Rhetoricians and researchers have vigorously debated the reliability and validity of protocol analysis findings. Social science scholars have contended the value of verbal data since their original use in the 1920s. This article reviews the history of verbal data in a variety of fields, places protocol analysis in its historical context, and examines more recent claims and criticisms regarding protocol analysis, concluding that protocol analysis, when conducted according to certain principles, can be an important addition to the repertoire of tools for researching the composing process.
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