to empirical research methods, perhaps through courses you have taken in other disciplines? If so, how would you describe the value of empirical research as a means of constructing disciplinary knowledge? If you have not been previously exposed to empirical research methods, what questions do you have about this mode of inquiry based on what you have just read?
2. In his article about how some professional organizations in composition studies have discouraged the publication of empirical research, Richard Haswell depicts these actions as waging a war on disciplinary knowledge. What do you think of Haswell’s use of the word “war” in this context? Why do you think that those who are engaged in composition studies may differ in their assessment of the value of empirical research?
3. As explained in this section, two major types of empirical research are qualitative studies and quantitative studies. How might each contribute uniquely to the construction of knowledge in composition studies? In what ways might it be important when conducting bibliographic research in composition studies to look for both qualitative and quantitative studies?
4. Consider the issue in composition studies that you want to research as you read this book. How do you expect that empirical research reports you locate will help you to better understand this issue?
Practice
Definition of Practice
The final way that knowledge is formed in composition studies, according to North, is through the practical experience of teachers, tutors, and writing program administrators. North calls knowledge that is based on practical experience “lore,” which he defines as “the accumulated body of traditions, practices, and beliefs in terms of which practitioners understand how writing is done, learned, and taught” (22). North writes that practice doesn’t always contribute to disciplinary knowledge; instead, North sets the condition that practice can only deservedly be considered inquiry “whenever it contributes to lore—only when, in short, it produces ‘new’ knowledge” (33). He estimates that for a college teacher employed full-time, practice may qualify as inquiry “less than ten percent of the time” (34).
For North, one of the distinguishing characteristics of lore is that it is uncritical. This can be deduced from North’s delineation of what he calls “three of its most important functional properties” (24): anything can become lore if someone suggests it; there is no method of removing anything from lore, even if it contradicts other lore; lore is practical (24–25). North also discusses lore as ultimately individualistic:
But whereas in other communities the greatest authority over what constitutes knowledge resides with the community—lies, in effect, with public knowledge—here it lies with the individual Practitioner, and private knowledge. The communal lore offers options, resources, and perhaps some directional pressure; but the individual, finally, decides what to do and whether (or how) it has worked—decides, in short, what counts as knowledge. (28)
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