Question 1

To avoid becoming overwhelmed as the reading proceeds,students are encouraged to:&#10;A)Read multiple disciplinary literature reviews to further understand the problem or question.&#10;B)Consult disciplinary experts for practical advice.&#10;C)Organize information in some systematic way so it can be easily accessed later.&#10;D)Rethink the question or problem and reassess the relevant literature.

Accepted Answer

By organizing information in a systematic way, students can easily access and review the relevant literature without becoming overwhelmed. This approach also helps to identify gaps in knowledge and make connections between different sources. Reading multiple disciplinary literature reviews or consulting experts may provide additional insights, but organizing the information is crucial for managing the complexity of the reading material. Rethinking the question or problem and reassessing literature may also be helpful, but this approach is more suited for situations where the initial approach is not yielding results or needs to be refined.

Question 2

Some strategies to conduct the initial phase of the literature search include all of the following except:&#10;A)Probing&#10;B)Scrutinize&#10;C)Evaluating&#10;D)Deciding

Accepted Answer

Scrutinize is not a strategy to conduct the initial phase of the literature search.

Question 3

How can a researcher reduce the risk of being seduced by what disciplinary experts say?&#10;A)Develop a clear understanding of how the problem should be approached in an interdisciplinary way.&#10;B)Allow the experts approach to determine the researchers understanding.&#10;C)Conclude at the outset of the project that a particular author or a particular theory holds the key to fulling understanding the problem.&#10;D)Determine the validity of the source.

Accepted Answer

Developing a clear understanding of how the problem should be approached in an interdisciplinary way allows the researcher to critically evaluate expert opinions and integrate diverse perspectives, reducing the risk of being overly influenced by any single disciplinary viewpoint.

Question 4

What special challenges face interdisciplinary researchers?&#10;A)There is not enough literature to be searched.&#10;B)Library cataloging is organized along interdisciplinary lines.&#10;C)Complex problems are easily solved within one discipline.&#10;D)Interdisciplinarians must place insights and theories of disciplines within the context of the discipline's perspective to create a better understanding.

Accepted Answer

Interdisciplinary research brings together insights and theories from different disciplines to create a better understanding of complex problems. However, this can also be challenging as interdisciplinary researchers must be able to understand and incorporate multiple disciplinary perspectives into their work, which may require extra effort in terms of bridging disciplinary jargon, methodologies, and epistemologies.

Question 5

Quantity of material produced by a discipline should never decide disciplinary relevance.

Accepted Answer

Disciplinary relevance should be determined by the quality and impact of the material produced, not just the sheer quantity. A discipline can produce a large amount of material but still be irrelevant or outdated, while a smaller but impactful body of work can be highly relevant to current research and understanding.

Question 6

Keyword searches are:&#10;A)The same as subject searches&#10;B)Useful primarily outside a discipline's literature.&#10;C)A bridge between the terminologies of different disciplines.&#10;D)Useful primarily within a discipline's literature

Accepted Answer

Keyword searches are useful primarily within a discipline's literature because they allow researchers to search for specific terms that are relevant to their field of study.

Question 7

Focusing on only what disciplinary experts see does not risks limiting your own ability to see the problem in its entirety.

Accepted Answer

Focusing solely on what disciplinary experts see can indeed risk limiting your own ability to see the problem in its entirety, as it may prevent the consideration of interdisciplinary perspectives and innovative solutions outside the experts' domain.

Question 8

All of the following are reasons for conducting a literature search except:&#10;A)To save time and effort.&#10;B)To develop adequacy in the relevant disciplines.&#10;C)To widen the topic and open the focus of the research question.&#10;D)To discover what scholarly knowledge has been produced on the topic by different disciplines.

Accepted Answer

A literature search is typically conducted to save time and effort by building on existing knowledge (A), to develop expertise in the relevant disciplines (B), and to discover what scholarly work has been done on the topic across different disciplines (D). Widening the topic and opening the focus of the research question (C) is generally not a reason for conducting a literature search; instead, the purpose is often to narrow the focus and identify gaps in the existing research.

Deck 5: Conducting the Literature Search