ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses the value of rhetorical analysis for writing center researchers. It combines classical with contemporary rhetorical methodologies to posit how rhetoric can provide a means to explore the connections between narrative story and replicable, aggregable, and data-supported (RAD) research. My purpose is thus twofold: (1) to exemplify rhetorical analysis as a method, one especially useful for exploring choices in the story–study continuum, and (2) to analyze previous research so that future researchers can learn from the mistakes and successes of prior work. I discuss how my own research was influenced and informed by research from a few of my predecessors, offering some examples that illustrate how rhetorical analysis can provide a method for exploring and connecting the story–study continuum. I explain my rationales for my rhetorical analysis, including personal and professional reasons, for what I have attempted and what I continue to attempt in my own research.