Contextual Inquiry and Citation in Context

Abstract

This proposal for an interactive presentation session will focus on two different mechanisms for expanding the role of context in developing undergraduate research projects. The first is to use contextual inquiry as a research method -- this method requires students to investigate a site of use and apply qualitative methods (observation, interview, focus groups) in order to help solve a research problem (the examples I will use include developing recommendation reports for websites for the GMU Writing Center and for Lifting Voices, a DC-based nonprofit that focuses on literacy instruction for under-served communities.). The other mechanism focuses on context analysis as applied to texts -- specifically for improving students' understanding of how to use secondary sources to support the arguments they make in academic writing. The focus on context in this case helps students to see how and why to use citations -- and I have found this reinforcement and focus on context and rhetorical functions also serves as a barrier to inadvertent plagiarism. Both techniques are designed to support undergraduate research/scholarship and both rely upon access to and use of a range of technologies (for recording, interaction between students and clients, and Internet research). Although these techniques are used in composition and professional writing courses, I believe they can be applied to other disciplines as well and will extrapolate possible uses outside of writing courses after presenting the specific examples of use in my classes. Although I could certainly present for the 50 minute session time, I could also do a more focused explanation of either of the two mechanisms individually and share the presentation time with another presenter if that makes more sense for the conference schedule.