This volume brings together a representative sample from the growing body of work in qualitative research in technical communication. Including examples of qualitative methodologies—including ethnography, case study, focus groups, action research, grounded theory, and interview research— used by technical communicators to strengthen their practice, the result is a rich harmony of perspectives, as diverse as the field of technical communication itself.
This practical volume provides a thorough introduction to conducting and critically reading research in technical communication, complete with exemplars of research articles for study. Offering a solid grounding in the research underpinnings of the technical communication field, this resource has been developed for use in master’s level and upper-division undergraduate research methods courses in technical and professional communication.
Equipping Technical Communicators for Social Justice Work provides action-focused resources and tools—heuristics, methodologies, and theories—for scholars to enact social justice. These resources support the work of scholars and practitioners in conducting research and teaching classes in socially just ways. Each chapter identifies a tool, highlights its relevance to technical communication, and explains how and why it can prepare technical communication scholars for socially just work. For the field of technical and professional communication to maintain its commitment to this work, how social justice intersects with inclusivity through UX, technological, civic, and legal literacies, as well as through community engagement, must be acknowledged. Equipping Technical Communicators for Social Justice Work will be of significance to established scholar-teachers and graduate students, as well as to newcomers to the field. Contributors: Kehinde Alonge, Alison Cardinal, Erin Brock Carlson, Oriana Gilson, Laura Gonzales, Keith Grant-Davie, Angela Haas, Mark Hannah, Kimberly Harper, Sarah Beth Hopton, Natasha Jones, Isidore Kafui Dorpenyo, Liz Lane, Emily Legg, Nicole Lowman, Kristen Moore, Emma Rose, Fernando Sanchez, Jennifer Sano-Franchini, Adam Strantz, Cana Uluak Itchuaqiyaq, Josephine Walwema, Miriam Williams, Han Yu
This practical text offers a research-based account of the technical communication profession and its practice, outlining emergent touchpoints of this fast-changing field while highlighting its diversity. Through research on the history and the globalization of technical communication and up-to-date industry analysis, including first-hand narratives from industry practitioners, this book brings together common threads through the industry, suggests future trends, and points toward strategic routes for development. Vignettes from the workplace and examples of industry practice provide tangible insights into the different paths and realities of the field, furnishing readers with a range of entry routes and potential career sectors, workplace communities, daily activities, and futures. This approach is central to helping readers understand the diverse competencies of technical communicators in the modern, globalized economy. The Profession and Practice of Technical Communication provides essential guidance for students, early professionals, and lateral entrants to the profession and can be used as a textbook for technical communication courses.
Accessible, practical and concise, this revised edition expertly tackles the practical problems which writers face when they attempt to transfer the rich data experience of their real world research into a textual product. New attention is paid to the crucial issues of the nature and use of visual data, personal narrative, core and periphery data, and data reconstruction and fictionalization. Sensitive issues dealing with the appropriate use of identity in research settings are clearly discussed, while techniques for avoiding reductive judgements are presented and critically discussed. By making the workings of written study transparent, the book demonstrates how to manage subjectivity and achieve scientific rigour in the qualitative research process. This book provides accessible advice for novice researchers on where to begin and how to proceed. But much more than a simple manual, it also guides the more experience researcher through the social, cultural and political complexities involved in every step of the way. It is an essential tool for students in all disciplines that engage in qualitative research, including sociology, applied linguistics, management, sport science, health studies and education.
In light of the expensive nature of quantitative research, such as experiments, researchers must seek other methods of understanding the world around them. As such, new qualitative methods are gaining ground in the modern research community. Enhancing Qualitative and Mixed Methods Research with Technology explores the integration of new digital tools into the research process. Including current information on data visualization, research design, information capture, as well as social media analysis, this publication serves as an ideal reference source for academicians, scientists, information specialists, business managers, and upper-level students involved in interdisciplinary research.
The purpose of this cutting-edge collection of essays is threefold: first, it presents the principles of data collection and interpretation or the methodological distinctions of a particular method appropriate to technical communication research. Second, it discusses the foundational principles of the methodologies given the primary discipline in which they were created and applied. Finally, it reflects upon the process of importing and employing these methodologies into the research field of technical communication, and on how technical communication research has contributed to the development and application of these methodologies. Written by many noted scholars in the field and presenting a wide range of research methods, Research in Technical Communication combines theory and practice. Both technical communicators and industry researchers who want to learn more about workplace research and methodologies will find it invaluable, as will beginning and advanced scholars, who will find much that is useful in its variety of subjects.
What is research in education? And what is it for in a digital age? Reflecting upon these questions, this engaging introduction provides critical discussion about the dilemmas of researching education in the digital age and ways forward for research in this complex area. Research Methods for Education in the Digital Age begins by outlining forms of education that are seen as digital, such as virtual, blended, immersive learning and examining the extent to which these are different or just adapted versions of earlier methods and approaches to education. Maggi Savin-Baden and Gemma Tombs explore current practices in research, identifying the successful adoption and adaption of theories and present practical guidance on new and emerging methodologies, methods, and analytical practices for undertaking educational research. New methodologies discussed include digital arts-based inquiry and digital visual methodologies, as well as adaptations of widely used methodologies such as ethnography, for the specific needs of researching digital teaching and learning. The book outlines the major challenges faced by today's digital researchers, exploring approaches to digital ethics, the relationship between qualitative and quantitative data in the digital age, digital data representations and portrayal and suggests helpful ways of dealing with the complexities and ethical challenges of undertaking research in and for digital spaces. Using case studies, research tips, a glossary and annotated further reading, the authors take a step by step approach from conceptualizing the research ideas, selecting the appropriate method to the dissemination of the findings. At a time when education is changing rapidly with digital and technological advances, Research Methods for Education in the Digital Age is essential reading for researchers wanting to undertake sound and rigorous research in the digital domain.
This volume offers an insight into contemporary communication studies, as seen through the lens of qualitative research. It presents existing studies on qualitative research, current research programs, and trends for future expansion of this methodological approach. It also offers a series of practical examples of applying methods and techniques of qualitative research, to teach readers about the social world and to answer pressing problems related to applied communication. In terms of research, the studies within the book use focus-group interviews, in-depth interviews, qualitative content analyses, critical discourse analyses, and dispositif analyses. The volume covers areas such as education, public relations, advertising, strategic communication, heritage and museum management and intercultural dialogue. It will be a useful aid for students of qualitative research in the social sciences and humanities, but also for professionals in the field of communication.
Digital Tools for Qualitative Research shows how the research process in its entirety can be supported by technology tools in ways that can save time and add robustness and depth to qualitative work. It addresses the use of a variety of tools (many of which may already be familiar to you) to support every phase of the research process, providing practical case studies taken from real world research. The text shows you how to select and use technology tools to: engage in reflexivity collaborate with other researchers and stakeholders manage your project do your literature review generate and manage your data transcribe and analyse textual, audio and visual data and represent and share your findings. The book also considers important ethical issues surrounding the use of various technologies in each chapter. On the companion website, you′ll find lots of additional resources including video tutorials and activities. Whether you′re a novice or expert social researcher, this book will inspire you to think creatively about how to approach your research project and get the most out of the huge range of tools available to you.
