Considering Consequences in Writing Analytics: Humanistic Inquiry and Empirical Research in The Journal of Writing Assessment

Abstract

Consideration of the intersections of humanistic and empirical traditions of research are important, especially now with recent emphasis on fairness and consequences of score use. Humanistic research traditions can enhance research perspectives within the emerging field of writing analytics. Using two case studies from The Journal of Writing Assessment (JWA), this article explores the ways humanistic traditions facilitate a framework developed by JWA of localism. Such a perspective provides a bridge between the technically focused concerns for validity and reliability with the complex social contexts and diverse backgrounds and lived experiences of students and faculty who occupy these educational settings. For writing analytics to live up to its potential, the practices and scholarship need to meet high technical standards as well as attend to diverse and socially situated assessment concerns.