Blog Post #3: Research Gap

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 For my proposal I am writing about comics as a method of technical communication. I think this could be a very effective method for arts nonprofits to attract and widen their donor base. Comics as a form of TC can also serve as a great way to engage in community building which will be highly beneficial for arts nonprofits as they can get to know the communities that they serve. I believe there is a research gap in how this method of TC may work well for the specific needs of arts nonprofits. My proposal is to conduct qualitative research that will help provide some concrete evidence about how comics can be an effective TC method that will help arts organizations instruct, educate, and persuade the unique communities they serve. With my research I am curious to see what are the best ways comics can be used at arts nonprofits. Will comics be effective as a companion for exhibitions that can highlight art theory and history for visitors? Will they be effective for K-6 education tools that can teach art instruction? Or, will they be most effective for the purposes of onboarding and instruction?

A personal anecdote: When I was working at Southern Utah Museum of Art as the Collections and Exhibitions Assistant it was part of my job to develop a plan of action to put the works on paper in the Permanent Collection into the new archivable materials that were purchased by the museum. I had three people on my team; I came up with an instruction sheet, which I wrote in a straight forward, but humorous tone. I included photos for each step and I also conducted one-on-one in-person instruction for each team member, hoping the photos and in-person instruction would help the team remember the instructions and get them excited about the project. However, it was not effective and my team did not listen to me. Personally, I think it is because of their egos, this was a bit of a toxic work environment and it was difficult to get anyone to listen to each other. I am curious if I had developed a more dialogic form of instruction, such as develop a set of comics with characters acting out the plan of action I developed for the works-on-paper, would it have been a more effective method of instruction for this specific work environment? This a question I am hoping the research might answer.      

Comments

  1. florence08October 13, 2022 at 12:22 PM

    Hi Brett,

    I love your blog #3!! After having read your lit. review assignment, I really like your idea on comics as a form of technical communication as applied, specifically, to arts non-profits. Your personal anecdote seems to springboard a rhetorical exigency for this type of inquiry and am sure, once your research design/proposal has been set from a qualitative method's standpoint (and if conducted after 6401), it would be a welcome addition to TWDR scholarship. I believe there is a dearth of focus on the arts non-profits context of comics as tech comm. and I think you have a good opening/edge to pursue this all the more. Let me know if you have any questions and/or want to set a quick Zoom meeting, ok? Am here.

    Dr. B

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