From interdisciplinary to transdisciplinary research: a case study.

The specialization of contemporary academia necessitates the adoption of a multidisciplinary approach to study topics that cross multiple disciplines, including the area of medical ethics. However, the nature of multidisciplinary research is limited in some regards, further requiring some researchers to use interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches. The authors present as a case study a research project in bioethics that began as an interdisciplinary study and which, through the research process, moved to being a transdisciplinary study in health ethics. They outline not only this transformation but also the strengths and difficulties of transdisciplinary research in the area of ethics.