ATTW 2020 Research Methods Workshops

Two Research Methods Workshops

Building Alternative Archives

by Katrina Powell (Virginia Tech)

The Research Methods Workshop is an initiative of the Association of Teachers of Technical Writing (ATTW) aimed at providing an opportunity for those entering the profession and those less trained in research to develop more sophisticated research skills. This year, ATTW is sponsoring a Research Methods Workshop on Building Alternative Archives: Opportunities and Disruptions in Archival Methods. This half-day workshop, led by Katrina Powell, Professor and Director of the Center of Rhetoric in Society at Virginia Tech, will be held in Milwaukee on Tuesday afternoon, March 24, 1:30-5:30. This is the first day of the ATTW conference and the day before the CCCC’s. This workshop is designed to help participants organize research ledgers, letters, scraps, and other forms of literacy into an archive that recognizes alternative spaces.

Research Conclave on Designing a Reference Corpus for Technical Communication

by Jason Swarts (NC State), Bill Hart-Davidson (Michigan State) and Bradley Dilger (Purdue)

As authorized by the ATTW Executive Committee, Research Conclaves are convened for the purpose of completing projects representing a significant improvement to the research infrastructure of ATTW and the field of technical communication generally. For 2020, ATTW is sponsoring a Research Conclave on Designing a Reference Corpus for Technical Communication.This Conclave will start with a half-day working meeting in Milwaukee on Tuesday afternoon, March 24, 1:30-5:30. This is the first day of the ATTW conference and the day before the CCCC’s. The work of the Conclave will then continue for at least twelve months following the conference and culminate in a report and deliverables at the 2021 conference. The 2020 Conclave is being gathered to address the lack of a reference corpus in technical communication. While corpus analysis is being used with increasing frequency in technical communication, scholars have been stymied by the lack of a suitable reference corpus. Many scholars need to compile their own set of documents before they even start their research. By carefully selecting sets of tech com documents from students and from professional contexts, the 2020 Conclave will design a piece of research infrastructure that can benefit the entire field.

And the application deadline has passed.  The application deadline was Jan 15.

Research Methods Event Registration

Registration will be available soon.

      • Registration for the workshop costs $100
      • Registration for the Conclave is free.