Now, the next key element that you'll
find in any academic discipline are concepts.
And concepts are a construction or invention in language
that represents a phenomenon or an abstract idea generalized
from particular instances.
And what you need to know is that we invent concepts.
Concepts don't exist in nature by themselves.
And each discipline has created a large number
of concepts that act, in many ways,
as the language of that discipline.
So if you want to understand what
the scholars in your areas of study are saying,
you've got to learn the concepts.
So here are some examples.
In biology, which is the study of life and the natural world,
a central concept in biology is a cell.
Cells are the basic unit to understanding life.
Another example.
In history, a central concept is change or continuity over time.
And so if you can grasp that concept,
you get a sense of how historians approach the world
and how they try to analyze the world.
And for those of you who study economics,
what's the central concept in economics?
Yep.
You guessed it-- supply and demand.
Supply and demand are very basic concepts
of economics as a discipline.
So when you research for the areas
of study paper, you want to ask, what
are the basic concepts in the disciplines you
are investigating?
If you're not able to identify the basic concepts
of the disciplines you're studying,
you won't be able to understand the discipline at all.
And on top of that, I also want you
to strive to go beyond the obvious concepts
if you can, because the more disciplinary concepts that you
can recognize and understand, the more knowledgeable
you'll be and the easier it will be for you to understand what
experts in your areas of the study
are saying and also writing.
Now, concepts are the most fundamental building blocks
of any theory.
And this is the next defining element
of an academic discipline.
And a theory here refers to a generalized scholarly
explanation about some aspect of the natural or human world,
how it works, and why specific facts
are related that are supported by data and research.
In short, theories explain something.
They explain a general or universal phenomenon,
usually by identifying relationships between concepts.
Many of you are already familiar with theory.
So you have theory of relativity, the Big Bang
theory, theories about race, and Maslow's hierarchy of needs,
for example.
And most importantly, what I want
you to understand about theory at this point in your IDS
career is that it's absolutely critical
to the interdisciplinary research
process for three main reasons.
The first is that it's a major component
of what any discipline is.
And what I mean by that is that it's virtually impossible
to conduct research in any discipline on any topic
and not have to deal with or encounter some theory.
It's just not possible.
So you will encounter it as you progress as an IDS major.
The second reason is that theory is
so fundamental to disciplinary scholarship.
And so if you can know the basics of theories and schools
of thought within your areas of study,
you'll be able to better understand what
each scholar is trying to say.
And finally, the third reason is that disciplinary insights
are rooted in theories.
Theories help scholars produce insights
into a specific problem.
And you'll eventually have to do the same.
Now, that doesn't mean you're going to have
to create your own theories.
It just means that you'll rely on theories
to make your arguments as well.
And when you're investigating theories, if you look closely,
you'll notice that many scholars in your areas of study
are basing their arguments and claims on the same theories.
And it's not always visible, but it's there.
It's like one of my dissertation advisors
used to tell me about theory.
Theory is like underwear--
you have to have it, but you don't need to show it.
And yes, that's correct.
I am asking you to identify and find out what type of underwear
each scholar is wearing.
And the final defining element of any discipline--
methods.
And methods refers to how one conducts
research, analyzes data or evidence,
tests theories, and creates new knowledge.
There's an underlying logic to how disciplinarians
go about creating new knowledge that's
quite different than how interdisciplinarians
go about it.
In essence, each discipline has their own ideas
about how to best investigate a problem
and to find or gather evidence to support their arguments.
So for example, all scholars in the natural sciences
use the scientific method.
But for many of you, as well as for many other areas of study,
you'll rely on quantitative and qualitative methods.
And so quantitative methods refers
to evidence that can be expressed numerically
over a specified time frame, so the number
of molecules or the number of people living in poverty.
So when you think quantitative, think quantity, or numbers.
As for qualitative methods, qualitative methods include
an analysis of evidence and data that cannot be easily measured
in numbers.
So for example, any kind of cultural expression
or a personal experience of racism or sexism.
You can't necessarily measure those things in numbers.
And so how would you go about analyzing it?
You would have to use qualitative methods,
such as an interview.
So in your areas of study paper, you'll
be asked what research methods are used to carry out
research in your discipline.
Does the discipline use qualitative
or quantitative research methods?
When does it use quantitative and when does it
use qualitative?
So these are the kind of questions
that you'll need to be able to answer before you can truly
understand how researchers in a particular discipline
conduct research.
And it's not an easy task, which is why the IDS program has
actually devoted an entire course, IDS
240, Interdisciplinary Research Methods, to exploring
and analyzing various research methods
available to interdisciplinary study scholars.
So to conclude.
Knowing the elements of discipline
is extremely important because when
you start the interdisciplinary research process,
you start by choosing a topic.
But especially when you have to identify common ground
to achieve integration--
this is going to be the topic for module four--
at least one of these elements will
serve as your foundation in which you will then integrate
to create new knowledge.
So don't beat yourself up right now
if these elements are really fuzzy or confusing to you.
The areas of study assignment will help you tremendously,
if you do it right, in grasping what each of these elements
mean, but also how they characterize
the culture of your chosen disciplines.
And finally, also remember that sorting out and identifying
the elements of a discipline does not
mean that the disciplines themselves don't change
or that they're static.
Always keep in mind that the disciplines are constantly
changing their dynamic, and their borders
and the boundaries that define the disciplines
are porous and flexible, just like any culture.