Solving the Case Together: The Challenge of Net-based Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Process and outcome of a net-based collaboration between experts from different fields (advanced medical and psychology students) were analyzed. Confronted with a psychiatric case study, dyads were asked to jointly formulate a therapy plan using their complementary expertise. The goal of the study was to investigate the effects of technical realizations of a net-based collaboration on the collaborative processes and their efficiency. Two net-based settings were compared: (1) a high-end videoconferencing system with a shared text-editor and (2) a more “conservative” system, including e-mail, personal text-editors, and an audio connection (via telephone). In both settings scripted was compared to unscripted collaboration. With regard to the quality of the joint solution, participants in the condition with telephone and e-mail significantly outperformed their counterparts using the videoconferencing system. A more detailed analysis revealed that the coordination of the collaboration was central for the quality of the problem-solving process and its outcome. Participants in the condition with telephone and e-mail managed to coordinate their collaboration very well, combining individual, discipline-based working phases with phases of interdisciplinary collaborative work. On the other hand, the videoconferencing system, providing a better environment for collaborative activities, seems to have inveigled participants to work jointly all the time. The relevance of the coordination is corroborated by the effect of the induced script: participants with scripted collaboration produced better solutions than without.