IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Sep 2010

Ethos, Pathos, Logos, Kairos: Using a Rhetorical Heuristic to Mediate Digital-Survey Recruitment Strategies

Martine Courant Rife Lansing Community College

Abstract

How might the rhetorical strategies of ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos play a mediational, intervening role in the successful administration of online surveys? What are the general costs and benefits of conducting survey research? Based on the activity of administering an online survey ( <i xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">N</i> = 334) testing knowledge and understanding of US copyright law among digital writers (both students and teachers) in US technical and professional writing (TPW) programs, I blend Rhetorical Theory with Activity Theory by conducting a rhetorical analysis within an Activity Theory paradigm. I posit that a rhetorically informed heuristic mediates between the researcher and potential participants when the researcher attempts to recruit individuals to respond to an online survey.

Journal
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
Published
2010-09-01
DOI
10.1109/tpc.2010.2052856
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory argument professional writing empirical research
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

Cites in this index (9)

  1. Knight et al. (2009)
    About Face: Mapping Our Institutional Presence
    Computers and Composition
  2. Ding (2007)
    Confucius's Virtue-Centered Rhetoric: A Case Study of Mixed Research Methods in…
    Rhetoric Review
  3. Haswell (2005)
    NCTE/CCCC’s Recent War on Scholarship
    Written Communication
  4. Charney (1998)
    From logocentrism to ethocentrism: Historicizing critiques of writing research
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Durack (1997)
    Gender, Technology, and the History of Technical Communication
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 9 →
  1. Miller (1994)
    Opportunity, opportunism, and progress:Kairos in the rhetoric of technology
    Argumentation
  2. LAY (1991)
    Feminist Theory and the Redefinition of Technical Communication
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Rutter (1991)
    History, Rhetoric, and Humanism: Toward a More Comprehensive Definition of Tech…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Connors (1982)
    The Rise of Technical Writing Instruction in America
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Also cites 14 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.1177/089443939701500302
     ↗
  2. 10.4135/9781452231471.n7
     ↗
  3. 10.1002/(SICI)1097-4571(2000)51:1<57::AID-ASI9>3.0.CO;2-W
     ↗
  4. 10.1086/297851
     ↗
  5. 10.1086/322199
     ↗
  6. walsh (1992)
    self-selected and randomly selected respondents in a computer network survey
    Public Opin Quart  ↗
  7. 10.1086/269338
     ↗
  8. 10.1086/318641
     ↗
  9. johanek (2000)
    10.2307/j.ctt46nrtw
    Composing Research A Contextualist Paradigm for Rhetoric and Composition  ↗
  10. lanham (1991)
    10.1525/9780520912045
    A Handbook of Rhetorical Terms  ↗
  11. 10.3102/0034654306298273
     ↗
  12. grabill (2001)
    10.1515/9780791490150
    Community Literacy Programs and the Politics of Change  ↗
  13. 10.2307/3150936
     ↗
  14. 10.1086/269287
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 12 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Pedagogy Jan 2024
    The Radical Role of Student Writing in Composition ↗
    Jessica Masterson
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory discourse analysis cultural rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy graduate education teacher development argument collaborative writing professional writing grammar and mechanics literacy studies race and writing gender and writing
  2. Pedagogy Jan 2022
    Contributors ↗
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory discourse analysis african american rhetorics decolonial rhetorics first-year composition writing pedagogy basic writing writing across the curriculum graduate education teacher development argument collaborative writing transfer assessment portfolios writing program administration writing centers peer tutoring technical communication professional writing archival research digital rhetoric social media grammar and mechanics literacy studies race and writing gender and writing disability studies public rhetoric community literacy literary studies editorial matter
  3. Rhetorica Jun 2005
    The Rebirth of Dialogue: Bakhtin, Socrates, and the Rhetorical Tradition by James P. Zappen ↗
    Kay Halasek
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory argument empirical research
  4. College Composition and Communication May 1994
    Writing in the Workplace: New Research Perspectives ↗
    Rachel Spilka
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory discourse analysis writing pedagogy argument collaborative writing professional writing qualitative research
  5. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 1987
    A Meditation on Proposals and Their Backgrounds ↗
    Richard C. Freed
    modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism genre theory argument professional writing