Usability Reports
Introduction
Welcome to the Research area of the Purdue OWL. This section houses research - past and present - conducted on or about the Purdue OWL. In some cases, we include references to and citations of Purdue OWL research not included here because it is contained in Ph.D. dissertations, books, or journal articles that cannot be posted online. When possible, however, we include the work itself.
Please check back as we continue to expand this section.
Purdue OWL Usability Project
The Purdue OWL Usability Report (PDF)
Appendices to the OWL Usability Report (PDF)
The Preliminary Report to the Writing Lab (PDF)
Goals and Background
The goal of the Research area of the Purdue OWL is to provide visitors and scholars with more information about work in theory and research that contributes to a literacy resource accessed by millions of global users ever year. This research section aligns with the open sources ideology that drives OWL work, and it reflects the land-grant state university mission imbued in Purdue's identity.
We believe this section also answers the call from scholars like Davida Charney (“Empiricism is Not a Four-Letter Word” 1996) and Richard Haswell (“NCTE/CCCC’s Recent War on Scholarship” 2005) who underscore the value of empirical work in rhetoric and composition studies. We hope that this information assists in the development of other online literacy resources and that it fosters more empirical work in writing. Moreover, we hope the section begins to build a history of the Purdue OWL that needs to be documented and shared.
Since its beginning in 1993 as a GOPHER resource, the Purdue OWL (launched on the World Wide Web in 1995) has formed a unique space for work in rhetorical and technological theory, research, and practice. Rhetorical and technological theories lay the groundwork for design principles that form the OWL Web site and OWL resource Web pages. Research on OWL organization (taxonomy) and its Web pages helps design and redesign the site. Lastly, the resources and the OWL itself are put into practice by the users accessing the site for information on writing and literacy. Therefore, the OWL represents an important and complex process of praxis.
To date, this praxis has been discussed mostly in scholarly contexts - Ph.D. dissertations, books, journal articles, conference presentations, etc. Therefore, we hope that this section raises awareness of OWL research for users so that it may contribute to other online literacy resources. Daily users of the OWL may not at first think about the underlying elements that drive OWL work - users value the accessibility and availability of the numerous resources provided on a wide range of writing topics.
But a considerable amount of work has contributed to OWL materials - important work that may help develop literacy resources in different contexts. This work has assisted millions of OWL users, but it has also contributed to the education and professionalization of graduate students, staff, and faculty at Purdue and elsewhere, and we believe that sharing this information may help others better understand OWL work and assist them in their efforts. We hope you find this section informative and useful.