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Research

 

Areas of Interest

  • Intercultural Technical Communication

  • User Experience Research 

  • Online Instructional Design & Communication Technologies

  • Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, & Justice 

  • Digital Rhetoric & Activism

Key Research Awards

  • 2023 CPTSC Graduate Student Research Award

  • 2023 Texas Tech Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship

  • 2022 ATTW Graduate Student Research Award

  • 2022 ATTW Amplification Award

  • 2022 SIGDOC Student Research Competition, 3rd place

  • 2021 CCCC Scholars for the Dream Award

  • 2021 STC, and STC Chicago Scholarship Award

  • 2020 National Humanities Center Graduate Residency

 

(List of research publications below).

Dissertation

Creating Culturally-Inclusive Online Pedagogical Practices and Course Design for International, Transcultural, and Multilingual Students

Committee: Jason Tham (Chair), Beau Pihlaja, and Aimee Kendall Roundtree

Abstract: I study the connections between communication technologies, culture, and online instructional design, and how they impact the user experience (UX) of underrepresented students, particularly, international students. I use UX research methods like journey maps, surveys, interviews, heuristic analysis and usability tests of a video conferencing platform, and focus groups with affinity diagramming to identify students’ needs and pain points in synchronous online classes. My project expands technical communication fields like UX, global technical communication, and online writing instruction, and my methodologies illustrate the use of UX methods beyond a narrow interpretation of usability testing. The findings will help instructors be more responsive to the needs of a diverse classroom by centering the lived experiences of international students instead of viewing them from a position of deficit, and make research-driven decisions on designing inclusive, meaningful, and empowering online learning experiences. 

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Articles

  • Das, M., & Tham, J. (2022). Tactical organizing: What can the r/wallstreetbets and GameStop frenzy teach us about technical communication in a networked age. Technical Communication, 69(2), 38-59.

  • Banville, M., Das, M., Davis, K., Dsouza, E., Durazzi, A., Gresbrink, E., Kalodner-Martin, E., & Stambler, D. M. (2021). Identity, agency, and precarity: Considerations of graduate students in technical communication. Programmatic Perspectives, 12(2), 5-15.

  • Das, M. (2020). Key takeaways and trends in remote UX research. Intercom, 67(6), 20-25.

  • Das, M. (2021). UX and the online classroom: Creating an inclusive experience for international and non-native English-speaking students. Intercom, 68(3), 12-17.

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Book Chapters

  • Das, M., Flahive, M., Zhang, J., & Faris M. J. (2023). Integrating the marginalized and the mainstream: Women of color graduate instructors’ experience with identity, difference, and belonging. In W. J. Macauley, Jr., L. Anglesey, B. Edwards, K.M. Lambrecht, & P. Lovas (Eds.), Threshold conscripts: Rhetoric and composition teaching assistantships. doi: 10.37514/PER-B.2023.1626.2.14

  • Brawley, L., Connor, M., Das, M., Dean, A., Diaz, C., Faris, M. J., … & Zhang, Y. (2023). Incorporating multimodal literacies across a FYW program: Graduate instructors’ preparation and experiences. In S. Khadka & S. B. Pandey (Eds.), Professionalizing multimodal composition. University Press of Colorado.

  • Das, M., & Faris, M. J. (forthcoming). Peer Review in Synchronous Online Learning Environments. In A. Cicchino & T. Hicks (Eds.), Better practices: Experts and emerging instructors explore how to better teach writing in online and hybrid spaces. WAC Clearinghouse.

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Textbook Chapters

  • Das, M. (2021). Chapter 5: Intercultural communication. In S. Holmes & K. M. Gray (Eds.), Guide to Technical Communication. McGraw-Hill.

  • Das, M., & Cowan, M. (2021). Chapter 9: Project management and teamwork. In S. Holmes & K. M. Gray (Eds.), Guide to Technical Communication. McGraw-Hill.

  • Das, M. (2021). Chapter 16: User experience and usability testing. In S. Holmes & K. M. Gray (Eds.), Guide to Technical Communication. McGraw-Hill.

Book Reviews

  • Das, M. (2023). Review of User Experience as Innovative Academic Practice, by Kate Crane and Kelli Cargile Cook. Communication Design Quarterly, 11(3), 75-77.

  • Das, M. (2022). Review of Global Perspectives on Intercultural Communication, by Stephen M. Croucher. Technical Communication Quarterly, 31(4), 433-435.

 

Conference Proceedings

  • Das, M. (2022). Designing for cultural inclusivity: A study of international patrons’ user experience with university library services. Proceedings of the 40th ACM International Conference on Design of Communication, 175–177. Association for Computing Machinery, Boston, MA, USA. doi:10.1145/3513130.3559004

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