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- Title
Fostering Industry Connections through Workplace-Situated Graduate Student Research.
- Authors
Watts, Julie
- Abstract
Purpose: This study examines the value of requiring online master's students in technical and professional communication (TPC) to design and conduct an independent research (IR) project as part of degree completion. Given that IR is a requirement in only a small percentage of TPC programs nationally, I wanted to discern IR's value academically and in terms of applicable workplace skills, the benefits and challenges of conducting workplace-situated IR, and IR best practices. Method: I conducted focus groups with faculty and surveyed alumni, students, and advisory board members to analyze IR perceptions. Results: Respondents indicated that IR is an important intellectual outcome and desirable workplace skillset. Additional benefits include more ready engagement by students in workplace-situated IR and the potential to address workplace communication problems. Challenges involved gaining permission for a study, communicating IR recommendations to industry stakeholders via the academic thesis genre, and implementing workplace change based on IR results. IR best practices included embedding IR throughout coursework, providing sufficient resources, establishing a schedule, working with an advisor, and cultivating peer support. Conclusion: IR's academic and professional value needs to be better communicated to prospective and current students, faculty, and industry stakeholders. Students need guided opportunities to reflect on IR's value to them as students and professionals, and they should have opportunities throughout coursework to identify an IR topic and build on it. More resources and opportunities for peer-to-peer IR support need to be developed as well as an alternate IR deliverable, more conducive to communicating research results to industry.
- Publication
Technical Communication, 2020, Vol 67, Issue 3, p80
- ISSN
0049-3155
- Publication type
Article