Rude, C. D. (2009). Mapping the research questions in Technical Communication. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 23(2), (pp. 174-215). https://doi.org/10.1177/1050651908329562

In Carolyn D. Rude’s (2009) article “Mapping the Research Questions in Technical Communication,” she proposed “a central research question and four areas of related questions for technical communication” (p. 175). Rude inspected the four directions of research, the mapping metaphor, analyzed the field, asked the central question and broke it down, how the prefix re functions, the role of power, the evolution of the job title, pedagogy questions, conceptual questions, and political questions. Rude’s purpose was to “suggest the coherence of the field’s research and its promise for the future as well as its connections to other areas of inquiry and to other communication specializations, including rhetoric and composition” (pp. 175-176). Rude’s intended audience was professors and scholars of technical communication seeking a metaphor to better understand and map out the field of study. Rude’s analysis of technical communication was thought-provoking, but she asked more questions than the amount of answers she provided.