Pedagogical and programmatic research remains important in technical and professional communication. For such approaches to be effective, meaningful, and successful, they must represent effective scholarship that can be used within and address the needs of the greater field. The authors performed a metasynthesis of pedagogical and programmatic scholarship published in five central technical and professional communication journals between 2011 and 2015 (n = 82). The authors report the results of this research and what it means for the field to approach pedagogical and programmatic scholarship in the future.
AdamsK. (1993). The history of professional writing instruction in American colleges.
Dallas, TX:
Southern Methodist University Press.
2.
AlbersM. (2016).
Improving research communication. Technical Communication,
63(4), 293–297.
3.
AlbersM. J. (2017).
Quantitative data analysis—In the graduate curriculum. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication,
47(2), 215–233. doi:10.1177/0047281617692067
4.
AlbersM. J.MarsellaJ. F. (2011).
An analysis of student comments in comprehensive editing. Technical Communication,
58(1), 52–67.
5.
AlvessonM.SkölbergK. (2009). Reflexive methodology: New vistas for qualitative research.
London, England:
Sage.
6.
BlakesleeA. M. (2009).
The technical communication research landscape. Journal of Business and Technical Communication,
23(2), 129–173.
7.
BlakesleeA. M.SpilkaR. (2004).
The state of research in technical communication. Technical Communication Quarterly,
13(1), 73–92.
8.
BoettgerR. K.LamC. (2013).
An overview of experimental and quasi-experimental research in technical communication journals (1992-2011). IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication,
56(4), 272–293.
9.
BokorM. (2011).
Moving international technical communication forward: A World Englishes approach. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication,
41(2), 113–138.
10.
BourelleT. (2014).
Adapting service-learning into the online technical communication classroom: A framework and model. Technical Communication Quarterly,
23(4), 247–264.
11.
Bridgeford, T., & St.Amant, K. (Eds.). (2015). Academy-Industry relationships and partnerships: Perspectives for technical communicators. Amityville, NY: Baywoord.
12.
BrentD. (2011).
Transfer, transformation, and rhetorical knowledge: Insights from transfer theory. Journal of Business and Technical Communication,
25(4), 396–420.
13.
CampbellK. S. (2000).
Research methods course work for students specializing in business and technical communication. Journal of Business and Technical Communication,
14(2), 223–241.
14.
CárdenasD. (2012).
Challenges and rewards of teaching intercultural communication in a technical writing course: A case study. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication,
42(2), 143–158.
15.
CarlinerS.CoppolaN.GradyH.HayhoeG. (2011).
What does the Transactions publish? What do Transactions readers want to read?IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication,
54(4), 341–359.
16.
CharneyD. (2014).
Editorial: Getting to “how do you know?” Rather than “so what?” From “what’s new?Technical Communication Quarterly,
24(1), 105–108.
17.
ClarkD. (2016).
Content strategy: An integrative literature review. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication,
59(1), 7–23. doi:10.1109/tpc.2016.2537080
18.
ConnorsR. J. (1982).
The rise of technical writing instruction in America. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication,
12(4), 329–352.
19.
CookK. C.RicklyB. (2017).
Graduate preparation for research [special issue]. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication,
47(2).
20.
FordJ.NewmarkJ. (2011).
Emphasizing research (further) in undergraduate technical communication curricula: Involving undergraduate students with an academic journal’s publication and management. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication,
41(3), 311–324.
21.
FordJ. D. (2004).
Knowledge transfer across disciplines: Tracking rhetorical strategies from a technical communication classroom to an engineering classroom. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication,
47(4), 301–315.
22.
FriessE. (2015).
Personas in heuristics evaluation: An exploratory study. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication,
58(2), 176–191.
23.
FrostE. A. (2016).
Apparent feminism as a methodology for technical communication and rhetoric. Journal of Business and Technical Communication,
30(1), 3–28.
24.
KimJ.MohanK.RameshB. (2014).
Functional and nonfunctional quality in cloud-based collaborative writing: An empirical investigation. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication,
57(3), 182–203.
25.
KumiR.ConwayC. M.LimayemM.GoyalS. (2013).
Learning in color: How color and affect influence learning outcomes. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication,
56(1), 2–15.
26.
Kynell, T. (2000). Writing in the Milieu of Utility: The Move to Technical Communication in American Engineering Programs, 1850-1950 (second ed.). Stamford, CT: Ablex Publishing.
27.
LamC. (2013).
The efficacy of text messaging to improve social connectedness and team attitude in student technical communication projects: An experimental study. Journal of Business and Technical Communication,
27(2), 180–208.
28.
LauerC. (2015).
High-tech invention: Examining the relationship between technology and idea generation in the document design process. Journal of Business and Technical Communication,
29(4), 367–402.
29.
LauerC.SanchezC. A. (2011).
Visuospatial thinking in the professional writing classroom. Journal of Business and Technical Communication,
25(2), 184–218. doi:10.1177/1050651910389149
30.
LaurenB.SchreiberJ. (2018).
An integrative literature review of project management in technical and professional communication. Technical Communication,
65(1), 85–106.
31.
LowryP. B.HumpherysS. L.MalwitzJ.NixJ. (2007).
A scientometric study of the perceived quality of business and technical communication journals. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication,
50(4), 352–378.
32.
ManionC. E.SelfeR. D. (2012).
Sharing an assessment ecology: Digital media, wikis, and the social work of knowledge. Technical Communication Quarterly,
21(1), 25–45.
33.
McNelyB.SpinuzziC.TestonC. (2015).
Contemporary research methodologies in technical communication. Technical Communication Quarterly,
24(1), 1–13.
34.
MehlenbacherB.AutryM. K.KellyA. R. (2015).
Instructional design for STEM-based collaborative, colocated classroom composition. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication,
58(4), 396–409.
35.
MelonçonL. (2018).
Critical postscript: On the future of the service course in technical and professional communication. Programmatic Perspectives,
10(1), 220–230.
36.
MelonçonL.HenschelS. (2013).
Current state of US undergraduate degree programs in technical and professional communication. Technical Communication,
60(1), 45–64.
37.
MelonçonL.ScottJ. B. (Eds.). (2018). Methodologies for the rhetoric of health and medicine.
New York, NY:
Routledge.
38.
MelonçonL.St.AmantK. (2019).
Empirical Research in technical and professional communication: A 5-year examination of research methods and a call for research sustainability. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication,
49(2), 128–2.
39.
Melonçon, L., & Warner, E. (2017). Data visualizations: A literature review and opportunities for technical and professional communication. In D. Slattery & Y. (Eds.), Proceedings of the IEEE ProComm: Making Waves, Madison, WI. (pp. 1–9).
40.
Newmark, J., & Ford, J. D. (2012). An Academic Ejournal As Technical Communication Client Project: Enculturation, Production, and Assessment. Technical Communication, 59(4), 286–301.
41.
Oswal, S. K. (2018). Can Workplaces, Classrooms, and Pedagogies Be Disabling? Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, 81(1), 3–19.
42.
PetersenE. J.WaltonR. (2018).
Bridging analysis and action: How feminist scholarship can inform the social justice turn. Journal of Business and Technical Communication,
32(4), 416–446.
43.
RudeC. D. (2009).
Mapping the research questions in technical communication. Journal of Business and Technical Communication,
23(2), 174–215.
44.
RudeC. D. (2015).
Building identity and community through research. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication,
45(4), 366–380.
45.
SaidyC.HannahM.SuraT. (2011).
Meeting students where they are: Advancing a theory and practice of archives in the classroom. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication,
41(2), 173–191.
46.
SchieberD. L. (2016).
Invisible transfer: An unexpected findingin the pursuit of transfer. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly,
79(4), 464–486.
47.
SchreiberJ.CarrionM.LauerJ. (2018).
Revisiting the service course to map out the future of the field. Programmatic Perspectives10(1), 1–2.
48.
SchreiberJ.MelonçonL. (2018).
Creating a continuous improvement model for sustaining programs in technical and professional communication. Journal of Technical Writing & Communication. 49(3), 252–278. doi: 10.1177/0047281618759916
49.
SelberS. A. (2004).
The CCCC Outstanding Dissertation Award in Technical Communication: A retrospective analysis. Technical Communication Quarterly,
13(2), 139–155.
50.
SmagorinskyP. (2008).
The method section as conceptual epicenter in constructing social science research reports. Written Communication,
25(3), 389–411.
51.
SmithE. O. (2000).
Points of reference in technical communication scholarship. Technical Communication Quarterly,
9(4), 427–453.
52.
St.AmantK.MelonçonL. (2016a).
Addressing the incommensurable: A research-based perspective for considering issues of power and legitimacy in the field. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication,
46(3), 267–283.
53.
St.AmantK.MelonçonL. (2016b).
Reflections on research: Examining practitioner perspectives on the state of research in technical communication. Technical Communication,
63(4), 346–363.
54.
TatzlD.HasslerW.MessnarzB.FlührH. (2012).
The development of a project-based collaborative technical writing model founded on learner feedback in a tertiary aeronautical engineering program. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication,
42(3), 279–304.
55.
TaylorS. S. (2011). “
I really don’t know what he meant by that”: How well do engineering students understand teachers’ comments on their writing?Technical Communication Quarterly,
20(2), 139–166.
56.
VeltsosJ.PatriarcaA. (2017). Investigating the curricular differences of technical and business communication service courses. Paper presented at the Association for Business Communication 82nd Annual International Conference, Dublin, Ireland.
57.
WalshD.DowneS. (2005).
Meta‐synthesis method for qualitative research: A literature review. Journal of Advanced Nursing,
50(2), 204–211.
58.
WangJ. (2013).
Moving towards ethnorelativism: A framework for measuring and meeting students' needs in cross-cultural business and technical communication. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication,
43(2), 201–218.
59.
WolfeJ. (2015).
Teaching students to focus on the data in data visualization. Journal of Business and Technical Communication,
29(3), 344–359.
60.
YuH. (2012).
A study of engineering students’ intercultural competence and its implications for teaching. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication,
55(2), 185–201.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
