Boundary Spanning Research Project Information
What I’m up to:
In this research, I am interested in the work people do when they connects between multiple fields, groups or disciplines and am conducting interviews with people who do this kind of work.
An example of this work is that I’m a social scientist who has also spent time looking at green building/sustainable construction practices. People in social science don’t usually talk to folks in green building and vice versa. This means that the work I’ve done in my research has involved connecting multiple disciplines and fields.
In the social networks analysis, an academic field of research, this work is sometimes referred to as “boundary spanning” or being a “bridging tie”. In this project, I’d like to learn more about the skills and abilities that are needed to do this kind of work, understand where people learn those skills and see if there are patterns or variations of these skills.
Who I’m looking for:
Do you do work that connects between multiple fields? Between organizations or groups? Across disciplines?
If so, I’m interested in talking with you about your work, the skills you need to do what you do and how you got those skills.
I am particularly be interested in talking with people who have historically been marginalized in one or more of the groups they bridge. This can be marginalization in any manner - including but not limited to race, gender, class, sexual orientation or identity, immigration status, language, accent, ability or neurotypicality.
I’m curious to know if there are unique attributes regarding where people from marginalized backgrounds learn the skills of boundary spanning.
Hi! I’m Beth (check out the rest of my website to learn more about me!). I have a PhD in Sociology and I’ve done research in academic and industry alike. I’ve done several research projects which you can read more about here to get a sense for my background.
I’m doing this project because I’m really interested and I want to learn more. This project is personal, and there are no funding agencies or institutions behind it.
If you are a good fit for this study and book a call with me, we will talk about what I might use these interviews for and about the consent process.
Who I am:
If this description fits you, I'd like to schedule 60 minutes together. This will allow us to have enough time for us to chat before and after the interview and make sure I can answer any questions you have.
Click the button below to find time.