Narrative and Research in Professional Communication

Abstract

This article explores narrative theory and research in fields closely allied with professional communication to clarify the value of narrative to our discipline. It addresses the move in many fields to reconceptualize research as narrative. Placing narrative within a postmodernist frame, it examines the centrality of ethnography within a postmodernist view. The importance of ethnography in research is related to two key narrative questions that ethnographic theorists in other disciplines are addressing: Who is telling the ethnographic story? For what purposes is the story told? This article supports the importance of taking a critical stance toward these questions and discusses the implications of postmodernist ethnographic theory for research in professional communication.

Journal
Journal of Business and Technical Communication
Published
1996-07-01
DOI
10.1177/1050651996010003003
CompPile
Open Access
Closed
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Citation context

Cited by in this index (10)

  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication
  3. Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  5. Communication Design Quarterly
Show all 10 →
  1. Journal of Business and Technical Communication
  2. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Technical Communication Quarterly
  4. Technical Communication Quarterly
  5. Technical Communication Quarterly

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