Strategies for Research in Technical Communication: Purpose and Study Design
http://www.stc.org/confproceed/1995/PDFs/PG3336.PDF

Allen, Jo and Sherry G. Southard
STC Proceedings
1995

Abstract:

Professional communicators are concerned with numerous issues related to their work. Providing the answers to all the questions raised by these issues is the primary purpose of their research in all of its forms (basic research, formal research, and scholarship). A discussion of research in academic and corporate contexts illustrates the 'who does what and why' in those settings. The sample study design presented provides a starting point for technical communicators who want to conduct formal research.