1. What did you already know about interdisciplinarity before you started this course? 
    1. I did not personally know a lot about the topic before reading. Before reading, I had the impression it was a topic of many different studies and research. However, I learned that it goes a lot deeper and has a community of researchers and academic fields (Repko and Szostak, 2021) (pg. 3). 
  2. What was something you learned which stood out to you?
    1. In Chapter 1, a perspective is given stating that specific attention to the major being pursued is needed but that we also need a broader picture to completely understand the problems and real-world aspects surrounding the topic. I have never reflected on this or considered that point of view, and it does provide a sound argument and give a greater understanding (pg. 12).
  3. In what ways can you see IDS as beneficial to you?
    1. Based on the reading, IDS does not help just one person. IDS evaluates many subjects and completes studies on how to improve and gain a deeper understanding. A topic such as neuroscience is mentioned. This discipline is very essential in medicine which is constantly evolving. Therefore, IDS helps society gain a better understanding and improve the ideas we currently know. (Repko and Szostak, 2021) state “Studies programs in general represent fundamental challenges to the existing structure of knowledge” (pg. 6).
  4. What would you like to gain from this course?
    1. Throughout this course, I aim to gain a comprehensive understanding of how Interdisciplinary Studies (IDS) benefits society. Specifically, I am interested in exploring the multifaceted advantages that arise from integrating knowledge across different disciplines. Through this class, I aspire to appreciate the value of IDS in advancing both academic inquiry and practical problem-solving in our increasingly interconnected world.
  5. What questions do you have?
    1. I do wish in the textbook they gave an example of a study where they could apply the terms based on the study to gain a better understanding and gave more in-depth examples to help process the information. I found the topic of “Interdisciplinary Studies Is Not Multidisciplinary Studies” (Repko and Szostak, 2021) very interesting and wondered just how different they are besides IDS being based on one study and MDS being based on 2 or more (pg. 24). To put it in the phrase of a question, Why can the two fields not accomplish the same goal? If research has to be done for a study is the researcher not going to look into all topics involving the article even if it is just touched on from a different study? When students do research papers, all sources that relate to the topic are used, and this author is curious about how these are not the same.
  6. After responding to these general questions, answer Textbook question 1.5 (p. 30). 
    1. I agree that the IDS should be viewed as complementary or “both/and” instead of separately. I believe to gain a full understanding one needs to view other factors and gain the whole picture. Just as with jobs, you cannot only focus on one thing. You must include what causes the failure or gain insight into how everything works. In specifics related to my major in Cybersecurity, I can not focus on just coding or setting up a firewall. I must consider potential threats and previous vulnerabilities in systems to learn more. This teaches not only risks that can occur to help me learn what can be done to prevent and/or help but also other factors and the motivations for why attacks happen to begin with. Throughout my major, I have learned how hospitals can be a top pick for attacks as it has sensitive information that can be sold to the highest bidder.

References:

Repko, A. F. & Szostak, R. (2021). Interdisciplinary research: Process and theory (4th ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.