Digital Writing Research

If you are interested in research in digital environments, even just a little, I suggest you read Digital Writing Research Technologies, Methodologies, and Ethical Issues edited by Heidi McKee and Danielle Nicole DeVoss. This book deals with a lot of issues that are really important to digital writing research - different methodologies that can be used, ethical issues to consider (including IRB concerns), how to incorporate technology as a research tool, cultural implications...

I am taking a qualitative research class right now and will soon be thinking about research for my dissertation. My interests are primarily in digital environments. My last post discussed some of these ideas. I just feel that these are spaces really rich for analysis in how people choose to communicate. It's been a slow concept (research in digital environments) to reach a lot of people and it's a small field, but that too makes it such a great place for research. It's new and exciting and full of possibilities and it's nice to find a text devoted to that.

What I've liked best about it is that it is has provided me with a vocabulary to talk about these issues and to articulate what I mean when I talk about my research interests. Previously, when I've talked about my ideas, people have had questions (oddly, one question I seem to come upon all the time is, "What about the rhetoric?" I find this odd because I am in Rhetoric and Professional Communication program - isn't rhetoric implied in everything we do? Beside the fact - the internet is FULL of rhetoric - an amazing place for analysis). But after reading this, I feel as though I can better explain that what makes these spaces so interesting is the continuous shift, both culturally and technologically, in the internet, makes this kind of research so fascinating. It is never stable - there are new power relationships, ideologies, and new people entering these social spaces all the time. This creates new ways of communication constantly.

It's an exciting time!

Three Ideas and One Way to Go (Eventually)

I thought of a new dissertation idea last week and I like it the best. I liked the last dissertation idea the best too. And probably the one before that as well.

Number one argued that online communities have helped further the green movement. This was of personal interest to me because more and more I have streamlined my life to be more environmentally friendly and online spaces have really helped me with that. Especially since I have few family members and friends and essentially, face-to-face community to help and support me with this. I've written a paper and given a conference presentation and am planning a proposing a 200 level writing class around it, so this has helped me a lot.

Number two asked what happens to online spaces when they are no longer used or popular (i.e. AOL, Friendster, Geocities). I don't have any personal stakes in this. I think it may be too large in scope for me. I am currently taking a qualitative research methods class and I am having a hard time articulating the question in terms my professor and textbooks would like. This could be a problem. But I know there is something there. I just am not sure.

Number three deals with how people interact online in the face of a national disaster or catastrophe. Last year I began a project on using the Pentad on a series of Tweets that dealt with a school shooting in Alabama. It was cool to do because the dominant term was purpose, rather than technology as agency, which so many people would think it was. After the earthquate in Haiti, all sorts of people spoke up on Twitter and Facebook and asked people to donate or to do something little. I think this is important because so many people, even those who blog or are on Facebook are very dismissive of online spaces doing any good. I wonder when "going online" will be less of a dirty little hobby or timesuck and more of a respected practice.

So those are my ideas and I need to chose one at some point. With this qualitative research class I've been thinking a lot about the dissertation process. Which is important to think about, but I forget about my comps.

One step at a time I guess.