The third episode of the Hear! Here! series recognizes that most research projects today are interdisciplinary, which raises complexities for students. Students must be aware of how their question or topic is broached across multipe fields, and they must make such distinctions known as they talk and write about their research. The video contains an example of the interdisciplinarity in my own study of information in the hobby of gourmet cooking. I share an original diagram I produced, early in my literature review, that maps the various fields, literatures, databases, and terminology. I suggest creating your own diagram/map of this kind. A pivotal and defining step of the research process is to select a few most relevant disciplines, since no study has the capacity to address them all. The video ends with my own clear statement of those choices, as an example.
ABOUT THE VIDEO SERIES, HEAR! HERE! (IDEAS FOR DOCTORAL STUDENTS)
This video series is a resource for doctoral students (and master's students, too) as they complete the formidable undertaking of a dissertation or thesis. The series offers ideas that are novel, or expresses tried-and-true strategies in new ways. The sundry issues raised in the series all emerged during my own doctoral experience, between 2001-2007, at the University of California, Los Angeles. In the videos, I try to share what I learned, for the benefit of a next generation of students. The series contains many practical tips. Each time I say, "Hear! Here!" listen for the straightforward instructions that follow (and then do it!). The insights are often about the complexities of the research process, pertaining mainly to qualitative studies. While many of the accounts are based in Information Science, the principles are easily applied to other disciplines. The series contains 10 episodes that are “short and sweet,” ranging from 90 seconds to 3 minutes. More episodes are forthcoming. I suggest that all academic supervisors, or teachers of research methods, share these videos with their students and/or discuss the issues raised in the videos in their classes. And, please like, share, and comment—then subscribe to INFIDEOS. Thank you!
