Research Tactics for Constructing Perceptions of Subject Matter in Organizational Contexts: An Ethnographic Study of Technical Communicators

• Published in: Technical communication quarterly Vol. 10; no. 1; pp. 59 - 95
• Main Author: Hovde, Marjorie Rush
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc 01.01.2001; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Audiences; Authors; Case Studies; Communication; Communication Skills; Computer Software; Design; Documentation; Ethnography; Field Studies; Higher Education; Influence on; Knowledge; Learning; Learning style; Manuals; Negotiation; Organizational culture; Rhetoric; Rhetorical Theory; Semiotics; Software; Studies; Technical Communication; Technical Writing; Technology Education; Writers; Writing; Writing Instruction; Writing Processes; Writing Teachers; New York; Chicago Illinois; Indiana; United States > US; Illinois; Indianapolis Indiana

Theories of invention often overlook the role of learning subject matter in order to write, especially in workplaces. This ethnographic study describes technical communicators' abilities to learn about software within organizational constraints and resources. These writers' tactics for lea...