Objective
Tackling “grand challenges” demands broad representation across multiple disciplines, but teams must also build substantial integration to best use diverse expertise. One way interdisciplinary teams may overcome communication challenges caused by distinct disciplinary languages is to include an interdisciplinary translator role. An interdisciplinary translator is knowledgeable about the background, values, and context of two or more disciplines to help team members understand the language and jargon of other disciplines (Knoedler, 2019). To bridge the gap between team members’ expertise, interdisciplinary translators facilitate understanding and communication by converting specialized jargon, technical language, and cultural references from one discipline into language that is comprehensible and meaningful to team members from other disciplines (Ashby, 2022). Specifically, a translator “absorbs and adapts the original idea, the context in which it was presented, the tone of the meeting and reactions to the behavioral idea, different perspectives discussed around the idea, and additional behavioral cues from the participants and integrates all of this information and observations into a new perspective on the idea and how best it may be delivered for the remainder of the meeting” (Knoedler, 2019). In this way, interdisciplinary translators extend beyond facilitator and knowledge broker roles (Knoedler, 2019).

Although this promising idea has been explored conceptually (Ashby, 2022; Knoedler, 2019), empirical research is lacking. Therefore, this research utilized qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the effects of interdisciplinary translation on individual differences, teamwork, and team productivity.

Interview Method & Results
Given the scarcity of theory on interdisciplinary translation (Edmondson & McManus, 2007), we began with an inductive methodology. We first conducted 23 semi-structured, 30-minute to one-hour interviews with PIs/co-PIs funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), who reflected on whether their team included the role of an interdisciplinary translator (defined as someone who could speak the language of multiple disciplines and help members of the team understand the perspective of the other discipline). Approximately two-thirds of interviewees reported having one or two interdisciplinary translators on their team. All respondents said that having an interdisciplinary translator was beneficial for their collaboration, and several highlighted the difficulty of filling this role because it is rare to find people who can speak the language of multiple disciplines.

Survey Method & Results
Based on the coding of the interviews (using NVivo), we developed a three-item interdisciplinary translation scale, which was completed as part of a larger survey by 138 cross-disciplinary researchers. As predicted, higher interdisciplinary translation was associated with higher transdisciplinary orientation and transdisciplinary behaviors (e.g., reading publications and attending conferences outside of primary discipline). Teams reporting having more interdisciplinary translation were also positively correlated with team trust, satisfaction, and a willingness to work with the same members again. Moreover, higher interdisciplinary translation was associated with greater self-reported innovation and conference posters (submitted and accepted).

Given these promising results, the use of interdisciplinary translators should be encouraged and valued in interdisciplinary teams.