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Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/69645
- Title
- Writing for audiences
- Author(s)
- Cherry, Nita; Grace, Sandra
- Abstract
- In this chapter we emphasise the importance of being able to engage with our audience and discuss what it means for writing to be audience-centred. In essence, this is about being able to understand the needs of different audiences and adjust writing in the light of those needs. Differences in needs can arise from the professional, educational, academic or social interests of our audiences. Audiences for qualitative research can include journal readers, supervisors and examiners, research sponsors, practitioners who might wish to use the research in their practices, or people attending conferences. In some cases our audience will consist of one person only, such as an examiner or marker of an assignment, but regardless of whether the audience is one person or many, understanding what audiences need and expect and knowing how to address these needs and expectations in our writing is a key skill (Bean, 2001; Devet, 1995; Durham, 1990; Hayes & Bajzek, 2008). The way qualitative research is written for journal readers, supervisors, and examiners is often determined by guidelines and instructions for authors. In other contexts the ground rules for presenting qualitative research are less prescribed, and familiarity with the methods used cannot be taken for granted. These less-prescribed territories present both possibilities and challenges for writing. On the one hand, writers have some freedom to present material in styles of their own choosing that they consider consistent with their research approach. On the other, audiences can find themselves in unfamiliar territory, uncertain as to how to make sense of what is being shared. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight issues that can keep us focused on audience-centred writing and to suggest strategies for adjusting our writing for different audiences. The key topics covered in the chapter are: identifying the needs and interests of our audience---writing the same material in different ways for different audiences---being sensitive to the particular values and criteria against which audiences will judge the credibility of our research.
- Publication type
- Book chapter
- Source
- Practice, education, work and society: writing qualitative research on practice / Joy Higgs, Debbie Horsfall and Sandra Grace (eds.), Chapter 20, pp. 217-229
- Publication year
- 2009
- Keyword(s)
- Qualitative research
- Publisher
- Sense Publishers
- ISBN
- 9789087909079, 9087909071
- Publisher URL
- http://www.sensepublishers.com/product_info.php?&products_id=831
- Copyright
- Copyright © 2009 Sense Publishers. All Rights Reserved.
- Peer reviewed
