Journal of Business and Technical Communication Oct 2018

Feminist Digital Research Methodology for Rhetoricians of Health and Medicine

Lori Beth De Hertogh James Madison University

Abstract

This article argues that rhetoricians of health and medicine can benefit from new methodological orientations that more fully account for conducting digital research within vulnerable online communities. More specifically, this article introduces a feminist digital research methodology, an intersectional methodology that helps rhetoricians of health and medicine contend with the overlapping rhetorical, technological, and ethical frameworks affecting how we understand and collect health information, particularly within vulnerable online communities. The author considers methodological shifts in Internet research ethics, rhetorics of health and medicine, and feminist rhetorics as well as definitions and conceptions of online communities and vulnerability. The author next draws from a 5-year case study of an online childbirth community to demonstrate how a feminist digital research methodology offers an alternative methodological orientation that helps researchers navigate ethical decision-making practices that arise from conducting health research within vulnerable online communities. Finally, the author outlines the broader implications of this methodology by suggesting three ways that scholars can use it within and beyond the field.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2018-10-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651918780188
Open Access
Closed
Topics
qualitative research gender and writing multilingual writers affect and writing

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (7)

  1. Seawright et al. (2026)
    “Is This Ethical?” New Data on the Ethical Principles and Practices of Document…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Jordan et al. (2025)
    Queer Potential in Professional Communication: “Queer Use” & Terms of Service
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Bennett (2025)
    Ableist Archives: Challenging Technoableism in Workplace Mental Health Applicat…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Mallette (2024)
    Listening, Reflecting, and Learning: A Methodology for Engineering Communicatio…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Campeau (2022)
    Vaccination Double Bind: A Study of Pregnancy and COVID-19 Vaccine Decision-Making
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
Show all 7 →
  1. Walwema et al. (2022)
    Introduction to Special Issue on 21st-Century Ethics in Technical Communication…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Russell (2020)
    Metaphor 2: Crossing: Retreading, Non-ing, and a TPC Rationale for Sub-discipli…
    College English

Cites in this index (7)

  1. Dadas (2016)
    Messy Methods: Queer Methodological Approaches to Researching Social Media
    Computers and Composition
  2. McNely et al. (2015)
    Contemporary Research Methodologies in Technical Communication
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Gries (2013)
    Iconographic Tracking: A Digital Research Method for Visual Rhetoric and Circul…
    Computers and Composition
  4. Jack (2009)
    Acts of Institution: Embodying Feminist Rhetorical Methodologies in Space and Time
    Rhetoric Review
  5. Spoel (2008)
    Communicating Values, Valuing Community through Health-Care Websites: Midwifery…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 7 →
  1. McKee et al. (2008)
    The Ethics of Digital Writing Research: A Rhetorical Approach
    College Composition and Communication
  2. Bizzell (1992)
    Opportunities for feminist research in the history of rhetoric
    Rhetoric Review
Also cites 14 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.4324/9781315303758-8
     ↗
  2. 10.1145/2826972.2826973
     ↗
  3. 10.2307/359005
     ↗
  4. 10.3138/ijfab.2.2.51
     ↗
  5. Grant L., Hausman B. L., Cashion M., Lucchesi N., Patel K., Roberts J. (2015). Vaccination persuasion online:…
     ↗
  6. 10.1177/1049732314538122
     ↗
  7. 10.1002/9781118445112.stat06720.pub2
     ↗
  8. 10.1145/3068755.3068758
     ↗
  9. 10.1515/9789048531011-017
     ↗
  10. 10.2307/j.ctt5vkff8.14
     ↗
  11. 10.4324/9781315303758-10
     ↗
  12. 10.1177/1329878X1214500114
     ↗
  13. 10.2307/j.ctt5vkff8
     ↗
  14. 10.1145/3068755.3068757
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 19 View in citation network →

Related Articles

  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication Apr 2025
    Korean Professionals’ Experience With Using Business English as a Lingua Franca (BELF): A Grounded Theory Approach ↗
    Kanghee Lee
    qualitative research disability studies multilingual writers affect and writing
  2. Written Communication Jan 2025
    Getting to “the Upper End of the Novice Zone”: An Exploration of Doctoral Students’ Writer Identity in Coauthoring With Supervisors for Publication ↗
    Jiayu Wang; Cassi Liardét
    qualitative research multimodality multilingual writers voice and style affect and writing
  3. Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jan 2024
    Digital Video as a Discussion Board: A Case Study and Collaborative Autoethnography of Experiences ↗
    Tiffany Avery; Jessica Cody; Katherine Griffiths; Kristina Khodai; Ashley Lenahan; Maria Meluso; Yudai Sanada; Kayla Seabaugh; Rhonda Stanton; Emily Woodall
    qualitative research online writing instruction professional writing multilingual writers affect and writing
  4. College Composition and Communication Sep 2023
    Engaging Assessment Counterstories through a Cultural Rhetorics Framework ↗
    Stephanie West-Puckett; Nicole I. Caswell; William P. Banks
    writing pedagogy writing program administration assessment multimodality gender and writing multilingual writers affect and writing
  5. Rhetoric & Public Affairs Jun 2023
    Sport Spectacle, Billie Jean King, and the Battle of the Sexes Tennis Match in Public Memory ↗
    Kyle King
    writing across the curriculum qualitative research online writing instruction gender and writing multilingual writers