Journal of Business and Technical Communication Jul 2008

Action Research and Wicked Environmental Problems

Stuart Blythe Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne ; Jeffrey T. Grabill Michigan State University ; Kirk Riley Michigan State University

Abstract

The authors report on a 3-year action-research project designed to facilitate public involvement in the planned dredging of a canal and subsequent disposal of the dredged sediments. Their study reveals ways that community members struggle to define the problem and work together as they gather, share, and understand data relevant to that problem. The authors argue that the primary goal of action research related to environmental risk should be to identify and support the strategies used by community members rather than to educate the public. The authors maintain that this approach must be supported by a thorough investigation of basic rhetorical issues (audience, genre, stases, invention), and they illustrate how they used this approach in their study.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
2008-07-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651908315973
Open Access
Closed
Topics
multimodality

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (29)

  1. Brooks et al. (2026)
    Tactical Technical Communication as Expert Communication: Strategic Ethos in Co…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Wagnon et al. (2024)
    Protesting Locally, Impacting Globally: Rhetorical Narratives of Mountain Valle…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Lindgren (2024)
    A Stasis Network Methodology to Reckon with the Rhetorical Process of Data: How…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Elliott (2024)
    A Dangerous, Costly Neighborhood: A Critique of Blight and Obsolescence Claims …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Swacha (2021)
    Living Visual-voice as a Community-based Social Justice Research Method in Tech…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
Show all 29 →
  1. Green (2021)
    Resistance as Participation: Queer Theory’s Applications for HIV Health Technol…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Phelps (2021)
    The Transformative Paradigm: Equipping Technical Communication Researchers for …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Carlson (2020)
    Embracing a Metic Lens for Community-based Participatory Research in Technical …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Brizee (2020)
    What Happens When We Fail? Building Resilient Community-Based Research
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Sánchez (2020)
    Examining Methectic Technical Communication in an Urban Planning Comic Book
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  6. Shelton (2020)
    Shifting Out of Neutral: Centering Difference, Bias, and Social Justice in a Bu…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  7. Roberts (2020)
    Commonplaces of Scientific Evidence in Environmental Discourses
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  8. Card (2020)
    Off-Target Impacts: Tracing Public Participation in Policy Making for Agricultu…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  9. Durá et al. (2019)
    Positive Deviance as Design Thinking: Challenging Notions of Stasis in Technica…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  10. Melonçon et al. (2018)
    Advocating for Sustainability: A Report on and Critique of the Undergraduate Ca…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  11. Hannah et al. (2017)
    Cultivating Conditions for Access
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  12. Wilson et al. (2017)
    The Technical Communicator as (Post-Postmodern) Discourse Worker
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  13. Rose (2016)
    Design as Advocacy
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  14. Jones (2016)
    The Technical Communicator as Advocate
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  15. DeVasto et al. (2016)
    Stasis and Matters of Concern
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  16. Moore et al. (2016)
    From Participatory Design to a Listening Infrastructure
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  17. Cagle et al. (2015)
    Climate Change Research Across Disciplines: The Value and Uses of Multidiscipli…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  18. Walton et al. (2015)
    Values and Validity: Navigating Messiness in a Community-Based Research Project…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  19. McNely et al. (2015)
    Contemporary Research Methodologies in Technical Communication
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  20. Wickman (2014)
    Wicked Problems in Technical Communication
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  21. Lindeman (2013)
    Subjectivized Knowledge and Grassroots Advocacy
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  22. Youngblood (2012)
    Balancing the Rhetorical Tension Between Right to Know and Security in Risk Com…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  23. Andersen (2011)
    Component Content Management: Shaping the Discourse through Innovation Diffusio…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  24. Graham (2009)
    Agency and the Rhetoric of Medicine: Biomedical Brain Scans and the Ontology of…
    Technical Communication Quarterly

Cites in this index (4)

  1. Clark (2004)
    Is Professional Writing Relevant? A Model for Action Research
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Bernhardt (2003)
    Improving Document Review Practices in Pharmaceutical Companies
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  3. Palmer et al. (2002)
    Research and Consulting in Technical Communication
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. STRATMAN et al. (1995)
    Risk Communication, Metacommunication, and Rhetorical Stases in the Aspen-EPA S…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Also cites 8 works outside this index ↓
  1. 10.4324/9780203323373
     ↗
  2. 10.3362/9781780444239.001
     ↗
  3. Gianotten, V. & de Wit, T. (1991). Action and participatory research: A case of peasant organization. In O. F…
     ↗
  4. Grabill, J. (2001)
    Community literacy programs and the politics of change
     ↗
  5. 10.1080/0090988032000064605
     ↗
  6. 10.1177/1476750307077324
     ↗
  7. 10.1007/BF01405730
     ↗
  8. 10.1075/cat.1.1.05tou
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 68 View in citation network →

Related Articles

  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication Apr 2026
    Stance in CEO Statements from U.S. and Vietnamese Banks’ Annual Reports: A Corpus-Based Cross-Cultural Study ↗
    Minh Hieu Nguyen
    multimodality professional writing
  2. Journal of Business and Technical Communication Apr 2026
    An Acceptance Analysis of Firms’ Posts on Sina Weibo to Build Credibility ↗
    Chenghui Wu
    multimodality social media
  3. 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
  4. 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
  5. 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