Discipline Analysis and Awareness: Customer Relationship Management Different ways of thinking about knowledge influence differences in research and writing practices. To understand the thinking your discipline privileges, as reflected in how it creates and transmits knowledge, you will examine its research and writing practices. In other words, you will research the research. Your purpose in writing this report is to educate undergraduate students new to the discipline on the disciplines research and writing practices as influenced by certain ways of thinking. While you will write with this audience in mind, you must also consider peripheral audiences (others who may read your report… like your professor). Because there may be numerous discourse communities within a discipline, it is important that you choose a particular branch and a subject of interest within that branch. For instance, in writing studies, digital rhetoricians privilege slightly different ways of thinking, researching, and writing than, say, composition theorists. Focusing on a branch (and subject) will allow you to make clear and accurate assertions rather than broad generalizations; however, you can (and will be expected to) make inferences about the larger discipline based on your findings. Part 1 of your report takes a macro-level approach to this investigation with a focus on the following: Key publications: What are the major scholarly and/or trade publications in this sub-discipline? Who publishes and/or edits them? How have they evolved (in scope, in format, etc.) since their inception? Key inquiries: What conversations are occurring in these publications? What are the major topics and concerns? Are these topics/concerns stable or evolving? Key researchers: Which contributors are most prominent in these conversations? What are their backgrounds and primary areas of expertise? On what else and where else do they publish? Part 2 of your report takes a micro-level approach to this investigation with a focus on the following: Standard genres and structural patterns: What genres (narrative, research report, experimental report, etc.) are most common? What are the major parts of and rhetorical moves in such genres? Types of evidence: What types of evidence (statistics, anecdotes, quotations, observations, theories, legal/philosophical principles, definitions, etc.) are frequently used? Language and style: Are the sentences short/long, simple/complex, emotionally-charged/objective? Is active or passive voice more prominent? Is the language accessible or replete with jargon? The heart of this report is the analysis, which addresses the question of why. When identifying and describing the above areas of focus, theorize as to why knowledge is created and transmitted in this way. (Why have these publications evolved in this way? Why are these topics important to these researchers? Why these genres and these types of evidence? etc.) Your analysis of the discourse will feed your claim about how this subdiscipline thinks about knowledge and will likewise feed your inferences about the larger discipline. This claim, as your thesis statement, should feature prominently in your report, with your areas of focus and associated analysis serving as support. The report should be formatted in MLA (or your disciplines preferred citation style). Part 1 & 2 Assignment Submission The word requirement for this assignment is 1,800 2,200 words. Be sure to include your works cited page too (you need a minimum of five scholarly sources)! Note: You cannot cite general encyclopedias, dictionaries (unless they are specialized dictionaries), or popular magazines and websites (, TIME Magazine, U. S. News & World Report, etc.). Part 3 (separate): Annotated Bibliography The annotated bibliography is a step toward choosing five sources that are most relevant and useful to your researched argument. While the goal of the annotated bibliography is to provide you with a means of analyzing key sources as relevant to the potential claim you will make in the final research project and to the potential audience to whom you will write, it is not the end-all of your research and thus not contractual in any way in terms of limiting or binding you to only these five sources. You will continue to research and develop your claim after writing this bibliography and will likely find new articles that may be more relevant and/or useful as your argument evolves.
