What is RAD?
RAD (Replicable, Aggregable, Data Supported) refers to
- the attributes of a particular kind of evidence, discourse and research methodology
- ways writers, speakers, knowledge workers . . . engage in data collection and analysis.
RAD research may be quantitative or qualitative.
RAD research is
- Replicable
Sufficient details about methods, subjects, and other contextual factors are provided so future investigators can repeat the study. - Aggregable
Over time, following repeated observations and study, knowledge and knowledge claims accrue. - Data Supported
Interpretations are supported by information/data that is specific enough that it can be identified, quantified, and qualified.
Related Concepts: Claim; Evidence; Information, Data; Information Literacy; Rhetorical Analysis; Rhetorical Reasoning; Substantive Prose Style
History of RAD
Richard Haswell coined the phrase RAD in order to engage in rhetorical analysis of scholarship in the discipline of Writing Studies.
After introducing the concept of RAD, Haswell analyzed publications over a twenty-year period that were published by the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and the Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC). Haswell concluded that over that time period Writing Studies reduced RAD publications and increased publications based solely on interpretations of text–i.e., Textual Research Methods.
Haswell, Richard. M. “NCTE/CCCC’s Recent War on Scholarship”. Written Communication 22:2, 4/1/25005, 198-223.References
