Interdisciplinary research map

In consultation with research support facilitators in all six Faculties, MIRA has developed a Research Map [below] to illustrate the focus and impact of individual MIRA researchers’ work. MIRA researchers have positioned themselves on the two-dimensional plot; the X-axis represents their research focus, ranging from theory and discovery to practice and application, and the Y-axis represents their research output (ranging from products/services at the bottom, to academic in the middle, and to policy at the top). Members are colour coded by Faculty. The map is intended to facilitate connections by highlighting areas of strength and opportunity among MIRA members, while enabling MIRA researchers to view themselves as part of a broader community.

Over the past year, MIRA partnered with the McMaster Library’s Experts platform and McMaster’s Research & High-Performance Computing Support (RHPCS) team to transform this map into an interactive tool that will allow users to see how MIRA researchers are connected to each other and to MIRA’s research projects and initiatives. This interactive and dynamic project was completed in 2020.

Enabling collaboration and breaking down disciplinary silos is one of the primary objectives of each and every one of McMaster’s research institutes. Given this, I think it’s incredibly important that we (as an institution) find ways to communicate and highlight the great work being done by research institutes like MIRA to facilitate crossdisciplinary collaboration—both within and beyond McMaster. Though it takes a fair bit of effort to compile this kind of information, structure it appropriately, and create clear and compelling visuals, we hope that those viewing this visualization will agree that it is certainly worth the work.

-- Jason Brodeur Associate Director, Digital Scholarship Services