Preface

Part I: Research as Situated Knowledge Construction On the Philosophical Bases of Inquiry in Second Language Writing: Metaphysics, Inquiry Paradigms, and the Intellectual Zeitgeist / Tony Silva Uses of Narrative in L2 Writing Research / Christine.Pearson Casanave Historical Inquiry in Second Language Writing / Paul Kei Matsuda

Part II: Conceptualizing L2 Writing Research Situated Qualitative Research and Second Language Writing / Dwight Atkinson A Multimethod Approach to Research Into Processes of Scholarly Writing for Publication / John Flowerdew Hypothesis Generation and Hypothesis Testing: Two Complementary Studies of EFL Writing Processes / Miyuki Sasaki Talking About Writing: Cross-Modality Research and Second Language Speaking/Writing Connections / Robert Weissberg Researching Teacher Evaluation of Second-Language Writing Via Prototype Theory / Richard Haswell Composing Culture in a Fragmented World: The Issue of Representation in Cross-Cultural Research / Xiaoming Li

Part III: Collecting and Analyzing Data.
Qualitative Research as Heuristic: Investigating Documentation Practices in a Medical Setting / Susan Parks Mucking Around in the Lives of Others: Reflections on Qualitative Research / Linda Lonon Blanton Coding Data in Qualitative Research on L2 Writing: Issues and Implications / Colleen Brice Digging Up Texts and Transcripts: Confessions of a Discourse Analyst / Ken Hyland Using Concurrent Protocols to Explore L2 Writing Processes: Methodological Issues in the Collection and Analysis of Data / Rosa M. Manchón, Liz Murphy, Julio Roca de Larios Taking on English Writing in a Bilingual Program: Revisiting, Reexamining, Reconceptualizing the Data / Sarah Hudelson

Part IV: Coda
Tricks of the Trade: The Nuts and Bolts of L2 Writing Research / Dana Ferris

"In this original volume, eighteen researchers from different parts of the world reflect on their own research projects, providing insights into key methodological issues in research on second language writing. By offering a glimpse into the process of constructing and negotiating knowledge in the field--the messy space of situated practices of inquiry--it helps to demystify the research process, which can appear in published studies and in introductory methodology guides to be neater and more orderly than it actually is. Taking a broad conception of research as inquiry that emphasizes the situated and constructed nature of knowledge in the field, Second Language Writing Perspectives on the Process of Knowledge Construction encourages multiple forms of inquiry, including philosophical, narrative, and historical modes. Empirical inquiry as presented in this book encompasses both quantitative and qualitative approaches as well as those that strategically combine them. A helpful discussion of the "nuts and bolts" of developing sustainable research programs is also provided. The volume as a whole facilitates a situated, issue-driven research practice. Its unique focus on second language writing research makes it an invaluable resource for both novice and experienced researchers in the field." (Book Cover)