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For a visual walkthrough of the project as a whole, please see the Video Introduction on the homepage.
In many ways, this is a relatively traditional dissertation project. There is an introduction, two methods chapters, and three analysis chapters; each chapter is broken into a series of sections meant to be read primarily in linear succession; a dataset is presented through a fusion of visual and verbal channels.
In other ways, though, this project challenges traditional conceptions of what a dissertation should look like and do. The project is a set of folders filled with HTML, CSS, and Javascript files, along with images, video, audio, and text, that only come into coherent order when viewed in a web browser. The analysis, findings, and discussion rely on intellectual work performed through a series of critical illustrations (“icon-codes”) rather than on mediating data engagement in exclusively verbal form. And the data presented in the Case Study Hub is not merely an appendix, but rather the heart of the project—an opportunity for readers to engage multimodal data in an online environment, and to wander at their leisure in a way that draws them into the experience of a composer work to develop a scholarly argument in digital space.
It is a dissertation, in short, whose form reflects the content examined, and whose organization is itself an argument for design as a central component of developing scholarly arguments for digital environments.
There are several possible routes through a semi-linear project such as this, and I highlight several starting points for readers based on their interests:
Linear Route
Readers looking for a primarily linear progression through the various chapters’ alphabetic sections might start at either the Table of Contents or Chapter 1, then use the arrows to progress through each section page by page.
Exploratory Route
Readers looking to explore webtext composing data at their own pace might start with the Case Study Hub and spend time with the sections that catch their attention, such as selected key drafts embedded in full, descriptions of changes across drafts, reflection narratives on design processes behind the draft’s creation, and visually coded representations that map the relationship between narrative influences and concrete changes in design.
Combined Route
Readers looking for a balance between linear and exploratory approaches might alternate between the two methods. They might start briefly investigate the Case Study Hub to get a sense of what the data looks like; then switch back to the introduction and methods chapters to get a sense of how I’m making sense of it; return to the Case Study Hub to refresh their memories; then dive into the analyses with a clear sense of the data itself.
Navigation
Regardless of the selected route, the navigation bar remains a constant presence throughout most of the project. The three buttons on the left of the bar deal with the project’s overall structure: Home, Table of Contents, and Case Study Hub. The buttons in the middle are references for the icon-codes; clicking one of the black shapes or lines will deploy a key identifying each code by shape, color, and label. The three buttons at the right of the bar present reference materials used to frame the project: an appendix for viewing the analyzed data in one location; a list of works cited for the project as a whole, and a glossary of key terms. The navigation bar’s overall color identifies the chapter in which the reader is currently situated.
