Summary
Detailed summary of chapter 2 of Repko and Szostak's 'Interdisciplinary research',
- Course
- Institution
- Book
Detailed summary of chapter 2 of Repko and Szostak's 'Interdisciplinary research'
[Show more]
Connected book
Book Title:
Author(s):
- Edition:
- ISBN:
- Edition:
Seller
Follow
felixlommerse
Content preview
Interdisciplinary research Summary H2Disciplinary perspective is a discipline’s view of reality in a general sense that embraces and
in turn reflects the ensemble of its defining elements that include phenomena,
epistemology, assumptions, concepts, theories, and methods.
Defining elements of a discipline’s perspective are
- The phenomena it studies
- Its epistemology or rules about what constitutes evidence
- The assumptions it makes about the natural and human world
- Its basic concepts or vocabulary
- Its theories about the causes and behaviors of certain phenomena
- Its methods (the way it gathers, applies, and produces new knowledge)
Disciplines (p. 36 - tables 2.1, 2.2) are intellectual communities that are devoted to the study
of a particular subject (e.g. biology), they have an institutional structure of graduate
programs (MA and PhD), departmental hiring, and disciplinary journals.
o Subdiscipline is a subdivision of an existing discipline (e.g. cultural
anthropology)
o Interdiscipline is between two or more disciplines. It might start as an
interdisciplinary field, but over time it can become more like a discipline by
developing its own curriculum, journals, professional associations, and
perspective (e.g. biochemistry or neuroscience)
Characteristics of disciplines are
- They are constantly evolving
- There might be cognitive discord, meaning disagreement among practitioners over
the defining elements of the discipline. Disagreement is inherent to disciplines but
there is an intellectual center of gravity that enables each discipline to maintain its
identity and have a distinctive overall perspective.
- They increasingly cross disciplinary boundaries. Disciplines borrow concepts,
theories, and methods from other disciplines
, Disciplinary perspectives are used in two circumstances
- In the beginning of the research process where the focus is on identifying disciplines
that are potentially interested in the problem. A rule of thumb is to let the problem
dictate which categories and disciplines within each category are most relevant to it.
- Is later when you are developing adequacy in relevant disciplines and analyzing the
problem. A discipline’s perspective is not identical with the insights the discipline
produces. Interdisciplinarians analyze the insights and theories resulting from a
discipline, they identify how they conflict, modify them by creating common ground,
integrate them, and construct a more comprehensive understanding of the problem.
The defining elements of disciplines explained
- Phenomena (p. 41 - tables 2.3, 2.4) are enduring aspects of human existence that are
of interest to scholars and are susceptible to scholarly description and explanation.
o Disciplines and their interest are ever changing, and logical classification of
phenomena does not exist, so:
Several disciplines can share phenomena and might be oblivious to the
work of other disciplines on that phenomenon.
Certain phenomena might be completely missed by the focus on other
phenomena. (e.g. economic growth might be relevant to history or
political science, but has not been studied specifically)
o Two ways of identifying relevant phenomena for problems:
Serially (Table 2.3)-> where you approach disciplines in hopes of
finding relevant phenomena to investigate
Focusing on the phenomenon itself-> where you focus on relevant
phenomena and subsequently look which disciplines are relevant
o Formerly, only the serial approach was available because there was only a
classification of disciplines based on their perspective (perspectival approach
table 2.2) available. However, Szostak classified the phenomena from most
general, left, to most specific, right, to see links between phenomena
(classification approach table 2.4).
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller felixlommerse. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $5.03. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.
Can Stuvia be trusted?
4.6 stars on Google & Trustpilot (+1000 reviews)
70055 documents were sold in the last 30 days
Founded in 2010, the go-to place to buy study notes for 14 years now