Blakeslee: State of Research in TC notes

Blakeslee, Ann
State of Research in Tech Comm 2004

Overall analysis of opinions of quality & consistency in research (74).

Offer plan of action to improve field (74)
List of sources/experts (74-75)

Our Approach to Research Needs to Be Consistent,
Systematic, and Thorough (76)

We Need to Build a Coherent Body of Knowledge (76)
too few people are working on complementary research questions leading to a coherent
body of knowledge on certain topics (76)
Because learning from the past is a vital means of moving
forward and maturing, the field could benefit from a greater effort to identify
what is valuable in existing research and to either replicate or respond to studies already
completed. (77)

We Need Agreement About Key Questions for the Field 77
one particular area where we need to define more and better questions
is in relation to industry

We Need Less Thinking and Talking About Research and More Doing I 78
The shared perception is that too much of our scholarship (and publication)
is based on introspection and philosophizing. 78

We Benefit From But Should Be Careful About Borrowing Methods From Other Fields 79
Spinuzzi, for example, points out that we have not consistently explored the methodological implications of mixing
and matching approaches. Dragga also cautions against ill-informed borrowing
and adaptation of methods. 79
The consensus, therefore seems to be that our field benefits from the wide variety of methods available to it and from the discussions and explorations of these methods that have occurred in
other fields. 79-80


We Need to Be Aware of Which Research Methods We Use and How We Use Them 80


We Need More Consistent, Systematic, and Extensive Training in Methods 81
According to participants,
we need, as a field, to identify and agree on basic research competencies and
then to ensure that we train students in those competencies in our programs. One potential
problem in this regard is that the faculty preparing doctoral students may not
themselves be well prepared in empirical methods. 81

RELATIONSHIPS WITH PRACTITIONERS AND WITH OTHER DISCIPLINES 82
Because technical communicators do not, by definition, work in isolation, the field needs to ensure the vitality and quality of (1) the academic-practitioner relationship within technical
communication and (2) the field’s relationship with other, related disciplines. 82

We Need to Improve the Academic-Practitioner Relationship Within Our Field 82

Academics need to improve efforts to show the relevance of their research
to industry. 83
If more technical communicators could produce
similar types of publications that synthesize research—both in our own and
in related fields—in a way that practitioners find accessible and relevant, we could
make significant strides in showing practitioners the potential value of academic
research to their work. 83

We need to provide more opportunities for academics to interact with
practitioners and to collaborate on joint projects 83

We need to overcome differences between academics and practitioners
to facilitate collaboration between the two worlds 84

We Also Need to Improve Our Relationship with Other Fields 85


We need to encourage continued collegiality with those in related
fields.

We need to give top priority to overcoming differences and discovering
commonalities between our field and related fields, especially other technology
fields.

We need to generate more opportunities for cross-disciplinary collaborations. 85



Recognition, Support, and Resources 86

We need to disseminate our research findings broadly and increase
readership of our journals 86

Academics need to affiliate with organizations in related fields and increase
their involvement both in those organizations and on key committees
both internal and external to their institutions 87

Practitioners also need to find ways to increase leverage within their domains
to produce quality outcomes. 87

We need both internal and external support and funding 88



PROPOSED PLAN OF ACTION FOR OUR FIELD 89
Step One: Expand Our Problem Definition and Vision 89
Step Two: Develop Concrete Solutions 90
Step Three: Implement and Evaluate 90