Step 3

KNOW THE DISCIPLINES

You should find out about the assigned topic and the different social science disciplines that are competing for research funding.The following items should help you become more knowledgeable. Complete this as individual work.

Read the Sample Research Proposal. Briefly explain what you understand as the goal of this religious studies research team.

Read the abstracts for each of the disciplines in the Topics and Proposal Abstracts. Beside each discipline name, place a few keywords that help you to understand how that discipline conducts research.

  1. Anthropology
  2. Business
  3. Economics
  4. Geography
  5. History
  6. Philosophy
  7. Political Science
  8. Psychology
  9. Religious Studies
  10. Sociology

Which of the two disciplines do you feel are most similar? Why?

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Which of the two disciplines do you feel are most dissimilar? Why?

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Which of two disciplines do you feel you know the least about?

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Visit the professional association website for these two disciplines. Navigate through each site for a few minutes. Eventually, jot down a few points you have learned about each discipline. (Search “Canadian” or “American” before the discipline name, followed by the word “Association,” such as “Canadian Political Science Association.”)

Consult a specialized social science encyclopedia in your college library’s e-book collection, book stacks or database. Search for an entry/article on the assigned topic. For instance, The International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences is a 26-volume specialized encyclopaedia that is available in most academic libraries. Popular encyclopaedias such as Britannica or Wikipedia are inappropriate choices. You may require your assistance from your teacher or librarian for this item. 
Take note of the following:

  1. Title of encyclopaedia (publication title)
  2. Editor(s)
  3. Title of entry in encyclopaedia
  4. Author(s) (usually found at beginning or at end of specific article/entry)
  5. Volume number (where applicable)
  6. Page numbers
  7. List three elements of the entry that help you to understand the topic:
  8. Find an excerpt that helps you to understand the assigned topic. Place the quote here :

     

     

     

     

     

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