IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Dec 2023

Longitudinal Study of Usability and User Experience in Technical and Professional Communication Research

Erin Friess University of North Texas ; Christina Liles Southwest Airlines (United States)

Abstract

<bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Introduction:</b> While usability/user experience (UX) has a long and intertwined history with technical and professional communication (TPC), it is unknown how usability/UX is reflected within TPC research and how that reflection has shifted over time. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Literature review:</b> Prior studies on the role of usability/UX in TPC have found that usability/UX appears infrequently in TPC research and curriculum requirements. However, usability/UX remains a routinely referenced core identity of TPC. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Research questions:</b> 1. To what degree is usability/UX studied in TPC scholarly journals? 2. When TPC researchers study usability/UX, what are they studying? <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Methodology:</b> A database of TPC-based usability/UX articles was collected through a defined search method. Articles were coded for primary or secondary emphasis on usability/UX, contribution to TPC, object of analysis, method of data collection, and major takeaway. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Results:</b> Less than 8% of the total publications in the field are tied to usability/UX, though the percentage has increased in the most recent timeframe (2020–2022). Publications are shifting from research that expands usability/UX knowledge to research that uses usability/UX to explain TPC phenomena. In addition, the object of analysis has shifted to process-centric analysis, design thinking has become an increasing component of TPC usability/UX research, and over a quarter of the research on usability/UX provided did not provide enough methodological description to enable replicability. <bold xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">Conclusion:</b> Although usability/UX has been consistently published in the TPC research journals, the amount of research suggests that usability/UX is not core to TPC's field identity.

Journal
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Published
2023-12-01
DOI
10.1109/tpc.2023.3314250
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
technical communication professional writing empirical research
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (5)

  1. Shalamova et al. (2025)
    Conversation Design: The Evolving Paradigm in Technical and Professional Commun…
    Communication Design Quarterly
  2. Tham et al. (2025)
    Professionalizing Researchers: Mapping and Visualizing Doctoral Engineering Stu…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  3. Friess (2025)
    The Second Coder was a Robot: Generative AI Tools in Establishing Intercoder Re…
    Communication Design Quarterly
  4. Bakke et al. (2024)
    Are Academia and Industry Listening to Each Other? A Citation Analysis of UX Re…
    Communication Design Quarterly
  5. Patcha et al. (2024)
    An Experience Report on the Opportunities and Challenges of a Community-Engaged…
    Communication Design Quarterly

References (48) · 12 in this index

  1. Redish (2011)
    Overlap, influence, intertwining: The interplay of UX and technical communication
    J. Usability Studies
  2. Redish (2010)
    Technical Communication and Usability: Intertwined Strands and Mutual Influences
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  3. Albers (2016)
    Improving research communication
    Tech. Commun.
  4. Meloncon et al. (2019)
    Empirical Research in Technical and Professional Communication: A 5-Year Examin…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. St.Amant et al. (2016)
    Addressing the Incommensurable: A Research-Based Perspective for Considering Is…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Show all 48 →
  1. Boettger (2016)
    Academics are from Mars, practitioners are from Venus: Analyzing content alignment within…
    Tech. Commun.
  2. Boettger (2020)
    Content and authorship patterns in technical communication journals (19962017): A quantit…
    Tech. Commun.
  3. Friess et al. (2021)
    Identifying Commonalities and Divergences Between Technical Communication Schol…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Virtaluoto et al. (2016)
    Surviving Outsourcing and Offshoring: Technical Communication Professionals in …
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  5. 10.1109/IPCC.2013.6623941
     ↗
  6. (2023). Defining technical communication
  7. Anderson (2013)
    Technical Communication
  8. Markel (2021)
    Technical Communication
  9. What technical writers do
  10. Melonon (2013)
    Current state of US undergraduate degree programs in technical and professional communication
    Tech. Commun.
  11. Clegg et al. (2021)
    Programmatic Outcomes in Undergraduate Technical and Professional Communication…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  12. Chong (2016)
    The Pedagogy of Usability: An Analysis of Technical Communication Textbooks, An…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  13. Lanier (2018)
    Toward understanding important workplace issues for technical communicators
    Tech. Commun.
  14. Lauer (2016)
    Technical communication as user experience in a broadening industry landscape
    Tech. Commun.
  15. 10.1155/2017/6787504
     ↗
  16. 10.1007/s40692-017-0093-6
     ↗
  17. 10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2981892
     ↗
  18. 10.1109/MCOM.001.1800876
     ↗
  19. 10.1016/j.ergon.2020.102932
     ↗
  20. 10.1055/s-0039-1677907
     ↗
  21. 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2019.03.018
     ↗
  22. 10.1007/s10916-014-0182-2
     ↗
  23. 10.1063/1.5055496
     ↗
  24. 10.1177/0734282916669246
     ↗
  25. 10.3844/jcssp.2013.1443.1450
     ↗
  26. 10.1089/tmj.2016.0178
     ↗
  27. 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.636116
     ↗
  28. 10.1145/1978942.1979336
     ↗
  29. Lanius et al. (2021)
    User Experience Methods in Research and Practice
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  30. Watt (1995)
    Research Methods for Communication Science
  31. Haswell (2005)
    NCTE/CCCC’s Recent War on Scholarship
    Written Communication
  32. 10.1109/ipcc.2017.8013953
     ↗
  33. Pope-Ruark (2019)
    Design Thinking in Technical and Professional Communication: Four Perspectives
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  34. 10.1111/drev.10239
     ↗
  35. 10.1145/3194313
     ↗
  36. 10.1080/14606925.2019.1652531
     ↗
  37. St. Amant (2016)
    Reflections on research: Examining practitioner perspectives on the state of research in …
    Tech. Commun.
  38. Boettger et al. (2013)
    An Overview of Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Research in Technical Commun…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  39. 10.1145/357442.357443
     ↗
  40. 10.1145/3166.3170
     ↗
  41. Barnum (2019)
    The state of UX research
    J. Usability Studies
  42. Rose et al. (2021)
    User Experience and Technical Communication: Beyond Intertwining
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  43. Turner (2022)
    What do we teach when we say we teach UX A study of the practices of TPC instructors
    Programmatic Perspectives
CrossRef global citation count: 6 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jan 2024
    Implementing a Continuous Improvement Model for Assignment Evaluation at the Technical and Professional Communication Program Level ↗
    Michelle Sonnenberg; Carolyn Gubala; Justiss Burry; Jessica Griffith; Tanya Zarlengo; Lisa Melonçon
    writing pedagogy assessment writing program administration technical communication professional writing labor and working conditions empirical research
  2. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Dec 2023
    Fostering Advocacy, Developing Empathetic UX Bricoleurs: Ongoing Programmatic Assessment and Responsive Curriculum Design ↗
    Scott J. Kowalewski; Bill Williamson
    writing pedagogy curriculum design service learning teacher development assessment technical communication professional writing empirical research qualitative research
  3. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Mar 2021
    Hybrid Model for Multidisciplinary Collaborations for Technical Communication Education in Engineering ↗
    Christopher D. M. Andrews; Mehrube Mehrubeoglu; Charles Etheridge
    writing pedagogy writing across the curriculum collaborative writing writing centers technical communication professional writing empirical research
  4. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Jun 2020
    A Comparison of Research Topics Associated With Technical Communication, Business Communication, and Professional Communication, 1963–2017 ↗
    Stephen Carradini
    writing pedagogy technical communication professional writing scientific writing empirical research book reviews
  5. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2019
    Empirical Research in Technical and Professional Communication: A 5-Year Examination of Research Methods and a Call for Research Sustainability ↗
    Lisa Meloncon; Kirk St.Amant
    technical communication professional writing empirical research qualitative research