This bibliography of thirty dissertations summarizes doctoral research in technical writing since 1975. It is intended as the first step in an on-going abstracting service to be performed by the ERIC system. The dissertations range widely, from theoretical pronouncements to classroom how-to's. The collection provides an overview of the kinds of research being done and the institutions sponsoring it.
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References
1.
BechtelJudith A. Blackburn, The Composing Processes of Six Male CoIlege Freshmen Enrolled in Technical Programs. Ed.D., University of Cincinnati, 1978. DAI, 39, 5371A.
2.
Identifies traits of better writers enrolled in technical programs. Traits include the ability to separate drafting and proofreading stages and an understanding of elaboration required in academic writing.
3.
BinkleyMarilyn Rothman, A Descriptive and Comparative Study of Cohesive Structure in Text Materials from Differing Academic Disciplines. Ed.D., The George Washington University, 1983. DAI, 44, 1741A.
4.
Uses Halliday and Hasan's system of cohesion analysis to examine textbooks in physics, biology, economics, political science, and history. Found homogeneity within each grouping, with biology and physics being the most homogenous.
5.
BrockmannRobert JohnJr., Integrating the Academic World of Technical Communications with the Commercial World of Business and Industry. A.D., The University of Michigan, 1981. DAI, 42, 3532A.
6.
Suggests means for involving business and industry in the teaching of technical communications. Discusses mail survey research, advisory boards, case methods, and internships.
7.
ChatterjeeSuchindran Shiladitya, Technical Writing Curricula and Teaching Methods: A Review of the Literature and of the Basic Issues. Ph.D., George Peabody College for Teachers of Vanderbilt University, 1980. DAI, 41, 3923A.
8.
Reviews some of the issues of technical writing instruction, need, sequence, and evaluation. Attempts a definition of technical writing and discusses education and job demands of technical writers.
9.
CrickRandal Carter, A Technical Communication Procedure to Produce Attitude Change Through the Use of Scientifically Designed Messages. Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1981, DAI, 42, 4972A.
10.
Reports results of a study that used a metric multidimensional scaling program to generate theoretically effective messages. The “scientifically designed” messages had no apparent effect on the sample population.
11.
DixonThomas Clifford, Communication and Perceived Performance in Organizations: A Network Analysis. Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1978. DAI, 39, 3584B.
12.
Analyzes organizational communication from psychological, sociological and social psychological perspectives.
13.
DuszynskiTimothy Joseph, Writing Skills in Community College Vocational-Technical Programs: A Modified Delphi Application. D.A., Illinois State University, 1981. DAI, 42, 2003A.
14.
Identifies important writing skills for vocational-technical students. Survey respondents suggested that correct spelling and concise business-oriented prose are most important while writing skills not associated with the business world are least important.
15.
EasomRoger D., A Study to Determine Essential Competencies for Technical Writing Students in the Two-Year Colleges of the Southeastern States. Ed.D., Memphis State University, 1982. DAI, 43, 3831A.
16.
Identifies competencies deemed important for technical writing students in two-year colleges. Employer/graduate responses differed from instructor/authority responses, with employers seeing fewer skills as important.
17.
GasarchPearl, The Design and Evaluation of a Course in Technical/Occupational Writing for Two-Year College Students. D.A., Carnegie-Mellon University, 1983. DAI, 44, 1015A.
18.
Reports design and testing of a technical writing course for two-year college students who had finished Freshman Composition. Post-class writing samples indicate that the experimental course produced more skilled writers than the traditional course.
19.
GeilkerNeita Frohmuth, A Comparison of Professionals' Responses to Selected Errors of Usage and Items of Disputed Usage in Formal Written English. Ph.D., University of Missouri—Kansas City, 1984. DAI, 45, 1060A.
20.
Surveyed attorneys, engineers, personnel workers and English teachers to determine attitude to selected usage and mechanics errors. English teachers were most conservative and engineers least. Females were consistently more conservative than males.
21.
HamlinDonna Marie, Organizational Audits: An Investigation into the Use of Fractionation Scales to Measure Communication Change Over Time in Goal Directed Systems. Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1982. DAI, 43, 3708A.
22.
Reports reliable results from the use of fractionation scaling to measure organizational communication. Includes a review of more standard communication auditing procedures and suggests that fractionation methods have higher reliability than traditional Likert-scale procedures.
23.
HarkinsCraig, The Multi-Image User: A Diffusion of Innovation investigation Into the Adoption and Use of Multi-Image Communication Techniques. Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1978. DAI, 39, 4574A.
24.
Reports a study of multi-image communication. Surveys of professional communicators suggest that 1) adoption of multi-image as a technique depends on personal as opposed to organizational characteristics, 2) multi-image appeals to younger communicators, and 3) familiarity with multi-image increases likelihood of adoption.
25.
HeldJulie Ann Stusrud, Exploration of Cognitive Styles Among Skilled and Unskilled Writers in a Technical Writing Class. Ph.D., Indiana University, 1983. DAI, 44, 1010A.
26.
Discusses a study of cognitive styles among technical writing students. Learning styles, determined by the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, were compared against writing samples. The single confirmed hypothesis is that students who preferred “Perception” wrote fewer “Good” papers than students who preferred “Judging.”
27.
HerringtonAnne Jeanette, Writing in Academic Settings: A Study of the Rhetorical Contexts for Writing in Two College Chemical Engineering Courses. Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1983. DAI, 45, 104A.
28.
Studied writing in a laboratory class and a process design class. Found that student and teachers perceived the two courses as different writing communities: Issues, writer and reader roles, and purposes varied.
29.
HertzVivienne Lucas, Cognitive-Field Implications for the Teaching of Technical Writing to Non-Traditional Students. Ph.D., Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, 1980. DAI, 41, 4306A.
30.
Reports development of technical writing instruction based on cognitive-field theory. Concludes that 1) use of personal course objectives is appropriate, 2) using group interaction is justified, 3) reflective teaching is viable, 4) technical writing is a learned slull, and 5) use of cognitive field theory requires down-playing its psychological base.
31.
HopkinsRobert Morris, Popular Scientific Discourse: A Rhetorical Model for Teaching Writing and Reading. Ph.D., University of Missouri—Columbia, 1979. DAI, 40, 4452A.
32.
Examines at the sentence, inter-sentence, and supra-sentence level structures that are common to popular scientific discourse. Found frequent use of transitive clauses and infrequent use of passive clauses. Specific supra-sentence structures occur frequently and lexical ties comprise the majority of cohesive ties. Concludes that popular scientific discourse is a genre characterized by identifiable features.
33.
HowellJames Dale, An Identification of the Competencies in English Needed by Vocational Students in the Community Colleges and Technical Institutes in North Carolina. Ed.D., North Carolina State University at Raleigh, 1976. DAI, 37, 3341A.
34.
In a survey of administrators, vocational teachers, English teachers, and trade professionals, found that verbal and job-related competencies were considered more important than writing and non-job related competencies.
35.
HullLeon ClintonJr., Beyond Readability: Measuring the Difficulty of Technical Writing. Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1979. DAI, 40, 4573A.
36.
Proposes and offers statistical validation for a revised readability formula. The formula has several advantages over traditional formulas: 1) It avoids the issue of vocabulary familiarity by substituting prenominal modifiers for vocabulary, and 2) It bears a direct causal relationship to readability and can therefore be used as a tool for revising.
37.
IlfeldEllen Margaret, Designing a Master of Arts Program in Professional Writing for Employed Adults. A.D., The University of Michigan, 1982. DAI, 43, 1863A.
38.
Describes an alternative MA level professional writing program designed for employed adults. Discusses teaching methodology, program and course design (including syllabi), and topics covered in the proposed courses.
39.
JordanMary Katherine, The Effects of Cooperative Peer Review on College Students Enrolled in Required Advanced Technical Writing Courses. Ph.D., University of Maryland, 1983. DAI, 45, 1319A.
40.
Reports effects of cooperative peer review on college students enrolled in required advanced technical writing courses. The number of revisions increased but quality of writing did not.
41.
KapitulaJoanne Elizabeth, An Intertypical Strategy Study of Organizational Communication Structures. Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1979. DAl, 40, 5500A.
42.
Finds support for the hypothesis that effectiveness in meeting an organization's goals is dependent on a communication structure that unifies the activities of organization members.
43.
KaspersonConrad John, An Exploratory Analysis of Information Use by Innovative, Productive, and Non-Productive Scientists and Engineers. Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1976. DAI, 38, 9A.
44.
In a study of sixty scientists, found that innovative scientists exposed themselves more widely to subject matter and were more likely to act upon suggestions from colleagues than were non-innovative scientists, who relied more upon suggestions from superiors.
45.
KleidNaomi Ann, Factors Affecting the Usefulness of Flowcharts and Other Formats for Computer Programs. Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1978. DAI, 39, 600B.
46.
Compares three computer flowchart formats and assesses their usefulness in light of information, communication and expectancy theory.
47.
LewisElaine Mary, An Effectiveness Measure for Visual Communication Media: Toward Definition of Visual Principles. Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1981. DAI, 42, 4966A.
48.
Suggests that standards for the quality of visual media can be defined through mathematical modeling. Draws on design theory, communication systems engineering, and human communication research to posit principles of visual effectiveness.
49.
LutzJean Ann, A Study of Professional and Experienced Writers Revising and Editing at the Computer and with Pen and Paper. Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1983. DAI, 44, 2755A.
50.
Found that revisers and editors at a word processor work differently than those who work with pen and paper and that even expert writers may require practice to develop detailed plans for an unfamiliar rhetorical problem.
51.
MillerCarolyn Rae, Environmental Impact Statements and Rhetorical Genres: An Application of Rhetorical Theory to Technical Communication. Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1980. DAI, 41, 849A.
52.
Examines Environmental Impact Statements as rhetorical genre, finding that as a group they lack the coherence necessary to qualify as a genre. Speculates that this lack of coherence inay account for their failure as public documents.
53.
MyersMildred Sochatoff, Written Communication at the Managerial and Professional/Technical Levels: A Case Study. D.A., Carnegie-Mellon University, 1981. DAI, 42, 775A.
54.
Examines differences between writing done at managerial and technical/professional levels. Finds that managers address subordinates, often write description and instruction, and use non-referential modes. Technical/professional writers write little instruction, use analytic modes, and depend more on strategies based on pure logic.
55.
NawaratPariya, Differences Between Teaching Methods and Materials Used by English Teachers with Vocational and Nan-Vocational Students. Ed.D., Mississippi State University, 1980. DAI, 41, 3518A.
56.
Found that self-paced programmed texts were useful in teaching grammatical usage to vocational and non-vocational students.
57.
NicholasSusan Kehoe, A Video Observational Study of the Writing Process of College Students in a Non-Academic Situation. Ph.D., Oakland University, 1983. DAI, 44, 684A.
58.
Reports protocol study of students required to draft written solutions to non-academic situations. Found that better students relied on heuristics not generally taught in composition courses.
59.
OdhamElizabeth Williams, Write it From this Angle: An Individualized Approach to Report-Writing Skills. Ed.D., Duke University, 1976. DAI, 37, 7495A.
60.
Argues that the formal report is best taught to community college students via laboratory-centered instruction. Provides a sixteen-chapter self-study guide that could be used in teaching such a course.
61.
PavlisinPeggy Irene, Teaching Students to Revise and Proofread: An Experiment with Technical Writing Students. D.A., Illinois State University, 1982. DAI, 43, 1354A.
62.
Found that students who received instruction in revision and were required to revise showed no improvement over students who were not trained in revision. However, better students in both groups revised more than did the average or below average students.
63.
RagonnetJames Lawrence, The Relationship Between Rhetorical and Scientific Discovery. Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1981. DAI, 42, 3133A.
64.
Argues that rhetorical and scientific discovery share common values, thoughts, and methods.
65.
SmithLeonara Harris, Revision Practices of Professional Writers. Ph.D., Michigan State University, 1983. DAI, 44, 2972A.
66.
Found that writers' revision processes were multi-layered and recursive, progressively moving through an underlying three-stage process. Routine writing tasks permit combination of stages.
67.
StalnakerBonny Jean, A Study of the Influence of Audience and Purpose on the Composing Processes of Professionals, Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1981. DAI, 42, 2933A.
68.
Using protocol/text analysis, found that professional writers respond to audience as they accomplish their own purposes in writing.
69.
WilkinsKeith Albert, A Conceptualized Role of Attitudes, Needs, and Environmental Stimuli in Human Responses to Communication. Ph.D., Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 1983. DAI, 44, 1233A.
70.
Criticizes three attitude change theories, suggesting that each could be improved by inclusion of components which address an individual's needs, perceived environment, and attitude.
71.
Special Cable Tools, Cables/Cableways Instructional Design Series, Norfolk Naval Shipyard/Naval Sea Systems Command, in press.
72.
Review of Interactive Writing: Composing with a Word Processor, Technical Communication, in press.
A Beginner's Guide to Teaching Technical Writing: An Annotated Bibliography, (with Bill Birns), ERIC ED 245 243, 1984.
75.
Review of Business and Technical Writing Cookbook, Technical Communication, 30, No. 3, 1983.
76.
Paradigms and Printouts: What Computer Use in the Writing Class Reveals about Learning Models, Paper presented at the Southeastern Conference on English in the Two-Year College, (Atlanta, GA), 1983.
