Technical Communication Quarterly Jan 2015

Values and Validity: Navigating Messiness in a Community-Based Research Project in Rwanda

Rebecca Walton Utah State University ; Maggie Zraly Utah State University ; Jean Pierre Mugengana

Abstract

Community-based research in technical communication is well suited to supporting empowerment and developing contextualized understandings, but this research is messy. Presenting fieldwork examples from an interdisciplinary technical communication/medical anthropology study in Rwanda, this article conveys challenges that the authors encountered during fieldwork and their efforts to turn the messy constraints of community-based research into openings. Explicitly considering values and validity provided a strategy for our efforts to democratically share power, maximize rigor, and navigate uncertainty.

Journal
Technical Communication Quarterly
Published
2015-01-02
DOI
10.1080/10572252.2015.975962
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
Topics
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation context

Cited by in this index (40)

  1. Johnson-Sheehan et al. (2026)
    Leveraging Human-Centered Design and Artificial Intelligence to Improve Rural H…
    Written Communication
  2. Shirley et al. (2025)
    Farm to Forum: Exploring Agritourism as a Site for Tactical Technical Communication
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. Anabire et al. (2025)
    When Research Fails: Insights and Reflections on Navigating Legal Challenges
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Petts et al. (2024)
    Setting Foundations: An Integrative Literature Review at the Intersections of T…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  5. Spinuzzi (2023)
    What Is a Workplace? Principles for Bounding Case Studies of Genres, Processes,…
    Written Communication
Show all 40 →
  1. Itchuaqiyaq et al. (2023)
    Decolonizing Community-Engaged Research: Designing CER with Cultural Humility a…
    Communication Design Quarterly
  2. Cameron (2023)
    Amplifying Diverse Narratives of Social Support in Online Health Design
    Communication Design Quarterly
  3. Lee et al. (2023)
    Community-Engaged User Experience Pedagogy: Stories, Emergent Strategy, and Pos…
    Communication Design Quarterly
  4. Wertz et al. (2023)
    Seeking Out the Stakeholders: Building Coalitions to Address Cultural (In)equit…
    Communication Design Quarterly
  5. Cardinal (2022)
    Superdiversity: An Audience Analysis Praxis for Enacting Social Justice in Tech…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  6. Moeggenberg et al. (2022)
    Trans Oppression Through Technical Rhetorics: A Queer Phenomenological Analysis…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  7. Barker et al. (2022)
    Rethinking Access to Data and Tools for Community Partners in Research
    Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric
  8. Phelps (2022)
    Concomitant Ethics: Institutional Review Boards and Technical and Professional …
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  9. Agboka et al. (2022)
    The Role of Technical Communicators in Confronting Injustice—Everywhere
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  10. Gonzales et al. (2022)
    (Re)Designing Technical Documentation About COVID-19 with and for Indigenous Co…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  11. Gonzales (2022)
    (Re) Framing Multilingual Technical Communication with Indigenous Language Inte…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  12. Itchuaqiyaq et al. (2022)
    Sex Work and Professional Risk Communication: Keeping Safe on the Streets
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  13. Agboka et al. (2022)
    Curricular Efforts in Technical Communication After the Social Justice Turn
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  14. Rajan (2021)
    Making When Ends Don’t Meet: Articulation Work and Visibility of Domestic Labor…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  15. Swacha (2021)
    Living Visual-voice as a Community-based Social Justice Research Method in Tech…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  16. Phelps (2021)
    The Transformative Paradigm: Equipping Technical Communication Researchers for …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  17. Rajan (2021)
    Making-Do on the Margins: Organizing Resource Seeking and Rhetorical Agency in …
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  18. Fraiberg (2021)
    Introduction to Special Issue on Innovation and Entrepreneurship Communication …
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  19. Pihlaja et al. (2020)
    Navigating Messy Research Methods and Mentoring Practices at a Bilingual Resear…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  20. Carlson (2020)
    Embracing a Metic Lens for Community-based Participatory Research in Technical …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  21. Sánchez (2020)
    Examining Methectic Technical Communication in an Urban Planning Comic Book
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  22. Gonzales (2020)
    Metaphor 1: Situating: Building Transdisciplinary Connections between Compositi…
    College English
  23. Ding (2020)
    Crowdsourcing, Social Media, and Intercultural Communication About Zika: Use Co…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  24. Edenfield (2019)
    Research in Cooperatives: Developing a Politically Conscious Research Methodology
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  25. Edenfield et al. (2019)
    Always Already Geopolitical: Trans Health Care and Global Tactical Technical Co…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  26. Hierro (2019)
    DJs, playlists, and community: imagining communication design through hip hop
    Communication Design Quarterly
  27. Shivers-McNair et al. (2019)
    An Intersectional Technofeminist Framework for Community-Driven Technology Innovation
    Computers and Composition
  28. Rose et al. (2018)
    Participatory video methods in UX: sharing power with users to gain insights in…
    Communication Design Quarterly
  29. Shivers-McNair et al. (2018)
    User-Centered Design In and Beyond the Classroom: Toward an Accountable Practice
    Computers and Composition
  30. Mara et al. (2018)
    Blending Humanistic and Rhetorical Analysis to Locate Gendered Dimensions of Ke…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  31. Rose et al. (2017)
    Community-Based User Experience: Evaluating the Usability of Health Insurance I…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  32. Hannah et al. (2017)
    Cultivating Conditions for Access: A Case for “Case-Making” in Graduate Student…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  33. Walton (2016)
    Supporting Human Dignity and Human Rights: A Call to Adopt the First Principle …
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  34. Jones (2016)
    The Technical Communicator as Advocate: Integrating a Social Justice Approach i…
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  35. Peter (2016)
    Designing withHDRdata: what thehuman development reportcan tell us about intern…
    Communication Design Quarterly

References (98) · 20 in this index

  1. (2011)
    Rwanda: Bank group country strategy paper 2012–2016
  2. Agboka (2013)
    Participatory Localization: A Social Justice Approach to Navigating Unenfranchi…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  3. 10.4018/978-1-59140-152-0.ch018
     ↗
  4. Baldauf S. (2007)
    Christian Science Monitor
  5. Bandyopadhyay, T. & Negash, S. (2009). Factors affecting PC use among African youth: Empirical study from Eth…
Show all 98 →
  1. Berman R. C. (2010)
    10.1177/160940691101000206
    International Journal of Qualitative Methods  ↗
  2. Blumenstock, J., Gillick, D. & Eagle, N. (2010, March). Who's calling? Demographics of mobile phone use in Rw…
  3. Blythe et al. (2008)
    Action Research and Wicked Environmental Problems: Exploring Appropriate Roles …
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  4. Boal A. (1979)
    The theatre of the oppressed
  5. Bowdon (2004)
    Technical Communication and the Role of the Public Intellectual: A Community HI…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  6. Brink P. J. (1991)
    Qualitative nursing research: A contemporary dialogue
     ↗
  7. 10.1177/1466138109342815
     ↗
  8. Clark (2004)
    Is Professional Writing Relevant? A Model for Action Research
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  9. Clark D. (2010)
    Digital literacy for technical communication: 21st century theory and practice
  10. 10.4135/9781452226545.n5
     ↗
  11. 10.1162/105420402320980550
     ↗
  12. Crabtree R. (2005)
    REFLECTIONS: A Journal of Rhetoric, Civic Writing and Service Learning
  13. 10.1111/j.1365-2575.2004.00162.x
     ↗
  14. Ding (2009)
    Rhetorics of Alternative Media in an Emerging Epidemic: SARS, Censorship, and E…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  15. 10.1162/itid.2007.3.2.3
     ↗
  16. Driesbach, C., Walton, R., Kolko, B. E. & Seidakmatova, A. (2009). Asking Internet users to explain non-use i…
     ↗
  17. Dysart-Gale et al. (2011)
    Culture, Communication, and ICT for Development: A Caribbean Study
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  18. 10.1080/1369183X.1998.9976626
     ↗
  19. Evia et al. (2012)
    Beyond Compliance: Participatory Translation of Safety Communication for Latino…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  20. Faber B. (2002)
    Community action and organizational change: Image, narrative, and identity
  21. Feenberg A. (2002)
    Transforming technology: A critical theory revisited
     ↗
  22. Flammia (2005)
    Preparing Technical Communication Students to Play a Role on the Translation Team
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  23. Fleckenstein et al. (2008)
    The Importance of Harmony: An Ecological Metaphor for Writing Research
    College Composition and Communication
  24. Gauntlett D. (1997)
    Video critical: Children, the environment and media power
  25. 10.1080/14725860600613261
     ↗
  26. Grabill (2000)
    Shaping local HIV/AIDS services policy through activist research: The problem o…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  27. 10.1007/BF02766777
     ↗
  28. Hughes M. A. (2008)
    A research primer for technical communication
  29. (2003)
    Lasting wounds: Consequences of genocide and war for Rwanda's children
  30. 10.1080/13576280110051055
     ↗
  31. Johnson R. (1998)
    User-centered technology: A rhetorical theory for computers and other mundane artifacts
  32. Jones N. (2014)
    Rhetoric, Professional Communication, and Globalization
  33. Kanyesigye F. (2012)
    The New Times
  34. 10.1046/j.1440-1800.2002.00127.x
     ↗
  35. Kerlinger F. N. (1973)
    The foundation of behavioral research
  36. Lane S. D. (2011)
    10.17730/humo.70.3.v1hv08236w4411h6
    Human Organization  ↗
  37. 10.1177/1049732307299258
     ↗
  38. Le Dantec, C. A. & Edwards, W. K. (2008). Designs on dignity: Perceptions of technology among the homeless. I…
  39. 10.1023/A:1007850027589
     ↗
  40. Longo B. (2010)
    Digital literacy for technical communication: 21st century theory and practice
  41. 10.1177/1359105307086701
     ↗
  42. McNely, B. J. (2013). Visual research methods and communication design. InProceedings of the 31st ACM Interna…
  43. Melton (2008)
    Lost in Translation: Professional Communication Competencies in Global Training…
    IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  44. 10.2307/375964
     ↗
  45. Miller C. R. (1989)
    Technical writing: Theory and practice
  46. 10.1093/jurban/jti034
     ↗
  47. Minkler M. (2008)
    Community-based participatory research for health: From process to outcomes
  48. 10.1177/1468794113488131
     ↗
  49. Musoni E. (2010)
    The New Times
  50. 10.4018/jissc.2012040103
     ↗
  51. Nyirabera M. C. (2012)
    Ubushakashatsi bwa youth connection mu gufasha urubyiruko kuva mu bibazo. [Youth connecti…
  52. Ornatowski et al. (2004)
    What's Civic About Technical Communication? Technical Communication and the Rhe…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  53. 10.1080/01292986.2010.543555
     ↗
  54. Phillips H. P. (1960)
    Human organization research: Field relations and techniques
  55. Price R. (2014)
    Rhetoric, Professional Communication, and Globalization
  56. Riessman C. (2000)
    Narrative and the cultural construction of illness and healing
  57. Risku H. (2001)
    Claims, changes and challenges in translation studies
  58. Rubin H. J. (1995)
    Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data
  59. 10.1080/09518398.2012.736642
     ↗
  60. Rude (2004)
    Toward an Expanded Concept of Rhetorical Delivery: The Uses of Reports in Publi…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  61. Rude (2009)
    Mapping the Research Questions in Technical Communication
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  62. 10.1525/aa.2006.108.1.178
     ↗
  63. 10.1177/109019819902600209
     ↗
  64. 10.1007/s10464-006-9059-y
     ↗
  65. Schwabenland C. (2002)
    Participation—North and South: New ideas in participatory development from India and the UK
  66. Scott J. B. (2003)
    Risky rhetoric: AIDS and the cultural practices of HIV testing
  67. Seymour, S. (2012).The use of life history collage to explore learning related to the enactment of social con…
  68. Simmons W. M. (2007)
    Participation and power
  69. 10.4324/9780203202890
     ↗
  70. 10.1177/1748048506065764
     ↗
  71. Sleeswijk Visser F. (2005)
    10.1080/15710880500135987
    CoDesign: International Journal of CoCreation in Design and the Arts  ↗
  72. Sommers M. (2006)
    Fearing Africa's young men: The case of Rwanda
  73. Soucy K. (2012)
    Smashing Magazine
  74. Spinuzzi C. (2003)
    Tracing genres through organizations
     ↗
  75. Spinuzzi (2005)
    Lost in the Translation: Shifting Claims in the Migration of a Research Technique
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  76. 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2008.08.006
     ↗
  77. St. Amant K. (2011)
    Culture, communication and cyberspace: Rethinking technical communication for internation…
  78. Starke-Meyerring et al. (2007)
    Global Partnerships: Positioning Technical Communication Programs in the Contex…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  79. Sun (2006)
    The Triumph of Users: Achieving Cultural Usability Goals With User Localization
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  80. Sun H. (2012)
    Cross-cultural technology design: Crafting culture-sensitive technology for local users
     ↗
  81. 10.1177/1468794104044430
     ↗
  82. Thatcher (2006)
    Intercultural Rhetoric, Technology Transfer, and Writing in U.S.–Mexico Border …
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  83. Thatcher B. (2010)
    RAW: Reading and writing new media
  84. (2012)
    Rwanda: Tech savvy youth will accelerate development
  85. Usengumukiza, F. (2009, July 28).Overview of Rwanda's ICT context. Institute of Policy Analysis and Research …
  86. Varpio et al. (2007)
    Seeing and Listening: A Visual and Social Analysis of Optometric Record-Keeping…
    Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  87. Walton R. (2013)
    Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy
  88. Walton R. (2013)
    Rhetoric, Professional Communication, and Globalization
  89. Walton R. (2012)
    Information Technologies and International Development
  90. 10.1097/WTF.0b013e32832ad3ac
     ↗
  91. Youngblood et al. (2013)
    Lessons in Service Learning: Developing the Service Learning Opportunities in T…
    Technical Communication Quarterly
  92. Zraly, M. & Ntaganira, J. (2009, December).Youth-led households in Kigali: The social and emotional worlds of…
  93. Zraly, M. & Ntaganira, J. (2013, November).Resilience, endurance, and well-being: Modes of emotional manageme…
CrossRef global citation count: 59 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related articles

  1. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Jun 2026
    The Sonic Aesthetics of Science Communication Podcasts ↗
    Caroline Koons; Amelia Chesley
    argument technical communication scientific writing artificial intelligence grammar and mechanics
  2. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Mar 2026
    Canon to Code: Rhetorical Rulemaking for Generative AI Content Audits and Governance ↗
    Miriam F. Williams
    classical rhetoric modern rhetorical theory rhetorical criticism assessment technical communication artificial intelligence
  3. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication Mar 2026
    Surveys as UXR: Using Design Thinking to Shape a Survey-Based UX Assessment for Rural Audiences ↗
    Kaitlin J. Coyle; Derek G. Ross
    assessment technical communication qualitative research literacy studies
  4. Technical Communication Quarterly Jan 2026
    Tactical Technical Communication as Expert Communication: Strategic Ethos in Corsi-Rosenthal Boxes ↗
    Steven S. Brooks; Sara C. Doan
    argument technical communication
  5. Technical Communication Quarterly Oct 2025
    Farm to Forum: Exploring Agritourism as a Site for Tactical Technical Communication ↗
    Beth J. Shirley; Shannon Arnold; Kim Woodring; Dustin Perry
    collaborative writing technical communication