Research in the area of interdisciplinary by Palmer (1996a, 1999, 2001) explored some of the features of inter- disciplinary scientists, addressing questions
related to how researchers find and use information from areas outside their core disciplines. Palmer’s research considered boundary crossing inquiries of 25 humanities
scholars and 34 scientists using indepth interviews to collect data (Palmer, 1996b, 1999; Palmer & Neumann, 2002). The research modes shown in
Table 1 were related to particular
research roles and practices (Palmer, 1999). Humanities scholars added strategies for extending the scope of their information seeking and were found to be
eclectic readers and active browsers who regularly probe for leads in outside domains. The information sources identified for
scientists and humanists included a diverse range of informal and formal networks (especially personal networks), reliance on intermediaries, personal networks
as most important, and conference attendance. Their activities included broad reading, footnote chasing, and name searching (Palmer, 1996a). More recently,
Palmer and Neumann (2002) suggest that interdisciplinary humanities scholars work within a frame- work of Exploration, which involves Extending and
Priming; and Translation, which involves Learning and Crafting.