Researcher status has a profound and fairly evident influence on the rhetoric of research, particularly for new members and those who are working to gain membership. One of the keys to becoming a member of the community is learning enough about the current conversation within the community to begin to participate meaningfully. Learning the conversation isn't just a matter of learning the current topics; it is just as much a process of learning accepted and effective ways of approaching and discussing those topics.
The Berkenkotter, Huckin, and Ackerman (1988) study is a good example of allowing the current conversation to inform a rhetorical presentation. As two of the researchers reflected in a subsequent article, when the study was published, the conversation in the community was such that, ". . .to reveal our method was to take an unwise risk" (Berkenkotter and Huckin, 1995; p. 145). Doubtless, the status of the researchers in the community when the article was published was such that they didn't feel they were in a position to raise what was tantamount to a challenge to the accepted methods and conventions of the community.
Back to Key Factors