Inspiring Change Through Research

Organizational communication is centered on inspiring and managing change, so it makes sense that communication professionals are seeing a more critical role for research in understanding and reaching their most important stakeholder relationships (employees, customers, suppliers, dealers, etc.). When a company is undergoing significant changes (i.e., a merger, acquisition, slumping sales, a product launch), research can pinpoint exactly where the issues and communication needs are. Oftentimes, such information is considered and then only used in limited ways. So how does a company proceed in bringing research results to life? It’s important to review how the research and tactical elements of communication vehicles are matched up.

Powell, Nancy. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Organizational Communication>Research

Interdisciplinary/Inter-Program Research

Two presentations about collaboration in research between diverse departments and units.

Brady, Ann, Robert R. Johnson, Michael J. Salvo and Tammy S. Conard-Salvo. CPTSC (2005). Presentations>Collaboration>Research

Interpreting Textual Data in Writing Research    

This article discusses a theoretical framework for situating interpretations of textual data collected during research. Based on the reader response theory of Louise Rosenblatt, this framework consists of a continuum representing the range of interpretative assumptions--stances--researchers can bring to their reading of textual data. The continuum is bounded by the two most extreme stances defined by Rosenblatt as efferent, roughly comparable to the stereotypical scientific interpretative tradition, and aesthetic, roughly comparable to the stereotypical humanities interpretative tradition.

Thompson, Isabelle. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (1999). Articles>Research>Methods>Writing

Is Professional Writing Relevant? A Model for Action Research    

This article argues that engaged 'action research' can help professional writing researchers both develop new and interesting collaborative models and help our profession develop a greater relevance to those not reading our journals and attending our conferences. I outline one particular, localized approach in the hope that our troubles, struggles, and failures at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee can help others to develop their own programs and can further our discussion of community engagement.

Clark, Dave. Technical Communication Quarterly (2004). Articles>Research>Writing>Business Communication

Issues of Validity in Intercultural Professional Communication Research    

This article explores three ways to design US empirical methods to be more valid and ethical in cross-cultural studies. First, intercultural researchers need to distinguish broad rhetorical and cultural patterns from regional, organizational, and personal patterns, a process that requires balancing the fact of difference with the need for generalization. Second, US researchers need to distinguish not only the differences in rhetorical patterns in a form of communication but also in the ways that form is used rhetorically. Third, researchers need to construct researcher-participant relationships that are sensitive to the values of organizational relationships in both cultures.

Thatcher, Barry L. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2001). Articles>Research>Methods>International

Leveraging the Power of Google to Perform Research

As a writer, there is undoubtedly no better tool for researching than Google. This article focuses on how to use Google to find analyst research, important data and other factoids that will round out the quality of your white papers.

Stelzner, Michael A. WhitePaperSource (2006). Articles>Writing>Research>Search

Literature Review: What is Visual Literacy?  

This paper takes a look at what is being said in various disciplines (technical writing, journalism, education, psychology, user interface design, and visual arts) in an attempt to answer the question 'What is visual literacy?' A corollory is 'How will I know when I have achieved it?' A working definition of visual literacy has many implications for how we train technical writers in order to meet the professional challenges of the future.

Couse, Mary M. STC Proceedings (1993). Articles>Graphic Design>Research>Visual Rhetoric

Making Research Actionable: An Introduction to Design Criteria

What happens when people want a company’s product, but are frustrated by the process of trying to get it? Obviously it should be reworked — but doing so can be easier said than done. When we’re asked to redesign a process, we often start by exploring the problem space with in-context research, which generates a large amount of data. That data tends to point teams in the direction of a number of possible solutions. But how should the team decide which direction is the right one? In such cases, I’ve found that Design Criteria — a set of rules a design team can follow — can be a key tool so when a design team creates or reworks a service or product, everything it does supports the user.

Nelson, Sarah B. Adaptive Path (2008). Articles>Research>Design>Business Communication

Making Use of User Research

Designing or redesigning a product often feels like a risky proposition, especially in today's business climate.

Anderson, Gretchen. uiGarden (2005). Articles>Usability>Research

Making Wikis Work for Scholars

For all the hand-wringing over whether Wikipedia is a legitimate source for completing college assignments, some professors are quietly incorporating it into their classrooms and even their research. Others, noting features of the Web site that contribute to inaccuracies and shortchange the value of expertise, are building variations on the model that are more amenable to academics and to peer review.

Guess, Andy. Inside Higher Ed (2008). Articles>Research>Online>Wikis

Mapping Language Function in the Brain: A Review of the Recent Literature    

Advocates of brain-based learning have argued that instructional methods, to be successful, must be based on an understanding of how the brain processes information. In the past most descriptions of neurocognitive function were largely speculative, relying on theoretical constructions of how we believed the brain to work. Recent advances in functional imaging Positron Emission Tomography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging have, however, opened the brain to empirical study. This article will consider the potential importance of brain study for composition instruction, briefly describe functional imaging techniques, and review the findings of recent brain-mapping studies investigating the neurocognitive systems involved in language function. In short, understanding how language systems are organized in the brain represents the first step in our attempts to create brain-compatible instructional methods in the composition classroom. Following a review of the recent literature, the article will consider the possible implications of this information for pedagogical practice.

Crafton, Robert E. and Elissa Kido. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2000). Articles>Language>Research>Cognitive Psychology

Market Research: Your Tool for Effective Communication

We've all heard (perhaps too many times) that we live in a global economy, where change has become constant, that we are bombarded by a multitude of messages and, as a result, suffer from a common ailment: information overload. While advances in technology have had a major role in bringing us to this point, they also provide us with the tools to fight back. No longer passive victims, we are now in charge. We search for the information we want and—with the flick of the remote control, a click of the mouse or by just tuning out—we delete what we don't want. For consumers of information, this works. For communicators, this doesn't.

Hayes, Michaela. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Articles>Research>Marketing

Measurement at the Speed of Business  

Who has time to do communication audits anymore? Only the lucky few. The author shows ways to find out everything you need to know, just as fast as you need to know it.

Sinickas, Angela D. Sinickas Communications (2005). Articles>Research>Methods>Surveys

A Meta-Analysis of Journal Articles Intersecting Issues of Internet and Gender    

The propagation and mainstream acceptance of the Internet has become a hot topic addressed in media, business, and scholarly environments. The gender implications of technology are studied in various ways across the disciplines of communications, gender studies, and technology and society. This study overviews and summarizes articles dealing with gender implications of the Internet in journals in these fields. The analysis identified 132 articles during the period of 1995-2003 in 28 publications in which frequencies, trends, and potential gaps were assessed using quantitative and qualitative meta-analysis. Most of the research in this area is being done in technology publications (59.7% of articles). Women's usage of the Internet is the most frequently studied level of participation. Results indicates that the survey method was the most predominant, but various qualitative methods are often employed. Notable themes included those of equal access yet unequal participation, the existence of both negative and positive aspects of the Internet, and the dichotomy of online/offline activities. The purpose of this study was to encourage interest in performing continued research on this topic as women's Internet access meets and exceeds that of men.

Royal, Cindy. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2005). Articles>Research>Technology>Gender

New Horizons in Scholarly Communication

A service of the Librarians Association of the University of California, New Horizons in Scholarly Communication highlights trends affecting the process of creating, disseminating, retrieving, and using information for instruction and research at the university level. We began by identifying sources covering all aspects of scholarly communication which are of concern to faculty, instructors, researchers, students, and staff.

Jaffe, Lee. Librarians Association of the UC (2002). Academic>Publishing>Research

Obtaining Reprints--The Effects of Self-Addressed Return Labels    

This article compares the response rates for obtaining journal reprints from colleagues when the requests are made using postcards with or without a self-addressed return label. Higher response rates were obtained from the cards with the self-addressed return labels, and more women responded than did men, but these differences were not statistically significant.

Hartley, James. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2002). Articles>Research>Collaboration>Gender

Panel Discussion: STC-Sponsored Research in Progress  

This panel discussion reports on technical communication research in progress that is being sponsored by the STC. The research topics include an assessment of intentional learning techniques applied in an online environment, rhetorical study of the writing of a 19th century woman scientist, and a survey of the teaching of research methods in technical communication graduate programs. The researchers use both quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Sanders, Scott P. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Research>TC

The Peter Effect in Early Experimental Education Research    

One of the signatures of scientific writing is its ability to present the claims of science as if they were "untouched by human hands." In the early years of experimental education, researchers achieved this by adopting a citational practice that led to the sedimentation of their cardinal method, the analysis of variance, and their standard for statistical significance, 0.05. This essentially divorces their statistical framework from its historical conditions of production. Researchers suppressed their own agency through the use of passive voice and nominalization. With their own agency out of the way, they imbued the methods, results, and presentational devices themselves with the active agency of the situation through the use of personification. Such a depiction creates the impression that the researchers and audience stand on equal epistemic ground as interested witnesses to the autonomous activity of a third party, the method, which churns out the brute facts of science.

Little, Joseph. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2003). Articles>Research>Statistics>Education

Planning for User Research Success

Planning is crucial if you want your user research efforts to be effective. You need to think about what information you need to gather, and why, before embarking on any research. Good planning, well communicated to the client or project, and followed by careful implementation will ensure your research is effective.

Szuc, Daniel and Gerry Gaffney. Apogee (2005). Articles>Usability>Research

Practitioners: What Research Should STC Fund to Help You at Work?  

This panel discussion is an open forum moderated by the STC Research Grants Committee; its goal is to elicit and discuss suggestions from STC members for research areas and topics the STC should sponsor. The input will help guide the members of the Research Grants Committee as they decide which research proposals to approve during the next year.

Rosenbaum, Stephanie L. and Janice C. 'Ginny' Redish. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Research>TC

Problems and Joys of Reading Research Papers for Practitioner Purposes  

Discusses reasons that practitioners read research papers and the obstacles that they face when reading research papers. Jarrett provides several examples and suggestions for improving the accessibility of research papers for practitioners. Her suggestions include writing clear titles, ensuring that the abstract states the study population and limitations of the study, and ensuring that the conclusions are written clearly. She also discusses her criteria for determining whether or not a research paper is relevant to her work.

Jarrett, Caroline. Journal of Usability Studies (2007). Articles>Publishing>Research>Writing

Program Models for Supporting Faculty and Student Research

Presentations about how to facilitate student and faculty research in higher education academic programs.

Yeats, Dave, Miles A. Kimball and Robert Waller, Nancy Allen, Kathleen Gygi and Russell Willerton. CPTSC (2005). Presentations>Management>Research

Promoting Access to Public Research Data for Scientific, Economic, and Social Development    

Access to and sharing of data are essential for the conduct and advancement of science. This article argues that publicly funded research data should be openly available to the maximum extent possible. To seize upon advancements of cyberinfrastructure and the explosion of data in a range of scientific disciplines, this access to and sharing of publicly funded data must be advanced within an international framework, beyond technological solutions. The authors, members of an OECD Follow-up Group, present their research findings, based closely on their report to OECD, on key issues in data access, as well as operating principles and management aspects necessary to successful data access regimes.

Arzberger, P., P. Schroeder, A. Beaulieu, G. Bowker, K. Casey, L. Laaksonen, D. Moorman, P. Uhlir and P. Wouters. Data Science Journal (2004). Articles>Publishing>Research>Scientific Communication

Protecting the Voices of Our Research: Appropriately Verifying Qualitative Data    

Although discussion of composition research methods over the last 10 years has culminated in Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC) guidelines, these guidelines do not include procedures for verifying qualitative data. Such procedures would entail having a third party check to some degree that the researcher spent the time claimed at the site and that the subjects did what was described and said what was quoted in the published research. This commentary reviews federal policies on research misconduct and government and professional association responses to data faking, noting the additional danger of incompetent investigations of research misconduct. Arguing that the discipline should take appropriate measures to verify qualitative data, I recommend a two-tiered approach.

Cross, Geoffrey A. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2004). Articles>Research>Methods