Lauren, B., & Pigg, S. (2016). Networking in a field of introverts: The egonets, networking practices, and networking technologies of technical communication entrepreneurs. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 59(4), 342-362.

Lauren, B., & Pigg, S. (2016). Networking in a field of introverts: The egonets, networking practices, and networking technologies of technical communication entrepreneurs. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, 59(4), 342-362.

Original research article. Lauren and Pigg do a qualitative study in which they describe the work of TC independent contractors? No...do L & P get them to describe their networks? or just the work they do? This is helpful : "knowledge about the professional communication practices that build and sustain independent careers in the field of technical communication" So that's what they're after. They elicit this knowledge through semistructured interviews with 8 TC professionals, albeit who might not identify as a TC. 2 interviews. Like an hour a piece. 

They use social network analysis, but I think that just cashed out via the tripartite distinction of weak, latent, and strong ties (Mark Granovetter).  

The context is the shift to contingent work, so the shift from people working in companies to working as independent contractors. The question then is: how do people make up for the lack of not working for a company? how do they build their own network? This is where the notion of entrepreneurialism comes in. 

Probably the most interesting part of this article for me was the definition of entrepreneurship used. They used the term as almost like a self-starter, as going out on your own. "This paper focuses on TC practitioners who choose to work independently and positions them as entrepreneurs insofar as they engage in personal business or brand development practices. Thus, this research focuses on networking, which is a form of professional communication associated with unique challenges of independent work, such as gaining clients, adapting to geographical distribution, and managing unpredictable career trajectories [8]. While noncaptive work is associated with uncertain career stability and a questionable employment outlook, communication practices that build and maintain relationships can bridge social gaps that compound when working for a single employer." Look. They even use the word "gaps"--you were like, they wouldn't be thinking of this in term of a lack but you were wrong!

"RQ. How do established individual entrepreneurs in TC describe the social relationships, networking practices, and networking technologies that shape their careers over time?"

I thought for a second that they were using the STC survey as a starter code but they didn't. "factors influencing participants’ decisions to work independently also align with many reasons discussed by the STC survey research, such as “opportunity for greater income” (34%), “prompted by getting laid off” (30%), “need for autonomy/independence” (24%), “makes the most of my skills/interests” (18%), and “to avoid organizational politics” (16%) [4, p. 15]."

Interrater reliability. They claim to get it. "Our second pass through the data elicited granular and detailed illustrations of social ties, networking practices, and networking technologies. We followed the second pass by sharing and exchanging an analytical memo, a document used to establish and triangulate trends in the data, and to move from our individual analysis of the data into narrative discussion. This memo also helped to illustrate how we achieved interrater reliability by comparing notes and codes, and facilitated working through any differences in analysis and interpretation of data. In addition, the memo supported ongoing discussions about how we coded the data and ensured a collaborative analytical approach."

Also, I think you get the point of a second pass now. You use starter codes in order to be able to detect broad signals, then the second pass is where you go in more granular. But I think your codes are too all over the place because they can't be anticipated by the methods section--e.g., you switching back from orthogonal to hierarchical. 

"Interestingly, participants understood networking and connecting with others to be rare in the field of technical communication, which they described as “introverted.” As Participant 5 put it, “There are a lot of introverts in TC. I’m not one of them, but there are a lot of introverts and they have real hard problems reaching out.” Participant 6 also discussed technical communication’s problem of “insularity,” as she discussed limitations that kept TC from gaining national prominence."

They keep using the term social field but when they do it rings like network. 

"As TC entrepreneurs challenge the field to overcome its introversion, an increased focus on networking as an intellectual practice will enable the field to build pedagogies that teach building, maintaining, and sustaining connections. Our findings shift us away from teaching networking as an instrumental practice of gaining individual capital and toward concepts of networking grounded in theories of social knowledge construction and creating collective intelligence." People like Lauren Cagle would buck this trend. 

"While TC freelancers, consultants, and subcontractors are addressed in scholarship that theorizes widespread employment shifts affecting the field [29], TC lacks systematic research of how professional communication practices support the entrepreneurial dimensions of these careers. Instead, the field has produced instructional material about managing TC freelance careers [30] and several “how-to” articles in Intercom [31], but systematic research is simply lacking. As a result of field surveys, we know that many freelancers and subcontractors intentionally work independently and that many of them build distinguished careers and businesses. No doubt this trend is why research on the writing habits of entrepreneurs in TC has surfaced in recent years [32], [33], including the need for this special issue. As Spartz and Weber have explained through their own work, research on entrepreneurship in TC is in need of additional development [33]." Kind of like what you're doing. You're going from the popular or unsystematic to the systematic, from the precept to the concept. 

https://utexas.box.com/s/wc5fynklbkfijp41hrm3u0ihbdqwuv2q