Creating an interdisciplinary collaborative network of scholars in child maltreatment prevention: A network analysis of the Doris Duke Fellowships for the Promotion of Child Well-Being

Abstract

BackgroundChild maltreatment is a complex problem requiring interdisciplinary collaborative research to generate innovative solutions. The Doris Duke Fellowships for the Promotion of Child Well-Being were designed to identify and nurture emerging scholars committed to child maltreatment prevention and create a supportive interdisciplinary learning network. ObjectiveThis paper examines connectivity within the collaborative network created by the fellowships program using longitudinal social network data. Participants and SettingParticipants were 120 individuals selected as Doris Duke Fellows during their doctoral training at universities in the United States. MethodsFellows completed annual, voluntary web-based surveys to assess their interactions with other fellows during the past year. Social network analysis methods were used to assess the strength and quality of the learning network over a four-year period. ResultsAcross four years of data, there were increases in the number of connections, proportion of cross-cohort connections, and proportion of interdisciplinary connections. Network analyses showed a highly connected network consisting of primarily medium- and high-quality connections between fellows from different disciplines. The number of scientific journal articles authored by two or more fellows grew substantially over time. ConclusionsFindings indicate the collaborative network created by the fellowships program is growing and strengthening over time. The new Child Well-Being Research Network extends the fellowships network to a broader group of scholars and professionals to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in the field of child well-being research.