Biography
I research the ways that writers contend with interactive and participatory audiences on the Internet, including via user design. I teach technical writing, including search engine optimization, data visualization, visual rhetoric, interviewing techniques, document design, and digital rhetoric. I value students as holistic people and not a set of skills.
Research Interests
I study the way writers contend with participatory audiences in the context of Web 2.0. I specialize in qualitative research methods; in particular, case study methodologies. I also draw on quantitative methods, such as web-scraping and computational analysis, to study online comments and participatory audiences.
- Writing Studies
- Audience Theory
- Web 2.0
- New Media
- Online Participatory Cultures
- User design
- Online ethics
- Search Engine Optimization
Courses Taught
- BTW 250
- BTW 490
- ENGL 582
- ENGL 380
- ENGL 482
External Links
Recent Publications
Gallagher, J. (2019). A Framework for Internet Case Study Methodology in Writing Studies. Computers and Composition, 54, [102509]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compcom.2019.102509
Gallagher, J., & Holmes, S. (2019). Empty Templates: The Ethical Habits of Empty State Pages. Technical Communication Quarterly, 28(3), 271-283. https://doi.org/10.1080/10572252.2018.1564367
Gallagher, J., Chen, Y., Wagner, K., Wang, X., Zeng, J., & Kong, A. L. (2019). Peering into the Internet Abyss: Using Big Data Audience Analysis to Understand Online Comments. Technical Communication Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1080/10572252.2019.1634766
Gallagher, J. (2018). Considering the Comments: Theorizing Online Audiences as Emergent Processes. Computers and Composition, 48, 34-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compcom.2018.03.002
Gallagher, J. (2018). Monitoring and Managing Online Comments in Science Journalism. In G. Y. Agboka, & N. Matveeva (Eds.), Citizenship and Advocacy in Technical Communication: Scholarly and Pedagogical Perspectives (ATTW Series in Technical and Professional Communication). New York: Routledge.