Written Communication Jan 2018

Visual Invention and the Composition of Scientific Research Graphics: A Topological Approach

Lynda Walsh University of Nevada, Reno

Abstract

This report details the second phase of an ongoing research project investigating the visual invention and composition processes of scientific researchers. In this phase, four academic researchers completed think-aloud protocols as they composed graphics for research presentations; they also answered follow-up questions about their visual education, pedagogy, genres of practice, and interactions with publics. Results are presented first as narratives and then as topologies—visualizations of the communal beliefs, values, and norms ( topoi) that connect the individual narratives to wider community practices. Results point toward an ecological model of visual invention and composition strategies in the crafting of research graphics. They also suggest that these strategies may be underrepresented in scientists’ education. More explicit attention to them may help improve STEM visual literacy for nonexperts.

Journal
Written Communication
Published
2018-01-01
DOI
10.1177/0741088317735837
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
Closed
Topics
genre theory writing pedagogy qualitative research literacy studies
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (5)

  1. Kong (2025)
    Visualizing Flint Lead Contamination Risks: Building a Critical Rhetorical Risk…
    Communication Design Quarterly
  2. Lambrecht (2024)
    Heat Vulnerability Mapping: Designing Visual Tools that Effectively Communicate Risk
    Communication Design Quarterly
  3. Lambrecht (2023)
    Working to Resonate: Rhetorical Mapping of Disciplinary Stances about Technolog…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Olman (2022)
    Decolonizing the Color-Line: A Topological Analysis of W.E.B. Du Bois's Infogra…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  5. Olman et al. (2020)
    Hybrid collectivity: hacking environmental risk visualization for the anthropocene
    Communication Design Quarterly

References (50) · 17 in this index

  1. BARTON et al. (1993)
    Modes of Power in Technical and Professional Visuals
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Berkenkotter C. (1995)
    Genre knowledge in disciplinary communities
  3. Brasseur L. E. (2003)
    Visualizing technical information: A cultural critique
  4. Brasseur (2005)
    Florence Nightingale's Visual Rhetoric in the Rose Diagrams
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Charney D. (1993)
    Understanding scientific prose
Show all 50 →
  1. 10.1177/1075547012454598
     ↗
  2. 10.1017/CBO9780511620539
     ↗
  3. 10.1177/1461445605054404
     ↗
  4. Dragga S. (2001)
    Technical Communication
  5. Dünkel V. (2015)
    The technical image. A history of styles in scientific imagery
  6. Eberly R. A. (2000)
    Citizen critics: Literary public spheres
  7. 10.7551/mitpress/5657.001.0001
     ↗
  8. 10.1093/oso/9780195117509.001.0001
     ↗
  9. Fahnestock (2003)
    Verbal and Visual Parallelism
    Written Communication
  10. 10.4324/9781315815459
     ↗
  11. Golley F. B. (1993)
    A history of the ecosystem concept in ecology: More than the sum of the parts
  12. 10.7208/chicago/9780226264196.001.0001
     ↗
  13. Gross (2009)
    Toward a Theory of Verbal–Visual Interaction: The Example of Lavoisier
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  14. 10.7208/chicago/9780226068343.001.0001
     ↗
  15. 10.1007/978-3-319-51268-6_6
     ↗
  16. 10.1007/978-3-319-51268-6_5
     ↗
  17. 10.1080/00335630902842079
     ↗
  18. 10.1007/978-3-319-51268-6_7
     ↗
  19. Kimball (2006)
    London through Rose-Colored Graphics: Visual Rhetoric and Information Graphic D…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  20. KOSTELNICK (1994)
    From Pen to Print:The New Visual Landscape of Professional Communication
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  21. Kostelnick C. (2003)
    Shaping information: The rhetoric of visual conventions
  22. Latour B. (1987)
    Science in action: How to follow scientists and engineers through society
  23. Latour B. (1990)
    Representation in scientific practice
  24. Leff (2006)
    Up from Theory: Or I Fought the Topoi and the Topoi Won
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  25. Messaris P. (2005)
    Handbook of visual communication: Theory, methods, and media
  26. Newman (2009)
    Gestural Enthymemes: Delivering Movement in 18th- and 19th-Century Medical Images
    Written Communication
  27. Newton J. H. (2005)
    Handbook of visual communication: Theory, methods, and media
  28. Northcut K. M. (2004)
    Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences
  29. Prelli L. J. (1989)
    A rhetoric of science: Inventing scientific discourse
  30. Reeves (2011)
    Scientific Visuals, Language, and the Commercialization of a Scientific Idea: T…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  31. Rymer J. (1988)
    Advances in writing research
  32. 10.1017/S0267190501000149
     ↗
  33. TEBEAUX (1991)
    Ramus, Visual Rhetoric, and the Emergence of Page Design in Medical Writing of …
    Written Communication
  34. 10.1007/978-3-319-51268-6_11
     ↗
  35. Thralls (1991)
    Bridging Visual and Verbal Communication: Training Videos and Written Instructi…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  36. Trumbo J. (2006)
    Visual cultures of science
  37. Walker (2016)
    Mapping the Contours of Translation: Visualized Un/Certainties in the Ozone Hol…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  38. Walsh (2009)
    Marking Territory: Legislated Genres, Stakeholder Beliefs, and the Possibilitie…
    Written Communication
  39. Walsh (2010)
    The Common Topoi of STEM Discourse: An Apologia and Methodological Proposal, Wi…
    Written Communication
  40. Walsh (2013)
    Resistance and Common Ground as Functions of Mis/aligned Attitudes: A Filter-Th…
    Written Communication
  41. 10.1515/transcript.9783839426104.81
     ↗
  42. 10.1007/978-3-319-51268-6
     ↗
  43. 10.1177/1075547014566990
     ↗
  44. Wickman (2013)
    Observing Inscriptions at Work: Visualization and Text Production in Experiment…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  45. Wilder et al. (2009)
    Sharing the Tacit Rhetorical Knowledge of the Literary Scholar: The Effects of …
    Research in the Teaching of English
CrossRef global citation count: 8 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Written Communication Jan 2026
    Writing Instruction for Adult L2-Learners: A Case Study From Three Swedish Classrooms ↗
    Clara Palm; Ann-Christin Randahl; Liss Kerstin Sylvén
    genre theory writing pedagogy teacher development qualitative research literacy studies
  2. Research in the Teaching of English Feb 2024
    Cultivating Genre Awareness of Speculative Genres: A Case Study of One Queer Latinx Educator’s Narrative Inquiry ↗
    James Joshua Coleman
    rhetorical criticism genre theory writing pedagogy teacher development qualitative research multilingual writers literacy studies
  3. Journal of Writing Research Jun 2023
    Advancing Civics-specific Disciplinary Writing in the Elementary Grades issue ↗
    E.A. Enright; W. Toledo; K.L. Wright
    genre theory writing pedagogy writing across the curriculum argument professional writing qualitative research literacy studies
  4. Assessing Writing Apr 2023
    Genre pedagogy: A writing pedagogy to help L2 writing instructors enact their classroom writing assessment literacy and feedback literacy ↗
    Ahmet Serdar Acar
    genre theory writing pedagogy assessment qualitative research multilingual writers literacy studies
  5. Technical Communication Quarterly Oct 2019
    Playable Case Studies: A New Educational Genre for Technical Writing Instruction ↗
    Jon Balzotti; Derek Hansen
    genre theory writing pedagogy technical communication qualitative research literacy studies