Your paper should reflect the 10-STEP interdisciplinary research process (IRP):
1. Define the problem or state the focus question
2. Justify using an interdisciplinary approach
3. Identify relevant disciplines
4. Conduct a literature search
5. Develop adequacy in each relevant discipline
6. Analyze the problem and evaluate each insight into it
7. Identify conflicts between insights and their sources
8. Create or discover common ground
9. Integrate insights through comprehensive understanding
10. Communicate and test it
Your paper should reflect the 10-STEP interdisciplinary research process (IRP):
B. Write the assignment as a Word document in Times New Roman 12-point font.
C. Double-space between all lines of type (e.g., between paragraphs and bibliographic citations).
D. Use the APA, 7th edition manual of style to format this and all IDS 300W written assignments. See the APA handout on the Canvas course website.
E. Don’t use endnotes or footnotes.
F. Use in-text parenthetical citations. If you don’t have at least one in-text citation per paragraph (doesn’t apply to introductory and concluding paragraphs), you need additional research. There should be at least one corresponding in-text parenthetical citation for every entry in your references.
G. This paper should be about 2000 words in length, excluding the title page, abstract, and references. In other words, you should write about an eight-page, double-spaced paper, not including the cover page, abstract, and references. If your paper is longer, please edit to comply with the length requirements before submitting it. NOTE: To clarify, in addition to the 2000-word requirement, include a cover page, abstract, and references.
H. Include at least six scholarly, peer-reviewed resources, at least two per discipline. You may wish to include additional references (e.g., from government websites or appropriate but non-scholarly sources) but include peer-reviewed resources as indicated. Don’t use Wikipedia!
I. As appropriate, write in the present tense: “This paper discusses…” not “This paper will discuss….”
J. A paragraph is at least two sentences in length.
K. The audience for your research paper are people interested in your topic but who are unfamiliar with your topic or the many interdisciplinary lenses that could be used to discuss it.
L. Cite every source you quote directly and indirectly. If it isn’t your idea or definition to begin with, cite your source. Include in-text parenthetic citations that immediately follow the direct or indirect quote followed by punctuation at the end of the sentence (e.g., Smith, 2015, p. 240).
PAPER FORMAT & CONTENT
1. Title page in APA style.
2. Throughout your paper, use the following headings, centered and typed in bold font style:
Abstract
Introduction
Separate subheadings for each of your three disciplines (e.g., History)
Disciplinary Conflicts
Common Ground
Conflicts
Conclusion
References
3. Second page: An abstract of your paper based on APA guidelines. There is a PowerPoint on the course website on how to write an abstract for this assignment. Further, here are recommended links to help you write a 250-word APA abstract:
B. Write the assignment as a Word document in Times New Roman 12-point font.
C. Double-space between all lines of type (e.g., between paragraphs and bibliographic citations).
D. Use the APA, 7th edition manual of style to format this and all IDS 300W written assignments. See the APA handout on the Canvas course website.
E. Don’t use endnotes or footnotes.
F. Use in-text parenthetical citations. If you don’t have at least one in-text citation per paragraph (doesn’t apply to introductory and concluding paragraphs), you need additional research. There should be at least one corresponding in-text parenthetical citation for every entry in your references.
G. This paper should be about 2000 words in length, excluding the title page, abstract, and references. In other words, you should write about an eight-page, double-spaced paper, not including the cover page, abstract, and references. If your paper is longer, please edit to comply with the length requirements before submitting it. NOTE: To clarify, in addition to the 2000-word requirement, include a cover page, abstract, and references.
H. Include at least six scholarly, peer-reviewed resources, at least two per discipline. You may wish to include additional references (e.g., from government websites or appropriate but non-scholarly sources) but include peer-reviewed resources as indicated. Don’t use Wikipedia!
I. As appropriate, write in the present tense: “This paper discusses…” not “This paper will discuss….”
J. A paragraph is at least two sentences in length.
K. The audience for your research paper are people interested in your topic but who are unfamiliar with your topic or the many interdisciplinary lenses that could be used to discuss it.
L. Cite every source you quote directly and indirectly. If it isn’t your idea or definition to begin with, cite your source. Include in-text parenthetic citations that immediately follow the direct or indirect quote followed by punctuation at the end of the sentence (e.g., Smith, 2015, p. 240).
PAPER FORMAT & CONTENT
4. Page 3: At the top of the page, on the first line, center the title of your paper in bold font.
5. The introductory paragraph clearly states in any logical order:
A. In a sentence or two, identify the relevant problem or issue you’ll explore.
B. Your research question stated as a question.
C. Three different disciplines or fields of study you employ. For each, clearly
explain why you’re looking at your question through that disciplinary lens.
NOTE: It’s not what your question says about the disciplines but what the disciplines say about the question you’re addressing.
D. What an interdisciplinary approach to researching & writing helps you to accomplish.
E. Justification for your research, for example, as it relates to your major, a major or relevant discourse in your field of study, including this paper in your IDS 493 portfolio, or some such. Write persuasively to establish why your question merits examination
F. In the introduction, don’t tell the reader your conclusions, e.g., “This research finds that….” Save that for your concluding paragraph.
6. In the second paragraph:
A. Define key terms you’ll use in the paper. In 99% of the papers, do not define interdisciplinarity or your disciplines. The exception is that you can define a discipline if you are working with one that’s relatively new or unfamiliar, like disaster risk management.
NOTE: Most of you need to include this paragraph. Some of you may have topics that may require you to define only one term. A few of you – and this is the exception — may not require a definition paragraph. In particular, carefully consider that your audience/reader is an average person with no expertise in cybersecurity, technology, and so forth.
B. Begin the paragraph with a sentence that includes all the terms you’ll define (e.g., “X, X, and X are among the key terms….”)
B. Don’t define the disciplines you use or the concept of interdisciplinarity anywhere in your paper. We assume you already know what those terms mean.
C. Terms may be defined variously, so it’s critical that you cite (disciplinary) experts who define terms as you do. In general, don’t use the Wester’s Dictionary but rather use definitions by experts in an appropriate discipline or field. Further, you may think you’re stating the obvious, but in interdisciplinary work the same word can have different meanings in various contexts. The scholars you choose to quote reinforce your use of specific disciplines or fields of study and add more validity, legitimacy, and so forth to using those disciplines. For example, don’t use a definition provided by a historian if you’re not using history as a discipline. Be crystal clear about what you mean when you use the term X.
D. Write your definition paragraph in complete sentences and in paragraph form.
E. No bullet points.
F. Italicize words referred to as words. Examples:
• Sustainability is defined as, “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Brundtland, 1987).
• This defines blockchain, or the connections….
• Sklair (1980) defines globalization as….
G. Quote reputable sources. Start the sentence with something like, “Taylor Smith, a cybersecurity professor from Yale, defines a gray hat hacker as….” In other words, do appropriate research and make it clear why this person is an expert on the term, concept, theory, or idea you’re defining.
7. Three Paragraphs on disciplinary findings:
A. Show what each discipline contributes to your study. You’ll write three paragraphs, one on each discipline or field of study (henceforth referred to as “disciplines”). For example, if your disciplines are Japanese 17th century economics, poetry, and archeology, discuss each in a separate paragraph. NOTE: If you can’t do this step, indications are that you need more appropriate research or to switch to an appropriate discipline.
B. Include in-text citations for all direct and indirect quotes. See APA guidelines.
C. Do not devote any part of your paper to defining the disciplines you use. In other words, do NOT define a discipline in your paper.
8. Paragraph on creating common ground:
A. Make it crystal clear in the first sentence what you’ll discuss in this paragraph. For example, you could begin by writing something like, “There are three major findings disclosed by this interdisciplinary research. First, …”
B. Explain where you find common ground among the three disciplinary data sets or disciplinary findings. Be crystal clear about which disciplines contributed to at least three major “common ground” findings. Include findings from all three disciplines. In other words, weave at least two disciplines into each major point and integrate your data thematically or by subject. In the last sentence(s), argue that without interdisciplinary research, the insight might not otherwise have been disclosed, and why you think so.
9. Paragraph on identifying conflicts:
In a separate paragraph, identify one to three conflicts between insights and their sources, AND ways to bridge those differences. You can address conflicts between theories, disciplinary findings, and/or conflicting ethical positions.
10. Paragraph that applies Ch 12: “Constructing a More Comprehensive Understanding or Theory”:
Include insights on how to construct a more comprehensive understanding of the topic expressed by your research question. Use an appropriate topic sentence that prepares the reader for what you’ll discuss.
11. Paragraph that applies Ch. 13: “Reflecting On, Testing, and Communicating the Understanding or Theory”
Include insights on how to reflect on, test, or communicate your understanding or theory. For example, could you offer suggestions on how to build upon this research in future research, e.g., employ an additional discipline to study X aspect of the issue, or fieldwork in a particular country for the purpose of understanding or applying X? Could you include how you tested your theory?
12. Conclusion:
A. In this final paragraph of your paper, focus on what your research disclosed about the topic. Make conclusions about your topic, not the research process. In other words, DON’T write about “what I learned by using an IDS approach.” The final paragraph should address every major point you make in your introductory paragraph, so it might be helpful to revise your intro as you write your conclusion. This approach helps you to bring your paper “full circle” and to a logical close.
B. The conclusion should not contain any new research or in-text citations (those should be elsewhere in your paper).
13. References:
A. Use APA format, which includes a proper heading for the references page and spacing and indentation of each bibliographic citation.
B. There should be at least one in-text citation for each reference. You will be penalized for including a reference without a corresponding parenthetical citation in your paper.
Research Paper pro tips & proofreading reminders:
• Include a title page in APA format.
• Did you research how to write an APA abstract and follow those directions?
• Write in present tense when appropriate (“This paper focuses on…”)
• Make pronoun references clear. For example, don’t use pronouns in the first sentence of a paragraph. If you write something like, “This means that cybersecurity is compromised,” are you crystal clear about what you mean by “this”?
• Learn what comma splices and dependent clauses are and keep them out of your paper.
• Did you punctuate “however” correctly?
• Since you indent paragraphs, double-space between all lines of type, including between paragraphs. In other words, don’t quadruple-space between paragraphs.
• Paraphrase as often as possible and avoid long quotes.
• List references on a new page and in APA style.
• Did you use the “editor” feature of Word?
• Is your paper a Word document (no pdfs, please)?
• Include “References” as a heading that starts your page of references.
• Do not include subheadings.
• Since 2016, the APA hasn’t capitalized the word internet.
• When should your disciplines be capitalized?
• Double-check your references since most folks lose points on them. Don’t rely on citation machines, which are notoriously inaccurate.
Don’t take a needless chance; attach and submit your Word document to Canvas at least five minutes before the assignment deadline.
Disciplines include: Sociology, Finance, Cybersecurity
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