Problem: Interdisciplinary Research Prospectus
This assignment will be 2000-2500 words in length and is meant to introduce the larger research project that you will complete in BIS499. You are required to add a works cited section and may use any citation style with which you are comfortable, as long as you use it consistently. You need to remember that you are writing within the academic genre, so keep your language formal, use subheadings throughout the paper, and carefully edit through the process for both content and grammar.
There are four required sections in this paper:
Introduction and Justification- In this section, you will discuss how your topic (and specific research question) are of relevance to the public. Discuss how the topic has come to the public's attention and the implications of inaction. You may cite media sources here to demonstrate to your reader how the subject is being discussed in the public sphere, but do not treat those media sources as the ultimate authorities on the issue, as they are not peer-reviewed! This section should conclude with you stating your research question clearly after having justified public interest in the topic.
Interdisciplinary Literature Review- Here you will cite at least 6 sources from at least 3 academic disciplines and review current research (within 15 years or less) on the subject. For each author you cite, you will name their scholarly discipline and affiliation (Dr. Joshua Olsberg, Sociology, National University Department of Social Sciences). You will then review their research question or hypothesis, methods, data, and conclusions thoroughly. Use subheadings for each scholarly article you review in this section.
Interdisciplinary Reflection- In this section, you will reflect upon the articles you reviewed in the prior section and identify how each academic discipline represented makes a specific contribution in two areas: theory and methods. For example, if the 3 disciplines represented in the prior section were Sociology, Economics, and Education, you would have a subheading for each of those, and in the section under that subheading discuss the theory and methods used in the article.
Interdisciplinary Synthesis and Conclusion- In this section, you will discuss how approaching your research question from an explicitly interdisciplinary perspective offers distinct advantages not found in the perspective of just one discipline. Can aspects of one discipline's theories be synthesized with those of another? Is there a specific methodological approach used by scholars from one discipline that might benefit scholars in another? Can an entirely new subfield of interdisciplinary research emerge if scholars focus on working together across disciplines? You need to be detailed and specific in answering these! Your last paragraph will conclude with how you plan to carry this project forward to BIS499. What aspects of your research question are not fully addressed in this paper? Need Assignment Help?