Research Exploration: Topic & Potential Sources

Coming up with an interesting and effective research question has been a struggle for me. I’m still learning what research in TW&DR looks like. I’ve done lots of brainstorming but my ideas weren’t quite there. This is where I’ve currently landed after taking with some of my professors:

How are online instructors with Utah Tech University utilizing practices of technical communication to make materials accessible for their students?


The hopeful plan is to conduct interviews with the Learning Design team and several online instructors here at the university. I’ll focus on information and document design along with remediation (as the practice of translating content from one medium to another).


My question and plan may still change some going forward, but I feel like this is a good starting point for my literature review.


Here are some tentative sources:


Bolter, J. D., & Grusin, R. (2000). Remediation: Understanding New Media. MIT Press.


Carliner, S. (2000). Physical, cognitive, and affective: A three-part framework for information design. Technical Communication, 47(4), 561-576. JSTOR. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43748975


Getto, G. (2018). Information Design: Research and Practice. Technical Communication, 65(1), 120–121.


Hayhoe, G. F., & Brewer, P. E. (2020). A Research Primer for Technical Communication: Methods, Exemplars, and Analyses. Routledge.


Katz, J. (2012). Designing information: Human factors and common sense in information design. Wiley.


Last, S., Hagstrom-Schmidt, N., & McKinney, M. (2022). Research Methods and Methodologies – Howdy or Hello? Technical and Professional Communication. Pressbooks @ TAMU. Retrieved September 11, 2023, from https://pressbooks.library.tamu.edu/howdyorhello/chapter/research-methods-and-methodologies/


Lunemann, R. (2014). 158 Tips on mLearning: From Planning to Implementation. Technical Communication, 61(1), 60.


Ofori, E., & Lockee, B. B. (2021). Next generation mobile learning: Leveraging message design considerations for learning and accessibility. IAFOR Journal of Education, 9(4), 123-144. ERIC.


Pettersson, R., & Avgerinou, M. D. (2017). Information design with teaching and learning in mind. Journal of Visual Literacy, 35(4), 253-267. https://doi.org/10.1080/1051144X.2016.1278341


Tietjen, P. (2010). Handbook of Research on Learning Design and Learning Objects: Issues, Applications, and Technologies. Technical Communication, 57(1), 96–97.

Comments

  1. aSeptember 12, 2023 at 6:54 AM

    This sounds like a great starting point for your research! I've been sifting through lots of sources and may similarly tweak my research question as I continue to see what's out there and highlight any gaps or trends that seem to pop up. I'm curious to see how each online instructor would define "technical communication" because I've seem/heard a few different definitions, and I think sometimes we utilize it without even realizing it.

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  2. KerriSeptember 13, 2023 at 5:48 PM

    It looks like I have some solid picks for establishing what the principles of technical communication are that I will be looking for in the interviews. I particularly like the one from the Journal of Visual Literacy by Pettersson and Avgerinou.

    I might have too many sources on research itself and not enough on what I’m looking for for my project.

    I have a few more keywords I’d like to try researching, mainly combining technical communication and education. I want to add “online learning,” “remote learning,” “mobile learning,” and “distance learning” to my technical communication journal searches. I might try asking around and looking for more research by the people listed to see if I find content that better fits my niche. I could also see if there are more current works to refer to than the ones from 2000.

    So far my tentative topics for my literature review are methods in technical communication that apply to information design and document design and how people apply principles of technical communication to education.

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  3. florence08September 14, 2023 at 8:01 PM

    Hi Kerri,

    It looks like you had a great start on your tentative 10 sources, so far. I know you'll be distilling more of your topic interest as you plow through and annotate these texts. At this point, I think the TWDR-specific sources that were thrown into the mix (c/o source list on Canvas) direct your investigation more towards the lens of our field.

    I also love the possibility of exploring the concept of "remediation" in a research design, especially within the context you mentioned on this blog post... so much stuff going on there and all are rife for TWDR research.

    After the Lit. Review is done, feel free to set a quick zoom appointment with me to jumpstart the focus of your proposal. (Of course, am also happy to work out a common day/time if you need help -- am here).

    Keep up the good work!

    FEB

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