RESEARCH METHODS SEMINAR

The world is devious rather than dappled, too complex to fit neatly into any of our models, theories, or
explanations...everything is connected to everything else, even if in ways which often elude us and may in
fact remain forever beyond our grasp. -E. Fox-Keller 2002, p. 301

[ Course Rationale ]
The fundamental assumption guiding
the design of this course is that all
knowledge is a matter of
methodology. The methods and
methodologies you learn in this
course will attune you to otherwise
unrecognized or under-theorized
phenomena. Consider Tracey
Sarsfields sculptures composed of resin, paint, fiberglass, and vinyl. Several of
Sarsfields sculptures show two human figures, connected by black wires. In her
recent exhibition, Reflected, Sarsfield asks, when connecting with a fellow
human being what is it that we share? Sarsfields art makes visible the
connections between ostensibly disparate things (fig. 1). This, too, is our trade:
to enact a methodological cats cradle that, with every pass of the palm, turns
seemingly benign strands or knots into structurally sound loops and layers.
Attunement indicates ones disposition
in the world, how one finds oneself
embedded in a situation...it results from
the co-responsive and inclusive
interaction that brings out both
immersion (being with) and specificity
(the w ay of our being there).
Rickert 2013, p. 9

[ engl 7895 ]
wednesdays
2:20-5:20 pm
denney 312

[ contact ]
christa teston, phd
denney 506
teston.2@osu.edu

[ office hours ]
wednesdays
11:00 am-2:00 pm
+ by appointment

Fig. 1. From Sarsfields Reflected

Another one of Sarsfields sculptures illustrates the kind of methodological attunements well enact
this semester. Rain (fig. 2) displays two aligned figures with their backs to one another. One faces
upward toward the ceiling while the other faces downward, toward the ground. Connecting the two
figures are hundreds of black fishing lines, representing rain. But is the rain falling from the topdown as one might expect? Or is it, counter intuitively, falling from the bottom-up? Rain makes a
case for movement, form, and being as a matter of connection. Our methods and methodologies

should attune us to such complex connections, and leave open the possibility of that which seems
impossible.
Latour (2005) asserts that
action is a node, a knot, and a
conglomerate of many
surprising sets of agencies that
have to be slowly disentangled
(44). He admonishes us that we
make a mistake when we
ignore the queerest, baroque,
and most idiosyncratic terms
offered by the actors, following
only those that have currency in
the rear-world of the social
(47, emphasis in original). This
semester, we will explore
strategies for attuning
methodologically to heretoforeunnoticed nodes and knots. We
will study the lines that
connect, the queer spaces and
places with which humans
partner to make that which
matters mean, and that which
means matter.

Figure 2 . Sarsfield's Rain

[ Learning Objectives ]
Despite an ambitious set of
learning objectives Ive
outlined for this course, I will
remain open and flexible to
your needs as the semester
progresseseven if it means
sacrificing one of the courses
aims. Ideally, however, by the
end of the course, you should,

Become adept at describing the current methodological state of our discipline, and be able to
articulate your scholarly place therein;
Know how to work with IRBs and compose a research protocol;
Feel confident when writing a methods section or chapter;
Through an 8-week pilot study, understand the iterative nature of: asking a researchable
question, designing a study, collecting data, analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and
drafting a publishable manuscript.

In class, well negotiate how these learning objectives will be achieved (i.e., either through
collaboratively or individually written reports/disciplinary maps).

[ Required Sources ]
Books (ordered through Barnes & Noble)
Miles, Huberman, and Saldaa (2014). Qualitative Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook. Sage.
Nickoson & Sheridan (2012). Writing studies research in practice: Methods and methodologies. Southern
Illinois UP.
Tavory, I., & Timmermans, S. (2014). Abductive analysis: Theorizing qualitative research. University of
Chicago Press.
Special Issues (available online through library)
2015. Special Issue on Contemporary Research Methodologies in Technical Communication,
Technical Communication Quarterly 24(1).
2013. Special Issue on New Methods for the Study of Written Communication. Written
Communication 30(3&4).
2012. Special Issue on Research Methods. College Composition and Communication 64(1).
[ On Revision ]
Dont feel crestfallen when I ask you to revise. I adhere to writing research that suggests that final
drafts are still merely drafts and that our best writing comes from multiple and iterative revisions.
Accept that this is a part of our course (and your life).
[ Additional Needs ]
Any student who feels s/he may need an accommodation based on the impact of a disability
(documented or undocumented) should contact me privately to discuss your specific needs. You
may also contact the Office for Disability Services at 614-292-3307, TDD 292-0901;
http://www.ods.ohio-state.edu/, or visit them in room 150 Pomerene Hall to coordinate reasonable
accommodations.
[ Attendance Policy ]
I expect you to be in class every day we meet, and to arrive prepared and on time. Missing class will
negatively affect your grade.
[ Assessments ]
Value Deliverable
200
Preparation,
Participation, and
Collaboration
100
Methodological Map
(9/16)
100

IRB Protocol (9/23)

400

Research Project &

Write-Up (October
& November,
ongoing)
Memoing (ongoing)

100

Description
Do the reading. Engage with course materials and meetings
thoughtfully and critically. Carry your weight on collaborative
projects.
Using as heuristic the three research methodology SIs youve been
assigned, compose a visual rendering of the current methodological
state of our discipline (including objects of analyses; methods;
methodologies; conclusions).
Prepare (and possibly submit) a research protocol for an 8-week pilot
study, using OSUs IRB guidelines. Obtain human subjects
certification (complete CITI training).
Conduct an 8-week pilot study (may be individual or collaborative).
Prepare an informal weekly report of your progress, begin analysis,
and draft a final deliverable, which may lead to a publishable
manuscript.
Compose theoretical memos (per Miles, Huberman, Saldana) that
reflect your research progress, etc. (you should have a minimum of

100

Research Philosophy
or Statement (12/12)

10 of these for the whole semester).

Draft a 500-word research philosophy or statement that situates your
scholarly/methodological contribution within the field. Be able to
identify current scholarly/research projects and articulate your
scholarly/research trajectory.

[ Grade Scale ]
930-1000: A
900-929: A870-899: B+
830-869: B
800-829: B-

770-799: C+
730-769: C
700-729: C670-699: D+
600-669: D

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE | FALL 2015

UNIT I. Asking Questions, Framing Answers

8/26 Introductions & Methodological State of the Field

Discuss hourglass approach to creating new knowledge
Teams, sites, researchable questions (discuss inductively vs. deductively derived data);
introduce IRB protocol
Introduce Methodology Special Issues, methodological maps assignment
Discuss,
o Miller, B. (2014). Mapping the methods of composition/rhetoric dissertations: A
landscape plotted and pieced. College Composition and Communication 66(1), 145176.
o Rivers, N. (2014). Tracing the missing masses: Vibrancy, symmetry, and rhetoric
pedagogy. Enculturation. http://enculturation.net/missingmasses

9/2 Problem-Finding, Kinky Empiricism, and Situatedness
Workshop methodological maps
Workshop IRB Protocol
Discuss,
o Merton, T. (1959). Sociology today: Problems and prospects. Introduction.
o Young, Becker & Pike. Chapter 5 in Rhetoric: Discovery and change.
o Charney, D. (1996). Empiricism is not a four-letter word. College Composition and
Communication 47, 567-593.
o Rutherford, D. (2012). Kinky empiricism. Cultural Anthropology 27(3), 465-479.
o Lykke, N. (2010). Feminist studies. Ch. 9, Methodologies, Methods, and Ethics.

UNIT II. Attuning Methodically

9/9 The Logistics of Coding & Memoing
Workshop methodological maps
Workshop IRB Protocol
Discuss qualitative data analysis software
Discuss Miles, Huberman, Saldaa Chs. 1-4; Oddo, J. (2013). Discourse-based
methods across texts and semiotic modes: Three tools for micro-rhetorical analysis.

Written communication 30(3), 236-275.

9/16 Attuning to Complexity
Present methodological maps
Discuss,
o Clarke, A. E. (2003). Situational analyses: Grounded theory mapping after the
postmodern turn. Symbolic interaction 26(4), 553-576).
o Farkas, K., & Haas, C. (2012). A grounded theory approach for studying writing and
literacy. In K. Powell & P. Takayoshi (Eds.), Practicing research in writing studies:
Reflexive and ethically responsible research (pp. 8196). New York, NY: Hampton
Press.
o Russell, D. R. (2010). Writing in multiple contexts: Vygotskian CHAT meets the
phenomenology of genre. In C. Bazerman, R. Krut, K. Lunsford, S. McLeod, S.
Null, P. Rogers, & A. Stansell (Eds.), Traditions of writing research (pp. 353364). New
York, NY: Routledge.
o Latour, B. (1992). Where are the missing masses? The sociology of a few mundane
artefacts. In W. Bijker & J. Law (Eds.), Shaping technologyBuilding society (pp.
225259). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
9/23 Attuning Visually & Aurally
Submit IRB Protocol, Begin 8-week study (& draft a schedule)
Discuss,
o Bauer, M.W. (2000). Analysing noise and music as social data. (Ch. 15) In Bauer,
M. W., & Gaskell, G. (Eds.). Qualitative researching with text, image and sound: A
practical handbook for social research. Sage.
o Rose, D. (2000). Analysis of moving images. (Ch. 14). In Bauer, M. W., & Gaskell,
G. (Eds.). (2000). Qualitative researching with text, image and sound: A practical handbook
for social research. Sage.
o Rogers, R. (2013). Digital methods. MIT Press. Chapters 1, 5, 9
o Gries, L. (2013). Iconographic tracking: A digital research method for rhetoric and
circulation studies. Computers and composition 30, 332-348.
9/30 Attuning Digitally
Discuss,
o Potts, L., Seitzinger, J., Jones, D., & Harrison, A. (2011). Tweeting disaster:
Hashtag constructions and collisions. In C. J. Costa & C. Meghini (Eds.), SIGDOC
11: Proceedings of the 29th annual international conference on design of
communication (pp. 235240). New York, NY: ACM.
o Spinuzzi, C., Hart-Davidson, W., & Zachry, M. (2006). Chains and ecologies:
Methodological notes toward a communicative mediational model of technologically
mediated writing. In R. Pierce & J. Stamey (Eds.), SIGDOC 06: Proceedings of the
24th Annual International Conference on Design of Communication (pp. 4350).
New York, NY: ACM.
o Haas, C., Takayoshi, P., et al. (2011). Young peoples everyday literacies: The
language features of instant messaging. Research in the teaching of English 45(4), 378404.

10/7 Attuning Statistically

Discuss,
o Dave, A. M. & Russell, D.R. (2010). Drafting and revision using word processing by
undergraduate student writers: Changing conceptions and practices. Research in the
teaching of English 44(4), 406-434.
o Haswell, R.H. (2000). Documenting improvement in college writing: A longitudinal
approach. Written communication 17(3), 307-352.
o Charney, D.H. & Carlson, R.A. (1995). Learning to write in a genre: What student
writers take from model texts. Research in the teaching of english 29(1), 88-125.
o Campbell, D.T. & Stanley, J.C. (1963). Excerpts from Experimental and quasiexperimental designs for research.
10/14 Interlude: Methodological Models in Rhetoric & Writing
Discuss Nickoson & Sheridan (2012) selections

UNIT III. Analytic Frameworks & Theory-Building

10/21 The Logistics of Describing, Ordering, Explaining
Discuss Miles, Huberman, Saldaa Chs. 7, 9, 11, 12
10/28 Analyzing Rhetorically
Toulmin; Stasis; TBD
Workshop methods section
11/4 Analyzing Materially
Discuss Braidotti; Barad; Mol (selections TBD)
Workshop methods section
(+ individual conferences during the week)

(+

11/18 Analyzing _______________ (TBD)

Relevant Readings TBD
Workshop methods section
(+ individual conferences during the week)

UNIT IV. Conclusions & Critiques
12/2 The Logistics of Composing Conclusions
Workshop Research Statements
Discuss peer review examples
Discuss,
o Smagorinsky, P. (2008). The method section as conceptual
epicenter in constructing social science reports. Written
Communication 25, 389-411.
o Helmreich (2009). Alien ocean. (selections about athwart
methods)
12/9 Considering Critiques
Discuss Tavory & Timmermans (2014)
Workshop Research Statements