Ethos, Pathos, Logos, Kairos: Using a Rhetorical Heuristic to Mediate Digital-Survey Recruitment Strategies

Author

Rife, Martine Courant

Author_Institution

Commun. Dept., Lansing Community Coll., Lansing, MI, USA

Volume

53

Issue

3

fYear

2010

Firstpage

260

Lastpage

277

Abstract

How might the rhetorical strategies of ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos play a mediational, intervening role in the successful administration of online surveys? What are the general costs and benefits of conducting survey research? Based on the activity of administering an online survey ( N= 334) testing knowledge and understanding of US copyright law among digital writers (both students and teachers) in US technical and professional writing (TPW) programs, I blend Rhetorical Theory with Activity Theory by conducting a rhetorical analysis within an Activity Theory paradigm. I posit that a rhetorically informed heuristic mediates between the researcher and potential participants when the researcher attempts to recruit individuals to respond to an online survey.

Keywords

copyright; recruitment; surveying; TPW programs; US copyright law; US technical and professional writing programs; activity theory paradigm; digital survey recruitment strategies; digital writers; knowledge testing; online surveys; rhetorical theory; Best practices; Communities; Electronic mail; Recruitment; Rhetoric; Technological innovation; Writing; Activity Theory; attrition; community; digital survey; ethos; heuristic; kairos; logos; mediation; pathos; response rates; rhetoric; survey design;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Professional Communication, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0361-1434

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TPC.2010.2052856

Filename

5556478