Sixth Annual Dartmouth Summer Seminar for Writing Research

Dear colleagues,

On the heels of the recent 50th anniversary conference at Dartmouth focused on research methods and methodologies in writing studies, we are excited to announce the next Dartmouth Summer Seminar for Writing Research.

Sixth Annual Dartmouth Summer Seminar for Writing Research
Save the dates! July 30 - August 11, 2017
Hanover, NH

“The Summer Seminar was one of the most rewarding professional experiences of my career.” (previous participant)

The 2017 Dartmouth Summer Seminar for Writing Research is designed for writing faculty from all types of higher education venues who are beginning to work on data-driven research about writing in higher education contexts, and who would like an intensive, high-powered two weeks to work on that research, review the best approaches and methods, consult directly with experts, and network long-term with a cohort of other researchers. Guided interaction about participants’ projects is offered in the months leading up to the Seminar. The Seminar itself offers a quiet, resource-rich environment, coursework, small-group discussion and exchange, individual consultation with Seminar leaders, time to work alone or in groups on research projects, and a concluding presentation to the group with feedback from team leaders.

We encourage both individuals and research groups or teams to apply.

The Seminar coursework covers a range of topics, including data segmenting and coding, statistics, statistical analysis, effective literature reviews, research ethics, and so on. Special-interest topics are presented based on participants’ projects.

If you’ve been asking yourself any of the following questions, this is the seminar for you:

• How do I turn an interest into a viable data-driven investigation?
• I am very comfortable with my usual research approach, but would like to develop data-driven research abilities; can you help?
• What data do I collect for my research study? How do I collect them?
• What should I look for when I analyze the data? What is the deeper phenomenon I am looking for? What is a good site for investigating it?
• Everyone seems to be talking about “coding” these days—how can I learn about it?
• What methods are the best for the questions I would like to answer?
• Where can I learn more about how to select a sample, how to create a worthwhile survey or interview, and how to calculate statistical significance?
• Should I conduct a pilot study first? What are the advantages and disadvantages of a pilot study (including funding)?
• Is institutional (IRB) approval needed for my project?
• Why does my research question keep changing?
• What’s the best way to present and publish my research?

A detailed announcement and the seminar application will be available by September 30th – applications due December 15^th 2016. Program fee is $1500; partial scholarships funded by CWPA and CCCC available to community college, HCBU, and TCU participants. Contact Christiane Donahue at Composition.Research.Seminar@Dartmouth.Edu with any questions.