Step 3

KNOW YOUR DISCIPLINE

In point form, list what you, as an individual, are bringing to the team in terms of knowledge and interests relative to the discipline to which you have been assigned. Consider such things as courses taken, readings, essays written or orals delivered in courses relating to the discipline. Also consider any involvement in volunteer or club activities or jobs you have done that may relate.

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Spend 15 minutes browsing through the official website (Canadian or American) of the professional association of your discipline*, and answer the following questions individually (not as a team).

  1. Judging by what you see on the website, what kind of things do members of this professional association do?
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  2. What reasons or stated goals guide their activities as a professional association?
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  3. Provide a few concrete examples of programs, events or activities that they support (i.e., conferences, workshops, scholarships, job postings…)?
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  4. Where/how do they appear to conduct their research (geographic locations, in labs, in the field)?
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  5. What did you learn from this website that might help you to play the role of a researcher from this particular discipline?
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  6. Which two other disciplines appear similar to your assigned discipline? Explain briefly. Read the sample Topics and Proposal Abstracts to get a sense of which disciplines may be similar. You may also look at some other professional association websites to get a clearer idea of the similarities.
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Examples include the Canadian or American Psychological Association or the Canadian or American Political Science Association. For the Business discipline, these associations are more specific to areas within business, such as marketing, advertising, finance or accounting.