Computers and Composition Mar 2026 Open Access

UX → RX: creating a culture of curiosity about contemporary reading practices

Elizabeth Velasquez The Ohio State University ; Christa Teston The Ohio State University

Abstract

In place of (or as a complement to) “user experience research,” we propose “reader experience research” as a technique for tracing how contemporary readers make meaning through a host of social-semiotic modes. Significantly, such modes are always already conditioned by cognitive, social, economic, and technological factors. To illustrate how reader experience research can account for such factors, we describe the emergence of our institution’s Reader Experience Lab. We illustrate through three experiences how the lab (and reader experience research, in general) offers opportunities for gaining insight into how contemporary readers make meaning in and/or despite what Dan Keller terms a “culture of acceleration.”

Journal
Computers and Composition
Published
2026-03-01
DOI
10.1016/j.compcom.2025.102972
Open Access
OA PDF Hybrid

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

Cites in this index (10)

  1. Jiang et al. (2025)
    Augmenting User Experience Design with Multimodal Generative Artificial Intelli…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  2. Hashlamon et al. (2022)
    Teaching Participative Justice in Professional Writing
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Moss (2022)
    2021 CCCC Exemplar Award Acceptance Remarks: Literacy Lessons with Grace and In…
    College Composition and Communication
  4. Tham et al. (2020)
    Reading Born-Digital Scholarship: A Study of Webtext User Experience
    Computers and Composition
  5. Opel et al. (2018)
    Beyond Student as User: Rhetoric, Multimodality, and User-Centered Design
    Computers and Composition
Show all 10 →
  1. Jones (2016)
    Narrative Inquiry in Human-Centered Design
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  2. Scott (2008)
    The Practice of Usability: Teaching User Engagement Through Service-Learning
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Scott (2006)
    Writing work, technology, and pedagogy in the era of late capitalism
    Computers and Composition
  4. Salvo (2001)
    Ethics of Engagement: User-Centered Design and Rhetorical Methodology
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Katz (1992)
    The Ethic of Expediency: Classical Rhetoric, Technology, and the Holocaust
    College English
Also cites 6 works outside this index ↓
  1. Cosgrove (2023)
    Finding the gap: A comparison of UX industry practices and UX course outcomes in TPC programs
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication  ↗
  2. Lapka (2008)
    Applying cognitive response testing in message development and pre-testing
    Health Education Research  ↗
  3. Light (2018)
    The walkthrough method: An approach to the study of apps
    New Media and Society  ↗
  4. Norman (1999)
    Affordance, conventions, and design
    interactions  ↗
  5. Parker (2006)
    Focus group method and methodology: Current practice and recent debate
    International Journal of Research & Method in Education  ↗
  6. Willoughby (2021)
    Adding to the message testing tool belt: Assessing the feasibility and acceptability of a…
    Health Communication  ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 0 View in citation network →