Research

As a nonfiction writer, research is par for the course of the discipline, but we don't get very many opportunities within the program to discuss methods of research on an individual basis, which is an aspect of my undergraduate program in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies that I find I miss more and more. I, like Elizabeth was saying, found the chapter to be helpful in regards to how to conduct research in general, though I'm still not completely sure I understand its specific application to the Writing Center in particular. That said, I'm interested in the concept of utilizing research in order to test writing center "lore," set forth by the Bedford guide--that research could be used as an instrument to gauge the actual effects of some of the practices we implement on a regular basis, but don't get to gauge the long-term effects of. For instance, I think often about how rapid the turnover is for the relationships cultivated within the writing center and the University at large. Because we come from such a diverse pool of pedagogy and experience, what are the longterm effects on our students from one tutor to the next, in terms of consistency: are students capable of translating the specific frames or pieces of advice given to them by their teachers and writing center instructors into a broader bank of education in regards to what makes good writing, or do these one-on-one sessions when considered within the larger lifespan of their education, remain in a vacuum?

I'm not sure how to go about researching these effects, but I think so much about how writing instruction comes down to relationships between people, the shorthand that you are able to cultivate, and what happens when those relationships, when it comes to writing on the collegiate level and beyond, only occur within the realm of a single semester or less?

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