Name: Manjula V
Country: India

Year: 2026
Volume: Volume-16, Issue-1 (Special Issue: March 2026)
Page Number: 116-122
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19182195

ABSTRACT
Interdisciplinary research is widely promoted as a mechanism for addressing complex
societal challenges, yet the social processes through which it enhances science’s broader societal visibility remain insufficiently understood. Drawing on large-scale survey data linked with bibliometric and altmetric indicators, this study examines how two core dimensions of interdisciplinarity—variety (spanning multiple scientific fields) and disparity (integrating cognitively distant fields)—shape the societal visibility of scientific outputs, measured through mentions in news media, blogs, and policy documents. Using publication-level regression models, the analysis reveals positive associations between both dimensions and societal visibility, with a pronounced reinforcing effect when variety and disparity interact. Research that simultaneously spans multiple and distant fields garners substantially greater non-academic attention than research characterized by either dimension alone. This