Designing Ethnographic Research in Technical Communication: Case Study Theory into Application
- 1 October 1987
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
- Vol. 17 (4), 325-333
- https://doi.org/10.2190/dkb7-mh03-n50a-36vj
Abstract
Field study, using an ethnographic approach, offers a potentially powerful methodology for the technical communication researcher, a methodology that provides a useful balance to the strengths and weaknesses of experiments and surveys. Technical communication studies, however, exhibit not only the typical constraints of field research but several additional constraints inherent to research conducted on-the-job in business, industry, and government, which deserve consideration when designing research.Keywords
This publication has 2 references indexed in Scilit:
- Writing CulturePublished by University of California Press ,1986
- The Need for Better Research in Technical CommunicationJournal of Technical Writing and Communication, 1980