Arizona State University Multiple Disciplinary Research Methods Discussion

B. Discussion of Multiple Disciplinary Research Methods

(about 2 pages)

This section all new.It is a discussion of the disciplinary research process.In this section you must propose specific details of further research.Explain your proposed use of multiple methods: qualitative method (interviews), quantitative method (survey), historical/archival research, and one other method.Your discussion may not be general here.

In this section you need to refer to Appendixes that you will include at the end of the paper.That is, for example, explain how you propose to interview [name a person], and, as you do, say (See Appendix 1: Proposed Interview Guide 1).And then explain that you propose to interview [name a different person], and then say, (See Appendix 2: Proposed Interview Guide 2).Do the same for your proposed survey, and for your proposed historical research.In this section you will refer to four appendixes that will appear at the end of the paper.
(See Appendix 1: Proposed Interview Guide 1),

(See Appendix 2: Proposed Interview Guide 2)

(See Appendix 3: Proposed Survey), and

(See Appendix 4: List of Historical Documents to be Examined)

These references to appendixes refer to appendixes: two (new) interview guides, a survey, and historical/archival research.Instructions for the appendixes appear in Part VI.

Your discussion of qualitative and quantitative methods in this section must explain your methods (as you were to have done in earlier homework assignments).Say what the logic is and how the methods work.You must, in your quantitative method discussion, for example, identify variables (items in your survey) that would help you in your research.Same idea with your qualitative research (the two interviews).In short, speak the language of qualitative and quantitative methods.

Besides Qualitative and Quantitative methods, you need to propose some historical research.For this, you would need old documents.These can come from any number of sources (editorials in old newspapers or magazines work just as well as old documents from a museum or an archive – sometimes archives are locatable on the Internet, and are very useful).Look again at the Lecture (in Course Documents) called “Other Methods,” which explains the historical method.You should say here in this section the kind of documents you intend to examine, and where you’d access them, and then you’ll say: (See Appendix 4: List of Historical Documents to be Examined).Then, at the end of the paper, in your Appendix 4, you will give reference information for those four, just four, documents – not general web page links.No need to give details of the contents of the documents or attach copies of the documents themselves.We want to see that you understand the value of historical research to an interdisciplinary approach.

Then, in one more good paragraph propose a fourth method (again, have a look at the Lecture called “Other Methods”).Explain your proposed use of a fourth method that complements the other three.Explain it, and justify it.

And then, finally, write one good paragraph that summarizes this section.In this paragraph, if you haven’t yet done so, you need to justify using multiple disciplinary methods in your proposed research.