Do We Need Another Writing Resource?

REx differs from existing resources in several important ways. A peer-built, peer- edited, and peer-reviewed resource, REx

focuses on research processes along with research findings or products;
provides summaries of research (as opposed to full-length articles);
sorts information into searchable fields and categories;
brings together information about completed, ongoing, and stalled studies.

Whereas scholarship tends to highlight research findings, REx collects information about the activity of research, starting with researchers' questions and the contexts for their work. REx also collects information about researchers' methods and methodologies, the logistics of individual projects, and both summaries of and reflections on completed as well as ongoing inquiries. REx also respects the fact that many researchers' regular professional interactions leave them little time or mental energy to spare; it asks only for summative descriptions of projects completed or in process.*

* See "Changing Research Practices and Access: The Research Exchange Index" in The WAC Journal 23 (November 2012).