It's obviously beneficial to adopt and adapt research methodologies from other fields:
- History is improved through the addition of econometric examination;
- Literary studies are improved by historical context;
- Political Science is improved through broader cultural studies and understanding;
Many major breakthroughs in scholarly disciplines happen when methodologies from other disciplines are successfully integrated into a new field.
Examples in History:
- 1960s Social History -- use of statistical analysis and sociology to examine large groups
- 1970s Cultural Turn -- use of literary studies & post modernism to focus on culture rather than individuals and social structures
- Clifford Geertz (anthropology) The Interpretation of Cultures: Selected Essays (1973)
- Benedict Anderson's (poli sci) Imagined Communities (1983)
