Becker – Writing for Social Scientists – Chapter 8: Terrorized by the Literature

Howard Becker – Writing for Social Scientists – Chapter 8:  Terrorized by the Literature B. begins by noting that students often “choose” a method; however, they really didn’t have a real free choice of theories.  In fact, by the time the writing of the research occurs, most have already chosen what questions to investigate, how to gather their information, the technical and procedural alternatives of their work (who... Read More

Abbott – Methods of Discovery – Chapters 1 & 2

Abbott – Methods of Discovery – Chapter 1 Chapter 1: Explanation A. begins by noting that traditional social science is much like a monologue . . . it is patterned and consistent.1 A. notes that this work is a heuristic. . . a book “of aids to the social scientific imagination” (4).  A. also notes that explanation is the purpose of social science (again, Latourian inferences).  This perspective on social science method requires... Read More

Ulmer – Heuretics: The Logic of Invention (selections)

Ulmer, Gregory L. Heuretics : The Logic of Invention. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994. Print Preface U. notes that Heuretics is an ongoing (at this time 2 decades long) project of “applying to academic discourse the lessons arising out of a matrix crossing French postructuralist theory, avant-garde experiments, and electronic media” in the context of education (xi).  He’s theorized/practiced this work as a means... Read More

Gunkel – Hacking Cyberspace

Gunkel, David J.  “Hacking Cyberspace.”  JAC 20 4 (2000):  797-823.  Print. The first paragraph of this article makes a lot of cogent points about the problem of problem/question posing: every question is loaded with the terms and conditions, essences, functions, significances of a particular debate.  While we may not know the answer to the question, our question marshals particular epistemological assumptions toward a limited set of possible... Read More

Lillis – Ethnography as Method, Methodology, and ‘Deep Theorizing’

Citation: Lillis, Theresa. “Ethonography as Method, Methodology, and ‘Deep Theorizing’: Closing the Gap Between Text and Context in Academic Writing Research”  Written Communication 25.3 (2008): 353-388. Print. Abstract: This article critically explores the value of ethnography for enhancing context sensitive approaches to the study of academic writing. Drawing on data from two longitudinal studies, student writing in the United Kingdom and... Read More