Transnational Research in Technical Communication

Transnational Research in Technical Communication considers the complexities of intercultural projects from a compelling perspective: first-hand narrative reflections. Readers go behind the scenes as scholars share their experiences crossing a variety of borders in their efforts to engage in knowledge-making endeavors. Interwoven through each chapter are stories of how projects were designed, adapted, and sometimes even failed. The collection begins with an introduction situating it at the intersection of recent scholarship in storywork, intercultural research, and technical and professional communication’s social justice turn. Each chapter concludes with discussion questions and recommendations for further reading. The closing chapter reveals a nascent "ethic of transnational and intercultural research" growing out of contributors' lessons learned and generous reflections. Anyone interested in or planning to undertake a transnational or intercultural project can benefit from these storied case studies, and as a result, this collection contributes to moving the field forward as it strives to promote more ethically aware and responsive research.

Introductions and Beginnings
Bernadette Longo and Nancy Small

1. Planning and Pivoting: Archival Work in Botswana and South Africa
Emily January Petersen

2. Grappling with Globalized Research Ethics: Notes from a Long-Term Qualitative Research Agenda in India
Breeanne Matheson

3. Lost in Translation: Losing Rigid Research Team Roles in a Field Study in Vietnam
Sarah Beth Hopton, Rebecca Walton, and Linh Nguyen

4. Accidental Tourist in a Narrative World with Technologies: A Story from Katanga Province
Bernadette Longo

5. Across the Divide: Communicating with Stakeholders in Papua New Guinea
Bea Amaya

6. "Nuestra vida en el medio oeste, USA": Listening to Mexican Immigrants
Laura Pigozzi

7. Syrian Refugee Women's Voices: Research Grounded in Stories and Recipe Sharing
Nabila Hijazi

8. Relearning Your Knowledge: The Loud Silence
Yvan Yenda Ilunga

9. Chemistry Publication Ethics in China and the United States: Transdisciplinary Teaming in a Time of Change
Kathryn Northcut

10. Mingled Threads: A Tapestry of Tales from a Complex Multinational Project
Rosário Durão, Kyle Mattson, Marta Pacheco Pinto, Joana Moura, Ricardo López-Léon, and Anastasia Parianou

11. Importing Lessons from Qatar: Toward a Research Ethic in Transnational and Intercultural TPC
Nancy Small

References