Guidelines for Researching Disciplines Worksheet
This sheet will explain what each section is and
what you should include. The worksheet that you actually complete starts on
page 2 (delete this page once you are finished)
Name/Title
of Discipline:
Discipline Subject Matter:
What is the
object(s) of study? What is this discipline about?
**cite where you
got this information, both with a parenthetical citation and a bibliographic
entry**
Definition of Discipline:
Find an academic
definition, by consulting textbooks, academic disciplinary journals, books
published by university presses, departmental or professional academic
organization web sites. Do not try to define a discipline by looking up the
word in the dictionary!
**cite where you
got this information, both with a parenthetical citation and a bibliographic
entry**
Sub-Fields within the
Discipline:
How is this
discipline organized or divided? Can this discipline be broken down further
into smaller areas (sub-fields)? List out at least 3 sub-fields. Carefully
describe the purpose or goal of each sub-field. What specific concerns do each
sub-field address?
**cite where you
got this information, both with a parenthetical citation and a bibliographic
entry**
Key Concepts:
What are some of
the key concepts associated with this discipline? List out at least 3 key
concepts within the discipline. Define each concept according to how they are
defined within the discipline. It is important that you understand how a given
discipline defines a specific concept as another discipline may define the
concept differently.
**cite where you
got this information, both with a parenthetical citation and a bibliographic
entry**
Key Books/Seminal Texts:
List three
influential, well-known, or seminal texts in the field. Be sure to provide a
correct, full citation (APA or MLA style) plus a brief description of what each
is about and why it is important to the discipline.
**no
documentation/citation is needed in this section**
Key Thinkers:
List three top
thinkers in the discipline. Try to list people who have not authored any of the
key books your have listed above. Provide each thinkerâs name, birth, and death
year (if deceased), and a brief description of their contribution to the field.
**cite where you
got this information, both with a parenthetical citation and a bibliographic
entry**
Worksheet for Researching Disciplines
Name/Title of Discipline:
Discipline Subject Matter
(plus parenthetical citation):
Definition of Discipline
(plus parenthetical citation):
Sub-Fields within the
Discipline (plus parenthetical citation):
Key Concepts (plus
parenthetical citation):
Key Concept 1 (plus parenthetical citation):
Key Concept 2 (plus parenthetical citation):
Key Concept 3 (plus parenthetical citation):
Key Books/Seminal Texts:
Key Book/Seminal Text 1:
Why Key Book/Seminal Text 1 is important:
Key Book/Seminal Text 2:
Why Key Book/Seminal Text 2 is important:
Key Book/Seminal Text 3:
Why Key Book/Seminal Text 3 is important:
Key Thinkers and Practitioners:
Key Thinker 1 (plus parenthetical citation):
Key Thinker 2 (plus parenthetical citation):
Key Thinker 3 (plus parenthetical citation):
Bibliography:
Entry for source 1
Entry for source 2
Entry for source 3
(repeat for each source you
use in the worksheet)