Engineering for Global Development: Characterizing the Discipline Through a Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

Abstract Over the past 50 years, researchers have repeatedly proposed the establishment of a new interdisciplinary engineering field in Engineering for Global Development (EGD), whose analytical tools and design processes result in positive social impacts and poverty alleviation in a global development context. Within each discipline and research area, a growing body of work has sought to systematically create scientific knowledge in this area. However, a recent network analysis of Human-Centered Design plus Development research indicates that sub-communities are not collaborating at a high level and therefore the overall research agenda may lack cohesion. This paper presents a descriptive analysis of EGD research within mechanical engineering along four dimensions through a systematic literature review and secondary data analysis. Results from the review and a Latent Dirichlet Allocation model indicate EGD work in mechanical engineering draws upon research methodologies from a number of other fields and has low levels of consensus on technical terminology. These results suggest consensus in the broader interdisciplinary EGD field should be examined.

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