Technical Communication Quarterly Apr 2024

The CCCC Outstanding Dissertation Award in Technical Communication, 2004–2022: Doctoral Research Topics, Methods, and Implications for the Field

Jason Tham Texas Tech University

Abstract

This study extends the retrospective analysis of entries for the CCCC Outstanding Dissertation Award in Technical Communication (1999–2003) by Stuart Selber in 2004, focusing on the subsequent two decades (2004 to 2022), to identify the topical research areas and methodologies in technical and professional communication (TPC) via the winning entries of the award. Through descriptive content analysis of 29 dissertations and corresponding summary statistics, this study reports on TPC disciplinary emphases and growth based on the sponsoring institutions on these dissertations, featured topics and their research methods or methodologies, and projected implications for the field. Accordingly, this study reveals the state of TPC graduate research through the lens of the imminent award and what it means for doctoral researchers, their advisors, and programs.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
2024-04-02
DOI
10.1080/10572252.2023.2229382
Open Access
Closed
Topics
technical communication

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

Cites in this index (32)

  1. Turner (2022)
    Key-notes: A Content Analysis of ATTW Conferences 1998-2018
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Kessler et al. (2021)
    User Experience in Health & Medicine: Building Methods for Patient Experien…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Lanius et al. (2021)
    User Experience Methods in Research and Practice
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Cannon et al. (2021)
    Re/producing Knowledge in Health and Medicine: Designing Research Methods for M…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Melonçon et al. (2020)
    A Field-Wide Metasynthesis of Pedagogical Research in Technical and Professiona…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Show all 32 →
  1. Ding (2019)
    Development of Technical Communication in China: Program Building and Field Con…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Meloncon et al. (2019)
    Empirical Research in Technical and Professional Communication: A 5-Year Examin…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Pantelides (2017)
    Graduate Students “Show Their Work”
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Rickly et al. (2017)
    Failing Forward
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Jones et al. (2016)
    Disrupting the Past to Disrupt the Future: An Antenarrative of Technical Commun…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  6. St.Amant et al. (2016)
    Addressing the Incommensurable
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  7. Frost (2016)
    Apparent Feminism as a Methodology for Technical Communication and Rhetoric
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  8. White et al. (2016)
    Are We “There” Yet? The Treatment of Gender and Feminism in Technical, Business…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  9. Blythe et al. (2014)
    Professional and Technical Communication in a Web 2.0 World
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  10. Agboka (2014)
    Decolonial Methodologies: Social Justice Perspectives in Intercultural Technica…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  11. Andersen (2014)
    Rhetorical Work in the Age of Content Management
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  12. Frost (2013)
    Transcultural Risk Communication on Dauphin Island: An Analysis of Ironically L…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  13. Ding (2009)
    Rhetorics of Alternative Media in an Emerging Epidemic: SARS, Censorship, and E…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  14. Shipka (2009)
    Negotiating Rhetorical, Material, Methodological, and Technological Difference:…
    College Composition and Communication
  15. Blakeslee (2009)
    The Technical Communication Research Landscape
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  16. Rude (2009)
    Mapping the Research Questions in Technical Communication
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  17. Sun (2006)
    The Triumph of Users: Achieving Cultural Usability Goals With User Localization
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  18. Selber (2004)
    The CCCC Outstanding Dissertation Award in Technical Communication: A Retrospec…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  19. Blakeslee et al. (2004)
    The State of Research in Technical Communication
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  20. Cunningham (2004)
    The Founding of ATTW and its Journal
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  21. Lay (2004)
    Reflections on Technical Communication Quarterly, 1991-2003: The Manuscript Rev…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  22. Smith (2000)
    Points of reference in technical communication scholarship
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  23. Smith (2000)
    Strength in the Technical Communication Journals and Diversity in the Serials Cited
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  24. Grabill et al. (1998)
    Toward a critical rhetoric of risk communication: Producing citizens and the ro…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  25. FABER (1996)
    Rhetoric in Competition
    Written Communication
  26. Pearsall et al. (1996)
    The Council for Programs in Technical and Scientific Communication: A Retrospective
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  27. Murdock (1986)
    Doctoral Dissertations in Technical Writing: An Annotated Bibliography
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Also cites 23 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.2307/358196
     ↗
  2. 10.1109/TPC.2020.2988757
     ↗
  3. 10.1079/9780851999968.0063
     ↗
  4. 10.4324/9780429201141
     ↗
  5. 10.4324/9781315518497-13
     ↗
  6. 10.5281/zenodo.998649
     ↗
  7. 10.37514/PER-B.2011.2379.2.10
     ↗
  8. 10.2190/PL1
     ↗
  9. 10.1109/TPC.2014.2363892
     ↗
  10. 10.1109/IPCC.2017.8013953
     ↗
  11. 10.1177/0961000620935499
     ↗
  12. 10.7330/9781607329589
     ↗
  13. 10.1109/TPC.2007.908732
     ↗
  14. 10.1086/606125
     ↗
  15. Mueller D. (2017). Network sense: Methods for visualizing a discipline. The WAC Clearinghouse. https://wac.co…
     ↗
  16. 10.37514/JBW-J.2018.37.2.02
     ↗
  17. 10.4324/9780203278901
     ↗
  18. 10.14318/hau7.1.008
     ↗
  19. 10.1215/00265667-3630844
     ↗
  20. 10.4324/9780203866115
     ↗
  21. 10.5040/9781350225282
     ↗
  22. 10.4324/9780429198748
     ↗
  23. 10.1353/lib.2006.0053
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 0 View in citation network →

Related Articles

  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2026
    Developing Intercultural Socioemotional Communication Skills: A Hybrid Student Exchange Project Between Kenya, Ireland, and Germany ↗
    Belinda Oechsler; Yvonne Cleary; Sissi Closs
    multimodality technical communication
  2. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2026
    What Video Games Can Tell Us About Interactive Technical Communication ↗
    Emily Kuzneski Johnson
    multimodality technical communication multilingual writers
  3. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2026
    “Is This Ethical?” New Data on the Ethical Principles and Practices of Document Design ↗
    Leslie Seawright; Amy Hodges; Timothy Ponce
    multimodality technical communication disability studies multilingual writers
  4. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2026
    How to Write With GenAI: A Framework for Using Generative AI to Automate Writing Tasks in Technical Communication ↗
    Guiseppe Getto; Susan Kelley; Bremen Vance
    artificial intelligence technical communication multilingual writers
  5. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Mar 2026
    “It's Hard to Show ROI When You’re Preventing Things from Happening”: How Impact Storytelling Frames Community Health Initiatives for Executive Audiences ↗
    Margaret Hsiao
    qualitative research multimodality technical communication professional writing multilingual writers