ABSTRACT
This chapter recounts experiences of writing program administrators conducting programmatic assessment and placement research that presented several challenges related to recruitment, data collection, and power relations. While our research was grounded in a desire to advocate for/address the needs of L2/multilingual writers enrolled in our program’s courses, our administrative status often posed complicated ethical questions concerning how we interacted with students. We detail how we negotiated these power relations by adjusting our recruitment strategies and research methodologies to address both the stigma that students associated with placement and their lack of confidence in their own English proficiency.
