Source Evaluation: The Case for Interdisciplinary Studies: Response to Professor Benson's Five Arguments

1. 1. Provide the complete citation for the source.

   Newell, William H. "The Case for Interdisciplinary Studies: Response to Professor Benson's Five Arguments." (n.d.): n. pag. Association for Interdisciplinary Studies. Web.

   2. In what ways are the information, ideas, and arguments in the source relevant to your research writing project? It’s a response to a negative evaluation of interdisciplinary learning based models, very pro-interdisciplinary learning. This was originally the way I was leaning with this topic, and unless I find compelling evidence to the contrary, where I am still leaning. It also provides counterarguments to any anti-interdisciplinary learning arguments I may encounter (and in fact, I will, because the arguments this source is responding to come from another one of my sources).
   3. Is the line of argument in the source sound and well supported? In what ways can you use it in your project?

   It seems to be well supported, lots of footnotes and citations. This article seems to discuss interdisciplinary learning in a college context. I will probably use some of the arguments as support in my paper, especially if I find additional sources that agree with them. Another way I could use is to look at some of the sources it cites.

   4. What have you learned about the author and publisher that would lead you to accept, question, or reject the line of argument presented in the source?

   He is a professor of interdisciplinary studies, so pretty biased toward that viewpoint. However, it may be that information about interdisciplinary studies does come from mainly that camp, other professors rooted in their disciplines might have a vested interest in resisting interdisciplinary learning approaches. Saying this is a bad thing could be like saying that because scientists are the only ones experimenting, investigating, and reporting on a certain issue that this makes their findings biased. It may be that they are the only ones with the training to conduct certain types of research.

   5. In what ways does the publication date of the source affect your judgment of its usefulness for your project?

   I couldn’t find the publication date, but the sources it cites go no later than 1982. In conjunction with information from my first source, this may just be telling that this was a more widely researched and discussed topic in the mid to late twentieth century than it is now. Depending on the other sources I find, I may have to consider this part of the historical canon, or I may discover that this is still relatively recent and relevant research.

   6. In what ways does the comprehensiveness of the source affect your judgment of its usefulness for your project?

   Although it is sixteen pages, it is limited in scope to rebutting the arguments against interdisciplinary learning presented by another professor. This means that it does not introduce any new positives that might exist. It also seems to be discussing interdisciplinary learning in a college context, which limits its usefulness for arguments pertaining to pre-collegiate education.

   7. In what ways does the genre of the source affect your judgment of its usefulness for your project? As it is academic in nature and published by a major university, I trust the information in this source. As a rebuttal of previous arguments, the format of this article means that it does not introduce new ideas or describe educational processes in depth.
   8. In what ways could this source help you achieve your purpose and address the needs and interests of your readers?

   Readers might need or want to know the opposition to interdisciplinary learning, as well as some of the responses to those arguments. Knowing the opposition could help improve my argument in itself by anticipating and being better able to respond to objections. My purpose as of yet is to argue for interdisciplinary learning approaches, so an article arguing for interdisciplinary learning approaches should be quite helpful.