WEBVTT

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Now, the next key
element that you'll

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find in any academic
discipline are concepts.

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And concepts are a construction
or invention in language

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that represents a phenomenon
or an abstract idea generalized

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from particular instances.

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And what you need to know
is that we invent concepts.

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Concepts don't exist in
nature by themselves.

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And each discipline has
created a large number

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of concepts that
act, in many ways,

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as the language of
that discipline.

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So if you want to
understand what

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the scholars in your
areas of study are saying,

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you've got to
learn the concepts.

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So here are some examples.

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In biology, which is the study
of life and the natural world,

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a central concept in
biology is a cell.

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Cells are the basic unit
to understanding life.

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Another example.

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In history, a central concept is
change or continuity over time.

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And so if you can
grasp that concept,

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you get a sense of how
historians approach the world

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and how they try to
analyze the world.

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And for those of you
who study economics,

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what's the central
concept in economics?

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Yep.

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You guessed it--
supply and demand.

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Supply and demand are
very basic concepts

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of economics as a discipline.

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So when you research
for the areas

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of study paper, you
want to ask, what

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are the basic concepts
in the disciplines you

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are investigating?

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If you're not able to
identify the basic concepts

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of the disciplines
you're studying,

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you won't be able to understand
the discipline at all.

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And on top of that,
I also want you

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to strive to go beyond
the obvious concepts

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if you can, because the more
disciplinary concepts that you

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can recognize and understand,
the more knowledgeable

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you'll be and the easier it will
be for you to understand what

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experts in your
areas of the study

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are saying and also writing.

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Now, concepts are the most
fundamental building blocks

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of any theory.

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And this is the next
defining element

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of an academic discipline.

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And a theory here refers
to a generalized scholarly

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explanation about some aspect
of the natural or human world,

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how it works, and
why specific facts

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are related that are supported
by data and research.

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In short, theories
explain something.

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They explain a general
or universal phenomenon,

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usually by identifying
relationships between concepts.

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Many of you are already
familiar with theory.

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So you have theory of
relativity, the Big Bang

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theory, theories about race,
and Maslow's hierarchy of needs,

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for example.

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And most importantly,
what I want

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you to understand about theory
at this point in your IDS

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career is that it's
absolutely critical

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to the interdisciplinary
research

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process for three main reasons.

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The first is that
it's a major component

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of what any discipline is.

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And what I mean by that is
that it's virtually impossible

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to conduct research in any
discipline on any topic

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and not have to deal with
or encounter some theory.

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It's just not possible.

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So you will encounter it as
you progress as an IDS major.

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The second reason
is that theory is

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so fundamental to
disciplinary scholarship.

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And so if you can know the
basics of theories and schools

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of thought within
your areas of study,

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you'll be able to
better understand what

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each scholar is trying to say.

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And finally, the third reason
is that disciplinary insights

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are rooted in theories.

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Theories help scholars
produce insights

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into a specific problem.

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And you'll eventually
have to do the same.

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Now, that doesn't mean
you're going to have

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to create your own theories.

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It just means that
you'll rely on theories

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to make your arguments as well.

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And when you're investigating
theories, if you look closely,

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you'll notice that many
scholars in your areas of study

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are basing their arguments and
claims on the same theories.

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And it's not always
visible, but it's there.

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It's like one of my
dissertation advisors

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used to tell me about theory.

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Theory is like underwear--

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you have to have it, but
you don't need to show it.

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And yes, that's correct.

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I am asking you to identify and
find out what type of underwear

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each scholar is wearing.

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And the final defining
element of any discipline--

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methods.

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And methods refers
to how one conducts

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research, analyzes
data or evidence,

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tests theories, and
creates new knowledge.

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There's an underlying logic
to how disciplinarians

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go about creating
new knowledge that's

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quite different than
how interdisciplinarians

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go about it.

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In essence, each discipline
has their own ideas

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about how to best
investigate a problem

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and to find or gather evidence
to support their arguments.

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So for example, all scholars
in the natural sciences

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use the scientific method.

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But for many of you, as well as
for many other areas of study,

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you'll rely on quantitative
and qualitative methods.

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And so quantitative
methods refers

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to evidence that can be
expressed numerically

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over a specified time
frame, so the number

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of molecules or the number
of people living in poverty.

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So when you think quantitative,
think quantity, or numbers.

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As for qualitative methods,
qualitative methods include

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an analysis of evidence and data
that cannot be easily measured

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in numbers.

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So for example, any kind
of cultural expression

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or a personal experience
of racism or sexism.

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You can't necessarily measure
those things in numbers.

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And so how would you
go about analyzing it?

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You would have to use
qualitative methods,

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such as an interview.

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So in your areas of
study paper, you'll

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be asked what research
methods are used to carry out

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research in your discipline.

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Does the discipline
use qualitative

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or quantitative
research methods?

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When does it use
quantitative and when does it

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use qualitative?

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So these are the
kind of questions

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that you'll need to be able
to answer before you can truly

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understand how researchers
in a particular discipline

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conduct research.

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And it's not an easy task,
which is why the IDS program has

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actually devoted an
entire course, IDS

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240, Interdisciplinary
Research Methods, to exploring

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and analyzing various
research methods

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available to interdisciplinary
study scholars.

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So to conclude.

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Knowing the elements
of discipline

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is extremely
important because when

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you start the interdisciplinary
research process,

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you start by choosing a topic.

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But especially when you have
to identify common ground

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to achieve integration--

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this is going to be the
topic for module four--

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at least one of
these elements will

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serve as your foundation in
which you will then integrate

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to create new knowledge.

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So don't beat
yourself up right now

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if these elements are really
fuzzy or confusing to you.

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The areas of study assignment
will help you tremendously,

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if you do it right, in grasping
what each of these elements

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mean, but also how
they characterize

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the culture of your
chosen disciplines.

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And finally, also remember that
sorting out and identifying

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the elements of a
discipline does not

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mean that the disciplines
themselves don't change

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or that they're static.

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Always keep in mind that the
disciplines are constantly

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changing their dynamic,
and their borders

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and the boundaries that
define the disciplines

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are porous and flexible,
just like any culture.

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