifications, were validated.
A total of four scales were developed, three to assess collaborative processes (satisfaction
with the collaboration, impact of collaboration, trust and respect) and one to assess
transdisciplinary integration. All scales were found to have adequate internal consistency
(i.e., Cronbach ␣’s were all ⬎0.70); were correlated with intermediate markers of
collaborations (e.g., the collaboration and transdisciplinary-integration scales were positively associated with the perception of a center’s making good progress in creating new
methods, new science and models, and new interventions); and showed some ability to
detect group differences.

Conclusions: This paper provides valid tools that can be utilized to examine the underlying processes of
team science—an important step toward advancing the science of team science.
(Am J Prev Med 2008;35(2S):S151–S160) © 2008 American Journal of Preventive Medicine

Background

S

1– 4

everal studies
have documented that, since the
mid-1950s, the natural, behavioral, and social
sciences have made a pronounced shift from
individually oriented research toward team-based scientific initiatives. This trend toward greater teamwork in
science is paralleled by a growing emphasis on crossdisciplinary approaches to research and training.5–7
Substantial investments by government agencies and

From the Centre for Community Child Health Research, University
of British Columbia (Mâsse), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada;
the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (Moser,
Marcus, Morgan, Hall, Croyle), National Cancer Institute, and the
Office of Portfolio Analysis and Strategic Initiatives (Taylor), NIH,
Bethesda, Maryland; the School of Social Ecology, University of
California Irvine (Stokols), Irvine, California; and the Department of
Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University (Trochim),
Ithaca, New York
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Louise C. Mâsse,
PhD, University of British Columbia, Department of Pediatrics,
Centre for Community Child Health Research, L408, 4480 Oak
Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6H 3V4, Canada. E-mail:
[email protected].

private foundations in cross-disciplinary centers and
teams have triggered a lively debate about the relative
merits of individual-versus-team– based models of research and the emergence of a new area of program
evaluation research, namely, the science of team science.8 –11 Evaluations of team science initiatives aim to
identify, measure, and understand the processes and
outcomes of large-scale research collaborations. Given
the substantial amount of federal and private resources
that have been allocated to establish and maintain team
science initiatives, it is essential that concerted efforts
be made to evaluate both their near-, mid-, and longerterm collaborative processes and outcomes.12–14
The science-of-team-science field is at a relative early
stage in its development and can benefit from the
development of psychometrically valid and reliable
measures of collaborative processes, especially those
involving cross-disciplinary synergy and integration. As
these initial collaborative processes may be integrally
linked to the achievement of subsequent and farreaching benefits to science and society, it is important
to develop reliable and valid measures of these con-

Am J Prev Med 2008;35(2S)
© 2008 American Journal of Preventive Medicine • Published by Elsevier Inc.

0749-3797/08/$–see front matter S151
doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2008.05.020

structs early-on as a basis for
evaluating their influence on
Recognition
the cumulative contributions
Communication
of a team initiative over a
Transdisciplinary
longer period.
research
Findings are presented
institutionalization
Professional
here from an early-stage
Communication
validation
evaluation of the National
Collaboration
Cancer Institute’s (NCI)
Transdisciplinary Tobacco
Training
Policy
Publications
implications
Use
Research
Centers
(TTURC) initiative.15 The
Methods
Health
Health
overall goals of the study
outcomes
impacts
were (1) to create and valiCollaboration
Improved
date new methods and
interventions
Translation
metrics for assessing crossto practice
Science
and
disciplinary collaboration
models
and transdisciplinary inteTransdisciplinary
Scientific
integration
gration within the context
integration
of the TTURC initiative,
and (2) to develop and preImmediate markers
Intermediate markers
Long-term outcomes
liminarily assess a conceptual logic model linking the Figure 1. Logic model for the TTURC evaluation that guided the development of the
sequential phases, pro- researcher-survey items showing inter-relationships among constructs divided into expected
temporal-outcome groups
cesses, and outcomes associated with large team science
initiatives more generally.
of cross-disciplinary research) lead to the development
The TTURC program15 is one of four large-scale,
of shared conceptual frameworks that not only intecross-disciplinary initiatives organized and funded
grate but also transcend the individual disciplinary
since 1999 by the Division of Cancer Control and
perspectives represented by various members of the
Population Sciences within NCI.a Currently, the total
research team. These transdisciplinary conceptual
NIH investment into those four initiatives (TTURC,
frameworks, integrating the concepts and methods drawn
the Centers of Excellence in Cancer Communicafrom multiple disciplines and analytic levels, have the
tions Research, the Centers for Population Health
greatest potential to generate truly novel scientific and
and Health Disparities, and the Transdisciplinary Resocietal advances—reflected, for example, in a more
search on Energetics and Cancer centers) that address
comprehensive understanding of nicotine-addiction proboth basic and applied research in cancer control is
cesses, the development of more-powerful smoking preapproximately $286 million.15–18,b
vention strategies, and a substantial reduction of tobaccorelated disease and mortality in the population.21,22
Conceptual Foundations of the TTURC Initiative
As a basis for understanding the conceptual and
empirical links among cross-disciplinary collaboration,
Evaluation Study
transdisciplinary integration, and the more distal scienThe TTURC initiative is rooted in Rosenfield’s conceptutific achievements and health outcomes generated by
19,20
alization of transdisciplinary scientific collaboration.
the TTURC initiative, Trochim and colleagues23 develRosenfield describes a continuum of collaborative reoped a comprehensive logic model to evaluate large
search ranging from unidisciplinary and multidisciplinary to
initiatives (ELI). TTURC investigators, funders, and
interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches. Accordother stakeholders (staff and scientific consultants) first
ing to Rosenfield, transdisciplinary collaborations (comcompleted a web-based concept-mapping exercise for
pared to multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary forms
the purpose of deriving key constructs associated with
a
effective transdisciplinary-team initiatives and underThe first 5-year phase of the TTURC initiative was a $70-million
program funded by NCI and the National Institute of Drug Abuse
standing the temporal relationships among the differ(NIDA); it supported seven research centers between 1999 and 2004.
ent constructs. They later developed a researcher surThe Robert Wood Johnson Foundation committed an additional $14
vey that was designed to assess key components of the
million over 5 years to complement NCI’s and NIDA’s commitment.
The TTURC initiative was renewed by NIH in 2004 and is currently in
ELI logic model. The logic model (Figure 1) incorpoits second 5-year funding cycle.
rates five general clusters: collaboration, communicab
The $286-million figure is expected to rise substantially as the
various initiatives move into their second 5-year funding cycles.
tion, professional validation, scientific integration, and
S152 American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 35, Number 2S

www.ajpm-online.net

health impacts. The collaboration cluster subsumes the
dimensions of training, collaboration, and transdisciplinary integration. These constructs serve as proximal,
or early-stage, markers of team effectiveness during the
initial phase of the TTURC initiative. To the extent that
the TTURCs are effective over the course of their initial
and later phases, the levels of intellectual collaboration
and transdisciplinary integration will be higher at the
outset, thereby prompting changes in investigators’
methods and models. Those methodologic and conceptual changes, in turn, enable translations of transdisciplinary knowledge into new health promotion interventions, policy innovations, and improved health outcomes.
This hypothesized sequence of changes is ultimately expected to facilitate greater recognition of the value of
transdisciplinary science and the broad-based adoption
or institutionalization of transdisciplinary approaches
to tobacco-use research.23 Operationalizing the constructs included in the ELI logic model is an important
starting point for evaluating the potential benefits of
transdisciplinary research and is the focus of this paper.
The findings reported below focus on two major components of the ELI logic model, namely, the collaboration
and transdisciplinary-integration constructs. Although the
effectiveness of collaborative teams has been studied
extensively in nonscientific venues, the measures employed in those contexts often do not generalize readily to
scientific settings.24 –26 Therefore, some major purposes
of this paper are to examine the factorial validity and
internal consistency of three collaboration scales and one
transdisciplinary-integration scale that were developed in
the context of the TTURC initiative as well as to evaluate
their associations with other constructs included in the
ELI logic model (Figure 1).

Methods
Participants
Participants consisted of all TTURC investigators (principal
investigators, co-investigators, project directors, research associates, and scientists); research staff; and trainees who were
identified by each center’s principal investigator as eligible
respondents for the researcher survey. As part of the TTURC
evaluation, each principal investigator completed a center
survey, which provided a quick profile of the center and the
number of staff who would be eligible to complete the
researcher survey. Among the seven TTURCs, there were 234
eligible respondents (N⫽234); 216 completed the researcher
survey, for an overall 92% response rate.

Data-Collection Protocol
The data were collected in the context of a program evaluation during the third year of the initiative. The TTURC
principal investigators were primarily responsible for identifying someone who would serve as the point of contact for
distributing the survey and reminding eligible respondents to
complete it. The researchers and research staff were asked to
complete the survey and mail it back in a self-addressed

August 2008

pre-paid envelope to the data processing center. To increase
compliance, the data processing center compiled on a
weekly basis the total number of Researcher Surveys received by each Center. The contact person received an
anonymized update on their center’s response rates, as well
as response rates of the other centers (anonymized as well).
The contact person was asked to send reminders to their
colleagues and research staff to ensure an adequate response rate to the survey. At all times, the contact person or
anyone involved were never aware of who responded to the
Researcher Survey. Although the PIs, researchers, and
research staff were encouraged to fill out the survey, their
participation was completely voluntary.

TTURC Researcher Survey Development
The TTURC Researcher Survey is a 12-page instrument that
included indices and scales that represented all the dimensions assessed by the ELI logic model (Figure 1). Concept
mapping served as the basis for the ELI logic model, and also
served to provide much of the initial content for developing
the researcher survey. Additionally, because the conceptmapping process consisted of clustering statements into dimensions, the statements within these clusters formed the
initial theoretical operationalization of the dimensions. The
researcher-survey development was led by a methodology
team (WTM, LCM, and SM co-authors) and was developed in
collaboration with TTURC funders, TTURC researchers, and
input from a consulting committee. The researcher survey
went through several expert reviews and revisions, and received final approval from a consulting committee for administration to the TTURCs. Of particular interest to this paper
are the sections that focused on collaboration and transdisciplinary research (see Appendixes A and B for a description of
the items).

Collaboration
The researcher survey included 23 items that assessed collaboration. All items used a 5-point, Likert-type response format.
Fifteen items used the stem Please evaluate the collaboration
within your center with the following response anchors: inadequate, poor, satisfactory, good, and excellent. The other eight
items started with Please rate your views about collaboration with
respect to your center-related research with the response anchors
strongly disagree, somewhat disagree, not sure, somewhat agree, and
strongly agree. It was determined a priori that the factor
structure of the collaboration scale would have three correlated factors. One factor was designed to assess satisfaction with
collaboration using eight items: acceptance of ideas, communication, researchers’ strengths, organization, resolution of conflict, working styles, outside involvement, and discipline involvement. A
second factor, designed to assess the impact of collaboration,
used 6 items: meeting productivity, products productivity, overall
productivity, research productivity, quality of research, and time
burden. A final factor, designed to assess trust and respect in
the collaborative context, used four items: being comfortable in
showing limits, trusting colleagues, being open to criticism, and
respect). Five of the initial collaboration items were excluded
from the analyses as they did not measure the above
constructs.

Am J Prev Med 2008;35(2S)

S153

Table 1. Model fit of the confirmatory-factor analysis, testing whether the hypothesized three-factor structure fit the
collaboration items (n⫽144)
Model

Chi-square (df), p-value

RMSEA (90% CI)

SRMR

CFI/NNFI

CAIC

Residuals

Model 1

282.07 (132), ⬍0.05

0.09 (0.07, 0.10)

0.06

0.97/0.94

352.20

Model 2

255.01 (116), ⬍0.05

0.09 (0.07, 0.10)

0.06

0.97/0.95

315.11

Model 3

181.30 (114), ⬍0.05

0.07 (0.05, 0.08)

0.05

0.99/0.96

260.82

⫺3.22 to 6.48
Some skewness
⫺3.22 to 6.48
Some skewness
⫺2.75 to 2.93
Normal

Model Comparisons

Chi-square difference

df

p-value

CAIC difference

Model 1 vs Model 2
Model 2 vs Model 3

27.06
73.98

16
2

⬎0.05
⬎0.05

37.09
54.29

Note: Model 1: Hypothesized three-factor structure; Model 2: hypothesized three-factor solution minus the item that assesses “time burden”;
Model 3: Model 2 plus two correlated-error terms (one between Items 7 and 8, and a second between Items 12 and 13)
CAIC, corrected Aikaike’s information criterion; CFI, comparative fit index; NNFI, non-normed fit index; RMSEA, root mean square residuals;
SRMR, standardized root mean square residuals

Transdisciplinary Integration
The researcher survey had 15 items that measured attitudes
about transdisciplinary research. Respondents were asked to
indicate their attitudes about transdisciplinary research and to
provide interpretations based on their understanding or perception of transdisciplinary research. All items used a 5-point,
Likert-type format with the response options strongly agree, somewhat disagree, not sure, somewhat agree, and strongly disagree. It was
determined a priori that the items likely measured one factor
that assessed transdisciplinary integration.

ELI Intermediate Markers of Progress Toward
Collaboration and Transdisciplinary Integration
Although the researcher survey included a number of indexes
that corresponded to the ELI logic model (Figure 1), only
four of the indexes (methods, science and models, improved
interventions, and publications) were used here. These were
seen as intermediate markers of progress within the centers.
It should be noted that for these constructs, index measures
were created. Overall, these indexes measured how much
progress had been achieved by the TTURCs in these areas.
The methods index was computed by averaging 7 items (e.g.,
development or refinement of methods for gathering data);
17 items were averaged for the sciences-and-models index
(e.g., understanding multiple determinants of the stages of
nicotine addiction); 12 items were averaged to measure
improved interventions (e.g., progress in pharmacologic interventions); and, finally, the publications index was the sum
of submitted and published articles and abstracts.

Data Analysis
Factor structure. All negatively worded items were reversecoded for the analyses. Confirmatory-factor analyses, using the
LISREL 8.8 software, served to validate the a priori-factor
structure of the collaboration and transdisciplinary-integration
scales. Parameter estimates were obtained using the maximumlikelihood method of estimation. As there are no agreed-upon
standards for determining model fit, the criteria established by
Hu and Bentler27 for evaluating fit were followed. The chisquare goodness-of-fit test served to determine the overall fit of
the factor structure, with a p-value ⬍0.15 indicating that the
residuals were no longer significant— hence, a good fit. Given
that the chi-square is highly affected by sample size and the

distributional properties of the items, other fit indexes were
evaluated. Steiger’s root mean square root error of approximation
(RMSEA) was evaluated, with a value of 0.05 and an upper CI
⬍0.08 indicating a good fit. The standardized root mean square
residuals (SRMR) was evaluated, and a value of 0.05 represented
a good fit. Both the comparative fit index (CFI) and the
non-normed fit index (NNFI) were evaluated. These indexes
compare the fit of the model to a baseline model with values
bounded between 0 and 1. For both the CFI and NNFI, a value
⬎0.95 is indicative of a good fit. Finally, the distribution of the
standardized residuals was evaluated to assess overall model fit,
where normally distributed standardized residuals ranging from
⫺3.0 to 3.0 indicate a good fit. Any posthoc model modifications
consisted of evaluating the modification indexes and determining whether the suggested change was theoretically defensible. If
the revised model was nested within the original structure, a
chi-square test of differences was computed to determine if the
new model significantly improved the fit of the data.
Finally, the corrected Akaike’s information criteria (CAIC)
served to compare the fit of different models while accounting
for the number of parameters estimated in the model; a lower
CAIC was indicative of a better fit. Standardized factor loadings
ranged from ⫺1.00 to 1.00, and a value of ⬍0.30 was used to
assess items that loaded poorly on the hypothesized factor.
Relationship with ELI outcomes. It was hypothesized that the
collaboration and the transdisciplinary-integration scales would
be significantly correlated with select intermediate markers on
the ELI logic model (methods, science and models, improved
interventions, and publications). To assess these bivariate relationships, the potential clustering effect of the center was
accounted for by first regressing each scale on the center (coded
as a set of dummy variables) and then computing a Pearson
product moment correlation between the resulting residuals.
Group differences. Finally, one-way ANOVAs were computed
for each scale to examine if differences existed on these scales by
respondent’s role and by center, using the general linear model
procedure in SAS to take into account the nested structure of
the data. Posthoc analyses were conducted (as appropriate)
using the least-significant-differences method. Although some
differences were expected, these analyses were mainly exploratory. All analyses used a p-value ⬍0.05 to determine significance.

S154 American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 35, Number 2S

www.ajpm-online.net

Figure 2. Factor structure of the collaboration scales
Internal consistency. The SPSS reliability subroutine was
used to compute internal consistency (Cronbach’s coefficient
␣) for the collaboration and transdisciplinary-integration
scales. Using the lower-bound criteria for internal consistency, a
Cronbach’s ␣ of at least 0.70 was considered adequate.28

Results
Demographic Information
Of the valid responses (n⫽202), 50% of the respondents
(n⫽101) indicated that they had been with their center for
ⱖ2 years, and 66.3% reported having worked ⬍40 hours per
August 2008

week on TTURC-related efforts. The largest percentage
of
respondents
(n⫽100)
characterized
their research role in the
Center as investigator
(49.3%), while others indicated their role as professional staff (25.1%); student (16.3%); and other
(9.4%).
Respondents were asked
to report their primary, secondary, and tertiary disciplinary affiliations. The
most commonly reported
disciplinary affiliations were
psychology (n⫽88); public
health (n⫽50); and behavioral medicine (n⫽44). Respondents also reported
considerable collaboration
with new disciplines in association with their TTURCrelated
efforts.
While
76.9% (n⫽166) of the respondents had collaborated with at least one new
discipline over the past
year, 62.5% (n⫽135) reported collaborating with
two or more new disciplines. The most-frequently
mentioned new disciplines
with which researchers reported collaborating included genetics (27.3%);
public health (26.9%);
communications (24.5%);
epidemiology (22.7%); and
biostatistics (20.8%), reflecting a broad spectrum
of disciplines from the biological sciences to population health.

Factorial Validity of the Collaboration Scales
The confirmatory-factor analysis results for the collaboration scales are summarized in Table 1. The results
showed that the a priori three-factor structure did not
fit the data very well (the RMSEA, SRMR, and residuals
were high). The results suggested that Item 14, time
burden (collaboration has posed a significant time burden in
your research), did not load on the factor that assessed
the impact of collaboration. Of the 18 items, this was
the only item that was negatively worded. Given that the
Am J Prev Med 2008;35(2S)

S155

Table 2. Model fit of the confirmatory-factor analysis, testing whether the hypothesized one-factor structure fit the
transdisciplinary items (n⫽172)
Model

Chi-square (df), p-value

RMSEA (90% CI)

SRMR

CFI/NNFI

CAIC

Residuals

Model 1

222.67 (90), ⬍0.05

0.10 (0.08, 0.11)

0.07

0.96/0.93

294.42

Model 2

182.61 (89), ⬍0.05

0.08 (0.07, 0.10)

0.07

0.97/0.94

378.59

Model 3

137.76 (86), ⬍0.05

0.06 (0.04, 0.08)

0.05

0.98/0.98

346.77

⫺3.13 to 6.11
Skewed
⫺2.87 to 4.57
Some skewness
⫺2.74 to 3.09
Normal

Model comparisons

Chi-square difference

df

p-value

CAIC difference

Model 1 vs Model 2
Model 2 vs Model 3

40.06
44.85

1
3

⬎0.05
⬎0.05

84.17
31.82

Note: Model 1: Hypothesized three-factor structure; Model 2: hypothesized three-factor solution minus the item that assesses “time burden”;
Model 3: Model 2 plus two correlated-error terms (one between Items 7 and 8, and a second between Items 12 and 13)
CAIC, corrected Aikaike’s information criterion; CFI, comparative fit index; NNFI, non-normed fit index; RMSEA, root mean square residuals;
SRMR, standardized root mean square residuals

factor loading was extremely low (0.01), the solution
was run without this item (Model 2). As shown in
Table 1, the fit of Model 2 significantly improved
compared to Model 1, but the solution remained
inadequate (the RMSEA, SRMR, and residuals were
high). Examination of the modification indexes revealed a weakness in the factor structure, suggesting
the addition of two correlated-error terms to Model
2. A correlation between Items 7, outside involvement,
and Item 8, discipline involvement, was added, as well
as a correlation between Item 12, research productivity,
and Item 13, quality of research.
It should be noted that adding these correlations
suggests that the solution does not account for all of the
correlations that exist among these four items. To
address this issue, Model 3 added these two extra
correlations (Table 1), which resulted in an adequate
fit as well as a significant improvement in the fit of the
model. The final three-factor solution is presented in
Figure 2. The factor loadings (standardized paths)
ranged from 0.42 on Item 15, showing limits, to a high of
0.88 on Item 11, overall productivity. Correlations among
the factors were moderately high (the correlation between impact of collaboration and trust and respect was
0.65) to high (the correlation between satisfaction with
collaboration and impact of collaboration was 0.90, and
between satisfaction with collaboration and trust and respect
was 0.81). Cronbach’s ␣ for each scale was adequate: 0.91
for satisfaction with collaboration, 0.87 for impact of collabora-

tion, and 0.75 for trust and respect. Item and subscale means
were high; on the 1- to 5-point Likert scale, the means
were (in general) closer to the 4-point—indicative of
overall satisfaction with the collaborative process. Overall
item means and scale means were high, indicating satisfaction in these areas.

Factorial Validity of the
Transdisciplinary-Integration Scale
The confirmatory-factor–analysis results of the
transdisciplinary-integration scale are summarized in
Table 2. The results showed that the hypothesized
one-factor structure for the transdisciplinary items did
not fit very well (inadequate RMSEA, SRMR, and
standardized residuals). Examination of the modification indexes suggested that the correlation between two
items (Item 6, changes my research ideas, and Item 7,
improved my research) was not well-explained by the
solution. Given that the content of these two items was
related, a correlated-error term was added to the model
(Model 2). Adding this correlated-error term significantly improved the fit of the model, but the solution
remained inadequate (high RMSEA, SRMR, and standardized residuals). Re-examination of the modification indexes revealed that the correlations among all
the negatively worded items (Items 2, 3, and 4) remained high.

Table 3. Pearson product moment correlations among the collaboration and transdisciplinary-integration scales with
intermediate markers and long-term outcomes

Satisfaction with collaboration
Impact of collaboration
Trust and respect
Transdisciplinary integration

Methods
(nⴝ179)a

Science and models
(nⴝ183)a

Improved interventions
(nⴝ164)a

Publications
(nⴝ128)a

0.37**
0.44**
0.33**
0.42**

0.48**
0.52**
0.40**
0.38**

0.25**
0.37**
0.18*
0.34**

0.18
0.10
0.04
0.03

a

Note that the sample size varied slightly due to missing data.
*p⬍0.05; **p⬍0.001

S156 American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 35, Number 2S

www.ajpm-online.net

for collaboration and the
transdisciplinary-integration were significantly correlated with the following
ELI outcomes: methods,
science and models, and
interventions.

Group Differences
Table 4 presents collaboration and transdisciplinaryintegration scales by respondent’s role and by
center. The analyses revealed significant betweengroup differences by respondent’s role for the
trust-and-respect collaboration scale only (F⫽3.47
[df⫽3, 183], p⬍0.05) and
revealed no significant differences for the other collaboration scales and the
transdisciplinary-integration scale by respondent’s
role. Posthoc comparisons
revealed that on the trustand-respect factor, investigators’ scores were significantly higher than those
of “other” research staff
(p⬍0.05), and students’
scores were significantly
higher than the scores of
both the professional supFigure 3. Factor structure of the transdisciplinary-integration scales
port staff scores (p⬍0.05)
and the “other” research
staff (p⬍0.05).
To remedy this, a new model was fitted that included
Finally, the results comparing differences by center
extra correlated-errors terms among all negatively
revealed significant between-center differences for
worded items (Model 3), and resulted in an adequate
all the collaboration factors: satisfaction with collaborafit and significant improvement in the fit of the model.
tion (F⫽9.42 [df⫽6, 171], p⬍0.05); impact on collaboAs shown in the final solution (Figure 3), the factor
ration (F⫽7.87 [df⫽6, 170]; p⬍0.05); trust and respect
loadings (standardized paths) for the negatively
(F⫽3.37 [df⫽6, 191], p⬍0.05); the collaboration
worded items (Item 2, knowledge interference; Item 3, less
total score (F⫽8.75 [df⫽6,174], p⬍0.05); and the
productive; and Item 4, fewer publications) were bordertransdisciplinary-integration scale (F⫽2.87 [df⫽6, 198],
line adequate (⬎0.30) to inadequate (⬍0.30), indicatp⬍0.05). Posthoc results are available upon request and
ing that although the overall fit of the model was
are not reported here, as the anonymity of the data
improved by the addition of a correlated-error term
precludes any meaningful interpretation; however, the
among these items, these items remained poor indicaresults are presented to demonstrate the power of these
tors of transdisciplinary integration.
scales to detect differences among centers.

Associations with ELI Outcomes
Table 3 summarizes the associations for the collaboration
and transdisciplinary-integration scales with select intermediate ELI outcomes. The results showed that the three scales
August 2008

Discussion
The purpose of this paper was to examine the psychometric properties of scales that measure collaboration
Am J Prev Med 2008;35(2S)

S157

4.22 (0.11)
4.05 (0.11)
4.58 (0.10)
4.16 (0.09)
3.45 (0.65)
3.61 (0.76)
4.36 (0.46)
3.87 (0.55)
4.43 (0.12)
4.44 (0.13)
4.60 (0.11)
4.28 (0.10)
4.44 (0.16)
4.09 (0.16)
4.57 (0.14)
3.96 (0.13)
3.84 (0.11)
3.88 (0.12)
4.27 (0.10)
4.12 (0.09)
Note: Scale scores range from 1 (low endorsement) to 5 (high endorsement of the construct).
I, investigator; O, other; PSS, professional support staff; S, student

3.70 (0.10)
3.57 (0.11)
4.15 (0.09)
3.84 (0.08)
4.17 (0.12)
4.12 (0.12)
4.64 (0.10)
4.10 (0.09)
Satisfaction with collaboration
Impact of collaboration
Trust and respect
Transdisciplinary integration

S
nⴝ34

3.66 (0.18)
4.05 (0.20)
4.12 (0.13)
4.19 (0.13)
4.05 (0.11)
4.11 (0.12)
4.38 (0.09)
4.20 (0.09)
4.11 (0.07)
3.96 (0.07)
4.47 (0.06)
3.95 (0.06)

4.47 (0.14)
4.53 (0.15)
4.59 (0.12)
4.15 (0.12)

7
nⴝ34
6
nⴝ20
5
nⴝ28
4
nⴝ17
3
nⴝ35
2
nⴝ49
1
nⴝ22
PSS
nⴝ47
I
nⴝ100

O
nⴝ19

Center
Role

Table 4. Means and SEs for the collaboration and transdisciplinary-integration scales and subscale scores by respondent’s role and by center

and transdisciplinary integration in the context of team
science. Overall, the hypothesized factor structures—
with some minor modifications—were validated. A total
of four scales were developed, and measured the following: perceived satisfaction with collaboration, the
impact of collaboration on the research process, trust
and respect in a collaborative setting, and transdisciplinary integration. All scales were found to have adequate internal consistency (i.e., Cronbach ␣’s were all
⬎0.70); to be correlated with most intermediate markers of ELI; and to show some ability to detect some
group differences.
One of the key findings from this study is that the
hypothesized factors were verified, with minor modifications (i.e., correlated-error terms were added to these
solutions). Having some correlated-error terms suggests that there might be some redundancies among
these items that might be important to re-examine in
future administrations (e.g., collaboration Item 7, involvement of collaborators from outside the center, and Item 8,
involvement of collaborators from diverse disciplines). However, it is important to note that the negatively worded
items on both scales created some problems: not loading on the scale or creating spurious correlated-error
terms. It is well-known that having a subset of negatively
worded items leads to a methodologic artifact— either
having an extraneous factor or having correlated-error
terms among all negatively worded items (as observed
in this paper).29 Certainly the presence of such methodologic artifacts calls into question the common measurement practice of mixing positively and negatively
worded items in the scale.29 Because these items address an important area, they were maintained to
maximize the content validity of the scale. It should be
noted that the internal consistency of the scale was not
adversely affected by keeping the negatively worded
items in the scale.
Associations among the scales with intermediate
markers of progress were presented to further evaluate
the construct validity of these scales. These results
suggest that those who perceived higher levels of satisfaction with collaboration and those who had an overall
positive view of transdisciplinary integration also perceived that their center was making good progress in
creating new methods, new science and models, and
new interventions. The lack of association with the
publications index is not unexpected, as cross-sectional
associations were examined in Year 3 of the initiative,
and the number of publications is expected to be
limited at this early stage of the transdisciplinary effort.
In fact, the results found a restricted range of publications (0 – 6 total) for the initiative.
It has been suggested that empirical efforts to link
specific facets of team-based science (e.g., processes of
cross-disciplinary collaboration and intellectual integration generated through center-based working groups,
retreats, and training programs) with more tangible

S158 American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 35, Number 2S

www.ajpm-online.net

scientific and societal outcomes may require longitudinal studies that extend over 1 or more decades.30 Team
science initiatives are structurally complex, and several
years are required to establish and coordinate the
efforts of multiple investigators and trainees working
within and across several (often geographically dispersed) centers.10 Therefore, the results reported here
must be supplemented in future years by longer-term
investigations that track the scientific and societal contributions of team initiatives sustained over 1 or more
decades; and must incorporate comparison groups
comprising individuals or small groups of scholars
working on similar scientific questions— but from outside the framework of “big science.”
In closing, it should be noted that this study was limited
in its ability to examine the predictive validity of these
scales, as only cross-sectional data were available. Furthermore, the stability (test–retest reliability) of these scales
was not assessed. Therefore, much more work is needed
to further assess the utility of these scales for detecting
changes over time (e.g., in the collaborative effectiveness
and productivity of transdisciplinary centers); for detecting stability; and for elucidating the pathways by which
team science initiatives generate longer-term impacts on
scientific progress and population health as suggested by
the ELI logic model. Another potential limitation of this
study was that TTURC researchers may have reacted to
the demand characteristics of the study by both responding in a manner that would make them appear to be
working in more of a transdisciplinary manner and responding in a positive way to this type of collaborative
work, especially given the financial incentive of TTURC
initiatives. Nonetheless, with these caveats, this paper
provides valid tools that can be utilized to examine the
underlying processes of team science—an important initial step toward advancing the science-of-team-science
field.
No financial disclosures were reported by the authors of this
paper.

References
1. Esparza J, Yamada T. The discovery value of “Big Science.” J Exp Med
2007;204:701– 4.
2. Committee on Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research, National Academy of
Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine. Facilitating interdisciplinary research. Washington DC: The National Academies
Press, 2005. www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id⫽11153#toc.
3. Stokols D, Hall KL, Taylor BK, Moser RP. The science of team science:
overview of the field and introduction to the supplement. Am J Prev Med
2008;35(2S):S77–S89.

August 2008

4. Wuchty S, Jones BF, Uzzi B. The increasing dominance of teams in
production of knowledge. Science 2007;316:1036 –9. doi:10.1126/
science.1136099.
5. Kessel FS, Rosenfield PL, Anderson NB, eds. Expanding the boundaries of
health and social science: case studies in interdisciplinary innovation. New
York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
6. Klein JT. Crossing boundaries: knowledge, disciplinarities, and interdisciplinarities. Charlottesville VA: University of Virginia Press, 1996.
7. Stokols D. Toward a science of transdisciplinary action research. Am J
Community Psychol 2006;38:63–77.
8. Marks AR. Rescuing the NIH before it is too late. J Clin Invest 2006;116:844.
9. NIH. NIH Roadmap for medical reseach: interdisciplinary research. 2003.
nihroadmap.nih.gov/interdisciplinary/index.asp.
10. Stokols D, Fuqua J, Gress J, et al. Evaluating transdisciplinary science.
Nicotine Tob Res 2003;5(1S):S21–S39.
11. Weissmann G. Roadmaps, translational research, and childish curiosity.
FASEB J 2005;19:1761–2.
12. Klein JT. Evaluation of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research: a
literature review. Am J Prev Med 2008;35(2S):S116 –S123.
13. Rhoten D, Parker A. Education: risks and rewards of an interdisciplinary
research path. Science 2004;306:2046.
14. Stokols D, Harvey R, Gress J, Fuqua J, Phillips K. In vivo studies of
transdisciplinary scientific collaboration: lessons learned and implications
for active living research. Am J Prev Med 2005;28(2S2):202–13.
15. National Cancer Institute. Transdisciplinary tobacco use research centers.
2006. dccps.nci.nih.gov/tcrb/tturc/.
16. National Cancer Institute. Transdisciplinary research on energetics and
cancer. 2006. https://www.compass.fhcrc.org/trec/.
17. National Cancer Institute. Health communication and informatics research: NCI centers of excellence in cancer communications research.
2006. cancercontrol.cancer.gov/hcirb/ceccr/.
18. National Cancer Institute. Centers for population health and health
disparities. 2006. cancercontrol.cancer.gov/populationhealthcenters/.
19. Kessel F, Rosenfield PL, Anderson NB, eds. Interdisciplinary research: case
studies from health and social science. New York: Oxford University Press,
2008.
20. Rosenfield PL. The potential of transdisciplinary research for sustaining
and extending linkages between the health and social sciences. Soc Sci Med
1992;35:1343–57.
21. National Center for Health Statistics. Deaths, percent of total deaths, and
death rates for the 15 leading causes of death: U.S. and each state, 2003.
2006. www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/dvs/lcwk9_2003.pdf.
22. WHO. WHO smoking statistics. 2003. www.wpro.who.int/media_centre/
fact_sheets/fs_20020528.htm.
23. Trochim WM, Marcus SE, Mâsse LC, Moser RP, Weld PC. The evaluation of
large research initiatives: a participatory integrated mixed-methods approach. Am J Eval 2008;29:8 –28.
24. Gray B. Collaborating: finding common ground for multiparty problems.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1989.
25. Gray B. Cross-sectoral partners: collaborative alliances among business,
government, and communities. In: Huxham C, ed. Creating collaborative
advantage. London: Sage Publications, 1996.
26. Stokols D, Misra S, Moser RP, Hall KL, Taylor BK. The ecology of team
science: understanding contextual influences on transdisciplinary collaboration. Am J Prev Med 2008;35(2S):S96 –S115.
27. Hu L, Bentler PM. Evaluating model fit. In: Hoyle RH, ed. Structural
equation modeling: concepts, issues, and applications. Thousand Oaks CA:
Sage Publications, 1995.
28. Nunnally J, Bernstein I. Psychometric theory. 3rd ed. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1994.
29. Marsh HW. Positive and negative global self-esteem: a substantially meaningful distinction or artifactors? J Pers Soc Psychol 1996;70:810 –9.
30. Abrams DB, Leslie FM, Mermelstein R, Kobus K, Clayton RR. Transdisciplinary tobacco use research. Nicotine Tob Res 2003;5(1S):S5–S10.

Am J Prev Med 2008;35(2S)

S159

Appendix A: List of collaboration items
Item (short description)
Satisfaction with collaboration: Items 1–8
1. Acceptance of ideas
2. Communication
3. Strengths
4. Organization
5. Conflict resolution
6. Working styles
7. Outside involvement
8. Discipline involvement
Impact of collaboration: Items 9–14
9. Meeting productivity
10. Products productivity
11. Overall productivity
12. Research productivity
13. Quality research
14. Time burden
Trust and respect: Items 15–18
15. Showing limits
16. Trust colleagues
17. Open to criticism
18. Respect

Stem employed in the researcher survey
Acceptance of new ideas
Communication among collaborator
Ability to capitalize on the strengths of different researchers
Organization or structure of collaborative teams
Resolution of conflicts among collaborators
Ability to accommodate different working styles of collaborators
Involvement of collaborators from outside the center
Involvement of collaborators from diverse disciplines
Productivity of collaboration meetings
Productivity in developing new products (e.g., papers, proposals, courses)
Overall productivity of collaboration
In general, collaboration has improved your research productivity.
In general, collaboration has improved the quality of your research.
Collaboration has posed a significant time burden in your research.
You are comfortable showing limits or gaps in your knowledge to those with whom
you collaborate.
In general, you feel that you can trust the colleagues with whom you collaborate.
In general, you find that your collaborators are open to criticism.
In general, you respect your collaborators.

Note: Items 1–11 asked respondents to Please evaluate the collaboration within your center by indicating if the collaboration is (1) inadequate,
(2) poor, (3) satisfactory, (4) good, or (5) excellent. Items 12–18 asked respondents to Please rate your views about collaboration with respect
to your center-related research by indicating if you (1) strongly disagree, (2) somewhat agree, (3) not sure, (4) somewhat agree, or (5) strongly
agree with the statement.

Appendix B: List of transdisciplinary integration items
Item (short description)
1. Value collaboration
2. Knowledge interference
3. Less productive
4. Fewer publications
5. Stimulates thinking
6. Changes research ideas
7. Improved my research
8. Valuable science
9. Improves interventions
10. Discipline contribution
11. Sustained collaboration
12. Outweighs inconveniences
13. Comfortable environment
14. Effort to engage
15. Open-minded perspective

Stem employed in the researcher survey
I would describe myself as someone who strongly values transdisciplinary collaboration.
Transdisciplinary research interferes with my ability to maintain knowledge in my primary area.
I tend to be more productive working on my own rather than working as a member of a
transdisciplinary research team.
In a transdisciplinary research group, it takes more time to produce a research article.
Transdisciplinary research stimulates me to change my thinking.
I have changed the way I pursue a research idea because of my involvement in transdisciplinary
research.
Transdisciplinary research has improved how I conduct research.
I am optimistic that transdisciplinary research among TTURC participants will lead to valuable
scientific outcomes that would not have occurred without that kind of collaboration.
Participating in a transdisciplinary team improves the interventions that are developed.
Because of my involvement in transdisciplinary research, I have an increased understanding of
what my own discipline brings to others.
My transdisciplinary collaborations are sustainable over the long haul.
Generally speaking, I believe that the benefits of transdisciplinary scientific research outweigh the
inconveniences and costs of such work.
I am comfortable working in a transdisciplinary environment.
Overall, I am pleased with the effort I have made to engage in transdisciplinary research.
TTURC members as a group are open-minded about considering research perspectives from fields
other than their own.

For all items, respondents were asked to Please rate the following attitudes about transdisciplinary research by indicating if you (1) strongly disagree, (2)
somewhat agree, (3) not sure, (4) somewhat agree, or (5) strongly agree with the statement.

S160 American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 35, Number 2S

www.ajpm-online.net