BIS 300Fall2016

Bibliographic Essay (300 points)

Due: November 8th

A central goal of this course is to develop an interdisciplinary concentration proposal. To help you prepare for this, you will write a bibliographic essay in which you will evaluate materials within your field of study. The bibliographic essay has two broad and related goals: to introduce your interdisciplinaryfieldof study (your concentration) and to review and discuss the existing literature related to this field. This research base will be your starting point for BIS 390The Research Process. The essay has four specific requirements related to your concentration:

1)Introduce your field of study and explain its interdisciplinary components:

  • What is your field?
  • What disciplines make up your field? How will you integrate these disciplines?
  • Why is this field important?

2)Assess what has been done before and what remains to be done:

  • What are the major issues in your field? What do the experts identify as important and why?
  • What do the experts view as major future issues in this field?

3)Create a list of the main works in your field (a minimum of 10) including the following):

  • 2-3 key basic references, handbooks, or encyclopedias
  • 2-4 major journals (disciplinary and/or interdisciplinary) – not journal articles
  • 3-5 influential books (seminal works)
  • 1-2 relevant professional associations or organizations

4)Analyze these works and discuss:

  • Your rationale for selecting each (why did you select it?)
  • Its authoritativeness (how do you know the source is reliable?)
  • Its usefulness to your concentration (how do you anticipate using it?)
  • The target audience for these works (academic, industry professionals, etc.)?

The essay does not need to cover every issue or publication within the field, but it should cover the main issues and associated publications. The point is not to map out past scholarship in its entirety but to focus on the future. That is, by looking at what has been done before, you can determine where you want to go with your work. Writing the essay is an opportunity for you to develop and answer important questions about your field, such as:

  • What issues have garnered the most attention?
  • Have any key issues been ignored?
  • Have practitioners abandoned a line of inquiry you think may still bear fruit?
  • What are the sources available to you for further research?
  • Are ample sources available or will the shortage of existing materials hamper your future work?

This is NOT a review of the subject itself. It should be an OVERVIEW of the existing works on the subject. It is also not a discussion of what has happened—a recitation of history—but rather a discussion of what other people have had to say about it. Ultimately, the goal is to help you define your field and build your concentration. It is far better to find out problems now, through a preliminary review of the field, than later when you have committed to a concentration and a final project that is not possible.

Requirements

Length: An essay of 8-10 pages is required—not including your bibliography or a title page, if used. In general, if the paper is less than eight pages, you have defined your field too narrowly. If it is more than 15 pages, you probably have defined the field too broadly.

When you begin, concentrate on the last 5-10 years of work by writers in your field. You may have to go back further, but I would suggest not going back more than 10 years for this projectunless your field has a “classic” text or reference that is older.

In summary, the basic steps you must go through are to:

  • Select the fields/disciplines you will pursue in your BIS degree program—this should be clear to you since writing your Reflection Essay;
  • Research the literature in these fields/disciplines – on-line, in the GMU Library system, and in the Career Services Library;
  • Review all your material, taking notes;
  • Analyze what you have found, and determine what needs to be included in your essay discussion (reconsider the questions on the front of this sheet);
  • Create your bibliography; and
  • Write your essay, bringing together everything you have found, explaining what it is and why it is important, and summarizing/discussing the key materials.

A print copy will be handed in at the beginning of class on November 8th. You are also required to post your Bibliographic Essay to the class blog before class that day and then comment on at least one of your group member’s papers during or after class.