Research in the WC

I'm surprised the Bedford Guide doesn't make a distinction between research and evaluation activities, given the different audiences and purposes of each. From my time in each of these arenas (program evaluation at a family behavioral health clinic and health services research at the VA), I've learned the distinction refers to methods and application differences (i.e, evaluation doesn't need IRB approval and isn't generalizable.) Anyway, I think both are important. We've talked about the Writing Center as a contact zone for various [sub]cultures and as a vital university resource. Evaluation aims to find areas for improvement and the most successful organizations are always learning and adjusting. Research shares insights from a really rich environment.

My research questions so far stem from pragmatic considerations of what data are available:
1. What fluctuations in usage of the Writing Center occur throughout the year? Are these related to more than midterms? Are their ways we could use these findings to more evenly distribute usage over time (via advertising, for example)?
2. What patterns emerge in WC tutors' post-appointment report summaries? Does this show a shared orientation among tutors we wouldn't have considered? Are here marked differences in style of reports between tutor subgroups (e.g. grad students vs. undergrad fellows, more advanced students vs. first semester tutors, men vs. women vs. nonbinary tutors)? What do these similarities and differences tell us about the WC community here?
3. How do users of the WC rank themselves as writers? (This is inspired by the notion WCs are for "bad" writers, an idea that has been difficult to eradicate at some centers. "Self as Writer" invitations could be diagnostic.)


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