Tips on Developing Research Projects
Getting Started:
- Decide on a research question. What do you want to find out? What kind of evidence do you want to gather? You might consider these starters: “I am gathering evidence in order to discover/evaluate/analyze/consider_____________. This evidence will help me find out how/why __________________.”
- Consider whether you want to initiate a new study, continue an ongoing one, or update information you already have.
- Determine what evidence/information/data you have on hand.
- Check to see whether your institution has an Institutional Review Board (IRB) and what rules and regulations they have for working with human subjects.
- Even if you don’t need to work with the Institutional Review Board, make sure you understand principles of informed consent and seek appropriate permissions in case you decide to present or publish your material at a later date.
- Determine your general research subject: tutors, tutees, texts, etc.
- Decide how to limit this subject.
- Consider whether you would like to collaborate in your research with others in or outside your institution.
- Consider the audience (beyond the conference participants) with whom you’ll share your findings: faculty, tutors, administrators, writing center colleagues, community groups, etc.
- Choose a method for collecting your data: interviews, surveys, focus groups, case studies, questionnaires, statistics, review of scholarly literature, text or discourse analysis, observations, archival investigations, portfolio reviews, etc.
- If using a research method you haven’t tried before, read up on best practices and look for models in use or in the literature.
Gathering Evidence:
- Decide what existing data you have and what new data you need to gather.
- Consider testing your method with a small pilot study to get out the kinks and discover obstacles.
- Plan ways to encourage participation in the study.
- Start you project so that you will have time to analyze data before the conference.
- Take advantage of institutional resources (online survey tools, email lists, database consultants, faculty members in other disciplines).
- Use writing center resources: wcenter listserv, Writing Lab Newsletter, Writing Center journal, writing center-themed books and collections, the Writing Center archive in Louisville.
Presenting your Research Findings:
- Consider how best to share your findings: poster session, individual presentation, workshop, etc.
- Select your presentation medium: handouts, PowerPoint, audio-video clips, transparencies, activity, etc.
- Share how your findings might be relevant to writing centers at other institutions.
Research Grants Available
Grants of $500-750 are available to support research projects from the International Writing Centers Association. Deadline for applications are July 1 and January 1. Information available at http://writingcenters.org/grants.htm
Useful Print and Web Resources
Neal Lerner’s section on “Research in the Writing Center” (#6 under Special Needs and Opportunities) in the IWCA Writing Center Resource Manual. Available from IWCA press for $25.00. Contact Byron Stay at stay@msmary.edu for purchase.
Wrtiing Center Research: Extending the Conversation edited by Paula Gillespie (ed.), Alice Gillam (ed.), Lady Falls Brown (ed.), and Byron Stay (ed.), 2002. Available from Erlbaum. Com.
The 20-year annotated WCJ bibliography (1980-2000): http://136.165.72.248/wcj/wcj20.2/wcj20.2_bibliography.pdf
Many of our relevant journals now have archives of past issues online. Follow these links for more information:
Writing Center Journal
http://www.writing.ku.edu/wcj/aims.html
College English
http://www.ncte.org/pubs/journals/ce
Writing Lab Newsletter
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/lab/newsletter/volumes/index.html
NCTE
http://www.ncte.org/library/files/About_NCTE/Overview/inbox/current.html
WAC Clearinghouse
Kairos
http://english.ttu.edu/kairos/
Additional Research and Information Sites
CompPile (http://comppile.tamucc.edu/) provides a searchable archive of 75,948 composition-related materials through 1999
ERIC (Educational Resource Information Center) http://www.eric.ed.gov/ provides a searchable database of journal and non-journal education-related literature.
The CCCC Bibliography of Composition and Rhetoric 1984-1999 (http://www.ibiblio.org/cccc/) provides a searchable archive of journals through 1999
The MLA International Bibliography (http://www.mla.org/bibliography) indexes books and articles on teaching of language, literature, and rhetoric and composition at the college level.
The Writing Center Research project (http://coldfusion.louisville.edu/webs/a-s/wcrp/ ) houses an archive of oral histories, materials, and journals from writing centers and writing center-related work.
They have recently completed a survey (http://coldfusion.louisville.edu/webs/a-s/wcrp/reports/index.cfm) that collects and documents information about writing centers’ administrative arrangements, staffing, and working conditions throughout the country.
The results of the first WCRP survey: http://www.louisville.edu/a-s/writingcenter/wcenters/survey2000-2001/surveyresults.html
An example of an Informed Consent Permission form (pdf) is available here from Neal Lerner.
International Writing Centers Association Webpage at http://writingcenters.orgWriting Lab Newsletter Research-Related Sources
Cushman, Tara, et al. "Using Focus Groups to Assess Writing Center
Effectiveness." 29.7 (2005): 1-5.
Hawthorne, Joan. "Researching the Conference (Why We Need Discourse
Analysis)." WLN 27.4 (2002): 1-5.
Mueller, Susan. "Documentation Styles and Discipline-Specific
Values." WLN 29.6 (2005): 6-9.
Niler, Luke. "The Numbers Speak: A Pretest of Writing Center
Outcomes Using Statistical Analysis." WLN 27.7 (2003): 6-9.
Truesdell, Tom. "Don't Forget Us: The Impact of Director Presence
on
Tutors." WLN 29.3 (2004): 1-4.
Writing Center Journal Models of WC Research
Bell, James H. "When Hard Questions Are Asked: Evaluating Writing
Centers." 21.1 (2000): 7-28.
Tutor/Client Conversation: A Linguistic Analysis." WCJ 19.1 (1998):
19-48.
Carino, Peter, and Doug Enders. "Does Frequency of Visits to the
Writing Center Increase Student Satisfaction? A Statistical
Correlation Study--or Story." WCJ 22.1 (2001): 83-103.
Morrison, Julie Bauer, and Jean-Paul Nadeau. "How Was Your Session at
the Writing Center? Pre- and Post-Grade Student Evaluations." WCJ
23.2 (2003): 25-42.
Young, Beth Rapp, and Barbara A. Fritzsche. "Writing Center Users Procrastinate Less: The Relationship between Individual Differences in Procrastination, Peer Feedback, and Student Writing Success." WCJ
23.1 (2002): 45-58.