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Authors:Pia Bsdurrek, Michael Meng Abstract: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, Ahead of Print. Simplified user interfaces (SUIs) refer to a new design technique in technical communication that simplifies screenshots by removing irrelevant elements and highlighting only the essential information. While there is consensus on the benefits of signaling in multimedia learning, there is currently no empirical evidence on the effects of SUIs on user performance. This study reports an eye-tracking experiment that examined whether users can work more effectively and efficiently with a software tutorial containing SUIs instead of unedited pictures without signaling or pictures using conventional signaling techniques. The study also aimed to clarify whether SUIs draw user attention to relevant areas of a picture. Eye tracking and performance measures indicate that SUIs draw user attention successfully, but do not improve user performance compared to unedited screenshot in a tutorial scenario. The results contribute to the question of whether design principles of multimedia learning can be successfully transferred to action-oriented texts. Citation: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication PubDate: 2024-07-25T11:30:54Z DOI: 10.1177/00472816241262221
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Authors:Seth J. Axelrod Abstract: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, Ahead of Print. This article examines the subject of persuasion in technical and professional communications (TPC) with a specific focus on proposals in U.S. Government contracting. It demonstrates a fundamental disconnect between the intent of proposals, which is to persuade, and the rhetorical traditions and professional boundaries of technical writers. The analysis draws on the existing rhetorical- and genre-based TPC literature and borrows from theory in other disciplines—management, organizational theory, sociology, and psychology among others. To advance the scholarship on proposals, this analysis is framed within the overall context of a structural analogy to U.S. military Information Operations (IO). Through use of analogy, it is suggested that the IO community's approach to the concepts of “influence,” “narrative,” “target audience,” and “unity of effort” may offer useful insight for State and Federal contractors to consider in their efforts to write persuasive proposals. This analysis is then used to develop a research agenda for the study of proposals. Areas for future research include the science of persuasion and the use of narrative as it relates to proposals, improved rigor in the use of target audience research, and organizational constructs to improve collaborative writing in proposals. Citation: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication PubDate: 2024-07-23T08:54:14Z DOI: 10.1177/00472816241262231
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Authors:Stephen Carradini, Eric C. Nystrom Abstract: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, Ahead of Print. Asking for money is one of the core communicative functions of a crowdfunding campaign. This article uses a novel corpus analysis scoring technique to investigate appeals language in a corpus of 312,529 Kickstarter campaigns. Our results show distinctive use patterns involving the verbs need, raise, please, make, and hope. Conceptual patterns, such as inviting the reader to participate in the creation of a product, underlie specific formulations of successful and unsuccessful word patterns and sentences. We conclude with theoretical and practical outcomes to aid technical communicators in more effectively writing crowdfunding campaigns on Kickstarter. Citation: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication PubDate: 2024-07-23T08:53:15Z DOI: 10.1177/00472816241262245
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Authors:Junhua Wang Abstract: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, Ahead of Print. This study explores how prompting techniques, especially those integrated with rhetorical analysis results, may improve the effectiveness of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated business communication messages. I conducted an experiment to assess the effectiveness of these prompting techniques in the context of crafting a negative message generated with ChatGPT 3.5 (n = 85). A multiple regression was calculated to explore prompting techniques’ impact on the negative message grades and how each technique influences the message grade. The results (F(4, 80) = 31.84, p Citation: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication PubDate: 2024-07-23T08:52:58Z DOI: 10.1177/00472816241260033
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Authors:Kathryn Lambrecht Abstract: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, Ahead of Print. Social media, the pandemic, and environmental hazards have all played a role in shifting the landscape of risk communication. This paper takes a retroactive risk approach to study how COVID-19 messaging was shaped in the first 2 years of the pandemic. Using a corpus of 764 news releases from five health departments, I combine corpus analysis with coding based on government capacities to show that health departments highlighted public health data (surveillance) and risk guidance (governance), while downplaying enforcement (coercion). This process of revisiting communication from an acute risk phase can help us recalibrate how public health roles are constituted through language to prepare for future events. Citation: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication PubDate: 2024-06-20T01:16:41Z DOI: 10.1177/00472816241262237
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Authors:Luke Thominet, Jacqueline Amorim, Kristine Acosta, Vanessa K. Sohan Abstract: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, Ahead of Print. Previous literature has shown that generative artificial intelligence (GAI) software, including large language model (LLM) chatbots, might contribute to qualitative research studies. However, there is still a need to examine the relationships between researchers, GAI technologies, data, and findings. To address this need, our team conducted a thematic analysis of our reflexive journals from an LLM chatbot-assisted research project. We identified four roles that researchers adopted: managers closely monitored the LLM's work, teachers instructed the LLM on theories and methods, colleagues openly discussed the data with the LLM, and advocates worked with the LLM to improve user experiences. Planning for and playing with multiple roles also helped to enrich the research process. This study underscores the potential for using conversational roles as a framework to support reflexivity when working with GAI technologies on qualitative research. Citation: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication PubDate: 2024-06-11T07:49:58Z DOI: 10.1177/00472816241260044
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Authors:Carol Reeves, J.J. Sylvia Abstract: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, Ahead of Print. Since its release in late 2022, ChatGPT and subsequent generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tools have raised a wide variety of questions and concerns for the field of technical communication: How will these tools be incorporated into professional settings' How might we appropriately integrate these tools into our research and teaching' In this review, we examine research published in 2023–2024 addressing these questions (N = 28). Overall, we find preliminary evidence that GAI tools can positively impact student writing and assessment; they also have the potential to assist with some aspects of academic and medical research and writing. However, there are concerns about their reliability and the ethical conundrums raised when they are used inappropriately or when their outputs cannot be distinguished from humans. More research is needed for evidence-based teaching and research strategies as well as policies guiding ethical use. We offer suggestions for new research avenues and methods. Citation: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication PubDate: 2024-06-11T07:49:38Z DOI: 10.1177/00472816241260043
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Authors:J. J. Sylvia, Carol Reeves Abstract: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, Ahead of Print. This introductory article examines the evolving landscape of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tools, contextualizing their impact through historical tropes of automation as both helper and threat. The authors argue that GAI tools are neither sentient helpers nor existential threats but complex systems that require careful integration into educational and research settings. The article underscores the importance of nuanced, evidence-based approaches, advocating for a balanced understanding of GAI's potential and limitations. It emphasizes ethical considerations and promotes reflective adoption over reactionary measures. Citation: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication PubDate: 2024-06-10T08:15:13Z DOI: 10.1177/00472816241260035
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Authors:Ehren Helmut Pflugfelder, Joshua Reeves Abstract: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, Ahead of Print. The use of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) large language models has increased in both professional and classroom technical writing settings. One common response to student use of GAI is to increase surveillance, incorporating plagiarism detection services or banning certain composing activities from the classroom. This paper argues such measures are harmful and instead proposes a “CARE” framework: critical, authorial, rhetorical, and educational—a nuanced approach emphasizing ethical and contextual AI use in technical writing classrooms. This framework aligns with plagiarism best practices, initially devised from when rhetoric and composition scholars considered the pedagogical implications of the Internet. Citation: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication PubDate: 2024-06-10T05:14:12Z DOI: 10.1177/00472816241260028
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Abstract: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, Ahead of Print.
Citation: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication PubDate: 2024-03-01T08:35:34Z DOI: 10.1177/00472816241232747
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Authors:Ryan Weber, John Spartz Abstract: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, Ahead of Print. This article explores how entrepreneurs engage users in innovation in order to identify collaboration opportunities between entrepreneurship and technical and professional communication (TPC) scholars interested in user experience (UX). This article surveyed American entrepreneurs (N = 100) asking when and how they involve users in product development. The results suggest that most entrepreneurs do engage users to drive innovation and understand their markets, but do so largely through informal means. Our research suggests that UX can serve as a connection point for TPC scholars and entrepreneurs, especially if TPC emphasizes the role of UX in innovation and offers entrepreneurs efficient yet reliable user-research methodologies. Citation: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication PubDate: 2024-02-22T06:08:34Z DOI: 10.1177/00472816241230069
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Authors:Brad Mehlenbacher,
Ana Patricia Balbon, Ashley Rose Mehlenbacher Abstract: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, Ahead of Print. Drawing on rhetorical genre studies, we explore research article abstracts created by generative artificial intelligence (AI). These synthetic genres—genre-ing activities shaped by the recursive nature of language learning models in AI-driven text generation—are of interest as they could influence informational quality, leading to various forms of disordered information such as misinformation. We conduct a two-part study generating abstracts about (a) genre scholarship and (b) polarized topics subject to misinformation. We conclude with considerations about this speculative domain of AI text generation and dis/misinformation spread and how genre approaches may be instructive in its identification. Citation: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication PubDate: 2024-02-01T07:30:04Z DOI: 10.1177/00472816231226249
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Authors:Shyam Pandey Abstract: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, Ahead of Print. This article analyzes the speeches of two U.S. politicians—President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden—to present how they make their arguments about climate change using various frames. While frames are rhetorical acts, they are also a form of persuasion. In particular, the author demonstrates how Trump foregrounded negative frames with fear-inducing elements. He presented job losses and economic harm as consequences of joining the Paris Climate Accord, putting him on the defensive. In contrast, Biden utilized positive frames to strengthen his arguments and aligned more closely with the environmental justice framework. Inspired by the rhetoric of the framing strategies employed by these two speakers, the study suggests that technical communicators should focus on using language that constructs new frames to enhance the success of their argumentations. Citation: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication PubDate: 2024-01-18T06:45:01Z DOI: 10.1177/00472816231225932
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Authors:Junhua Wang, Hua Wang Abstract: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, Ahead of Print. To examine the impact of cultural factors on business responses to negative online reviews, we first examined rhetorical moves in business responses to negative online reviews on Chinese B2C e-commerce platforms. Then, we conducted a comparative analysis of the rhetorical moves in this research and those identified in Wang’s research on rhetorical moves identified in business responses to negative online reviews on Amazon.com. Following the framework of social-cognitive system theory, we explained how cultural factors may shape businesses’ responses to negative online reviews and concluded the research by discussing the implications of the research in the context of cross-border e-commerce. Citation: Journal of Technical Writing and Communication PubDate: 2024-01-18T03:54:10Z DOI: 10.1177/00472816231225666
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