Moody 1
Introduction:
For more than twenty years, researchers have been analyzing the lack of minority and
international participation in Technical and Professional Communication. A 2003 survey
analyzed 97 doctoral-level TPC students from 18 different institutions who graduated during the
years 1995-2000. The survey found that 93% of the study participants identified themselves as
ethnically “white (not Hispanic or Latino)” (Cook, Thralls & Zachry, 2003, p.162). Researchers
agree that minority and international student involvement in the field of TPC is lower than most
other professions and they have suggested potential reasons for this lack of involvement.
J.T. Dennett (2000) explained in their article Going Beyond the Native Speaker in Technical
Communication that non-native English speakers are often criticized by native English speakers
when they make a mistake while communicating in English. Dennett suggested that the fear of
criticism and being seen as an ineffective communicator causes non-native English speakers to
shy away from communication-dominant careers such as TPC. Mateeva & Savage (2011)
suggested in their article Toward Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Technical Communication
Programs that a lack of TPC courses in minority institutions is the cause for the lack of minority
participation.
Many more researchers have examined potential solutions for the lack of minority students in
TPC. Bokor (2011) explained in their article Moving International Technical Communication
Forward: a World Englishes Approach that multicultural sensitivity training in the TPC
classroom will provide a welcoming environment for multicultural students, which will increase
the number of these students participating in TPC courses. Daye & Frye (2011) seemed to agree
in their article Global Training, Multicultural Course Design, and Delivery: The Impact on
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Cultural Style Adjustments of Faculty and Global Training Instructors when they suggested that
TPC teachers must adjust their coursework to allow for the cultural differences of certain
students; which would decrease the number of multicultural students dropping out of TPC
courses. Goleman (2003) also placed responsibility on TPC teachers in their article
Communicating in the Intercultural Classroom. Goleman explained how multicultural students
may approach coursework differently and suggested that TPC teachers must understand and
adapt to these differences in order to include multicultural students in their classrooms.
The fact that minority and international students are not participating in TPC programs is
important because the world of technical communication is becoming increasingly global.
Students now need to have an understanding of various cultures and perspectives in order to
work effectively in the professional TPC field. Being exposed to various cultures and
perspectives in the classroom is important for both native and non-native English speakers in
order to prepare them for life after the classroom.
Current research indicates potential causes and solutions for the lack of minority or international
students in TPC classrooms, however the research has yet to provide a viable solution to the
problem, since the problem still exists. In order to address the problem, the perspectives of
minority and international students must be considered. Current research does not survey these
students in order to gain an insider’s point-of-view on the problem, its causes, and potential
solutions.
By conducting research focused entirely on surveying non-native English speakers, innovative
and successful solutions may be found which could effectively eradicate the disproportionate
number of minority or international students in TPC classrooms. In order to find effective
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solutions, the true causes of a problem must first be understood. By directly researching nonnative English speakers, the true reasons for minority and international students’ lack of
involvement in TPC may be unearthed; paving the way for further research into potential
solutions.
Research questions/problem statement:
My intended research will attempt to answer questions about what causes non-native English
speakers to avoid TPC classrooms.
Do multicultural or international students avoid TPC courses or programs, and if so is it due to
any cultural or language barrier?
How do multicultural or international students explain the lack of multicultural or international
student representation in TPC programs which is seen in other studies?
What can be done, according to these students, to increase interest or participation in TPC
amongst multicultural or international students?
These questions will help provide a framework of understanding the multicultural participation
gap and will allow future researchers of this topic to work toward finding solutions, based on
problems as these multicultural students understand them. With these questions answered, the
field can begin to understand why TPC is being avoided by multicultural or international
students.
Theory/Methodology:
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My intended study will address the concerns surrounding the lack of minority and international
student involvement in TPC programs. Although current research proposes multiple causes and
solutions to this problem, I believe that the minority students which these researchers attempt to
reach could best provide insight into the problem. In order to solve a problem, one must first
understand the causes of that problem. In order to solve the problem of the lack of minority and
international student participation in TPC programs, one must not create solutions based on
inferences and assumptions. The international and minority students must first be studied in
order to fully understand the problem and its causes. These students are the only ones who can
fully provide the informational framework necessary to create a more ethnically heterogeneous
TPC classroom.
Methods:
The research questions can best be answered with the use of a survey. The survey will provide
both quantitative and qualitative results, depending on which research question is being
answered. A link to the survey will be disseminated to the department heads of TPC programs in
the United States and Canada. The department heads will be asked to disseminate the link to the
survey through the university’s student email system to all of the students enrolled in their
undergraduate courses. The survey will be disseminated electronically and all answers will be
logged electronically. The survey will begin with a questionnaire about the student’s
demographic information. If the student chooses not to answer the demographic section, or if the
student does not fit the desired demographic for the participant group, the survey will end after
the demographic questionnaire. If the student participant matches the desired demographic for
the participant group then the survey will continue. A 5-point Likert Scale survey will be used to
answer the question: “Do multicultural or international students avoid TPC courses or programs,
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and if so is it due to any cultural or language barrier?” The remaining research questions will ask
for open-ended answers.
The list of schools and department heads will be created using the same model described in
Mattson and Savage’s article Perceptions of Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Technical
Communication Programs. In this article the authors disseminated surveys to TPC instructors
and explained how they were able to produce a comprehensive list of TPC programs. Mattson
and Savage explain in their article that they “compiled a list of 144 technical communication
programs in the US and Canada based on program lists on the ATTW, CPTSC, and STC
websites.” I will be creating a list of schools to disseminate my survey to based on the same
technique. A 5-point Likert Scale survey will be a necessary research method for my study
because it will allow for a statistical analysis of the participant groups’ answers. A statistical
analysis for the question “Do multicultural or international students avoid TPC courses or
programs, and if so is it due to any cultural or language barrier?” will allow for a visual
representation of minority students’ opinions. Open-ended answers will be a necessary research
method for my study because it will allow for personalized and unique answers to be presented.
Unique answers will be necessary in order to lead to unique causes of and solutions to the lack of
minority involvement in TPC.
Benefits:
My proposed research study will provide a framework of understanding to other researchers in
the field so that further research can be conducted to find the best ways to increase minority or
international student involvement in TPC programs and courses. The study participants, as
minority or international students themselves, will see through their participation in this study
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that the field of TPC is actively attempting to recruit minority students. Perhaps by
understanding that TPC welcomes minority or international students, the study participants can
benefit by feeling more included and less like outsiders.
Methods of Avoiding or Reducing Risk to Participants:
The anticipated risk for the research participants involved in my intended research is minimal. It
is possible that a form of psychological harm may be encountered by research participants if the
survey elicits uncomfortable memories associated with being a minority student. The survey,
however, will include a disclaimer before the participant agrees to begin the survey. This
disclaimer will state that ethnic demographic information, as well as information pertaining to
ethnic minorities, will be utilized in the survey. If the potential participant chooses to continue
the survey with the disclaimer in mind, then the risk for psychological harm is strongly
mitigated. The survey will be conducted on a voluntary basis and its results will provide
beneficial first-handed insight into the way minority students view the field of TPC.
Methods of Managing Data:
The data collected in my intended research study will be electronic data stored digitally. The
study will be conducted online and the survey results will be transmitted electronically to a
cloud-based server. The server will be accessible by password, which will only be known by
myself. I will be conducting the assessment of the research data and will be the only person with
access to said data. The necessary devices to conduct this research will be a computer with
internet access, a word processing program, a spreadsheet program, and access to a surveygenerating website such as surveynuts.com. The costs associated with this survey will relate
directly to the choice of survey-generating website chosen. Certain websites provide free access
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to online survey generators while others require a minimal monthly access fee. The survey
participants will not be compensated for their participation. Since I will be analyzing the data I
will not have research assistants which will need to be compensated.
Informed Consent:
The participants of my proposed research study will be offered a disclaimer about the type of
ethnically-sensitive data it will be collecting. The participants will also be informed that their
names and/or personally identifying information will not be asked for nor shared with anyone.
The participants will be informed that their responses to the questions will be recorded and
become published record.
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Bibliography
Bokor, M. (2011). Moving international technical communication forward: A World Englishes
approach. Journal of Technical Writing and Approach, 41(2), 113-138.
Cook, K., Thralls, C., & Zachry, M. (2003). Doctoral-level graduates in professional, technical,
and scientific communication 1995-2000: A profile. Technical Communication, 50(2),
160-173.
Daye, C., & Frye, C. (2011). Global training, multicultural course design, and delivery: the
impact on cultural style adjustments of faculty and global training instructors. Rhetoric,
Professional Communication and Globalization, 2(1), 34-50.
Dennett, J. T. (2000). Going beyond the native speaker in technical communication. Professional
Communication, IEEE Transactions on, 43(3), 327-330.
Goleman, P. (2003). Communicating in the intercultural classroom. Professional
Communication, IEEE Transactions on, 46(3), 231-235.
Matveeva, N., &Savage, G. (2011). Toward racial and ethnic diversity in technical
communication programs. Programmatic Perceptions, 3(1), 58-85.