Thus, as they engage in inquiry, researchers will choose methods based on the values of the Communities of Practitioners in their disciplines. They may sift through research publications across disciplines with hopes of synthesizing published information in a new way; test past research claims in a lab; or interview people.

To solve problems, researchers may employ a range of methods. Each discipline has its own methods for making or vetting knowledge claims. In Psychology, for example, experimentation with human subjects is quite common, but it is less common in Mathematics