THE CEA FORUM - Winter/Spring 2013 - An Introduction to the Work (and Play) of Writing Studies Research Methods through Micro Study

Oct 15, 2026

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Winter/Spring 2013 issue of THE CEA FORUM presents an introduction to writing studies research methods through micro study, arguing that learning to research writing happens by “doing” rather than only discussing research. The article explains the benefits and challenges of assigning small-scale, practice-based observational projects in a graduate methods seminar, designed to address gaps in typical methods curricula. It outlines how micro studies help emerging researchers identify and employ methods, and it describes three case-study examples used to show real benefits and the need for hands-on empirical field research.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages28

Reading Time1 h 11 min

AccessFree to download

An Introduction to Micro Study in Writing Studies Research Methods

Why “Doing” Research Matters in Methods Courses

Benefits and Challenges of Small-Scale Research Projects

Course Context: Research in Rhetoric and Writing (RRW)

Rickly’s “Messy Contexts” and Micro Study Design

THE CEA FORUM Winter/Spring 2013 An Introduction to the Work (and Play) of Writing Studies Research Methods through Micro Study Suzan Aiken Saginaw Valley State University Emily J. Beard Saginaw Valley State University David R. E. McClure Bowling Green State University Lee Nickoson Bowling Green State University How do we learn to research writing? The answer is, in a sense, simple: we learn how to conduct writing research by “doing” it. Yet this simple answer becomes complicated when we try to overcome the obstacles inherent in teaching itself, namely, that “doing research” and“doing research for class” can be, and usually are, very different activities, especially when we consider the enormity of even modestly-scaled research projects and the profound complexity of the literacies they call for. One response to this problem is to create research projects for students that both have real or potential disciplinary ramifications—that contribute to knowledge in realways—and are limited enough in scope that they are manageable in one semester by students who are not yet full participants in the community of practice known as composition research. THE CEA FORUM Winter/Spring 2013 However obvious this approach may seem to some, providing students opportunities to conduct the all-important first attempt at writing research is often absent in methods curricula. This article addresses the benefits and challenges involved with assigning small-scale research projects in one research methods class as means of introducing new(er) researchers to the work and rewards of empirical writing research. The following discussion does not claim to offer examples of cutting-edge methodological work. That is not our goal here; rather, the purpose of this article is to further Rebecca Rickly’s call for increased curricular attention to empirical field research (“Messy Contexts: Research as a Rhetorical Situation”) by offering three case studies—micro studies. Completed as part of a graduate methods class, the studies illustrate the emerging researchers’ research experiences with conducting small-scale,“practice”observational inquiry. Our claim, then, is simple: we tend to forget how thoroughly we have already been enculturated as rhetoric and composition researchers—we tend, that is, to be unaware of the depth and complexity of our own literacies once they become second nature tous. But what may very well seem obvious to established researchers, whether it be the questions posed, the methods used, or the findings reported, are only obvious to those of us who have already had at least one (and likely many) such enculturating experiences. The authors—three student participants and the course instructor of the same graduate methods seminar—narrate critical, self-reflective, self-selected micro studies in order to examine how students of writing researchers came to identify and employ methods and methodologies as a way of “learning and using” writing studies research. 1 The studies, which include a survey of first-year college students on their transition from high school to college; an examination of the actions, sounds, THE CEA FORUM Winter/Spring 2013 and voices the researcher observed in the hallway of a researcher’s office building in her participant observation of“work in action;” and a textual analysis of Works Cited pages of College Composition and Communication serve as examples of the very real benefits of—and the need for—practical, hands-on experience enacting observational research methods and methodologies. A Bit of Context: Research in Rhetoric and Writing Methods Seminar The studies discussed here were produced for Research in Rhetoric and Writing (RRW) . RRW is a three-hour seminar and one of eight core courses required of doctoral students enrolled in the Rhetoric and Writing Program at Bowling Green State University. The sole core course dedicated to research as subject matter, RRW is populated by

FAQs

为什么作者强调“通过实践学习研究”？

作者认为学习写作研究的方法，关键在于亲自“做”研究。仅仅谈论“doing research”与为课程“doing research for class”往往差别很大。

文章讨论了在方法课中布置小规模研究项目的哪些价值与难点？

文章聚焦小规模研究项目在一门研究方法课中用于引导新兴研究者进入经验性写作研究的收益与挑战，并通过讨论进一步说明其必要性。

文中提到的 RRW 课程背景是什么？

RRW 是鲍林格林州立大学修辞与写作项目博士生的八门核心课之一，面向课程早期阶段的学生，目标包括让学生把写作研究理解为学术性批判参与，并帮助他们在方法上完成自我定位。

Oct 15, 2026

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