Seek and Ye Shall Find

It's the information age, you know... it has been for a while. You hear people say that you can find anything on the Internet. What they don't tell you though, is how. Sure, there are search engines and there are SEARCH engines, but nobody tells you how to use them properly. Well, this is about how to make the most of search engines. While this article is written with a focus on Google (www.google.com), the principles can be applied to other search engines as well.

Alfred, P.M. Indus (2003). Articles>Research>Search

Shaping the Future of Technical Communication: Improving the Marriage Between Academia and Industry  

The future of technical communication lies in our ability to collaboratively define who we are, what we do, what we should research, and how that research should be used to develop the field. Since technical communication remains a relatively new subject area, we must carefully compete with older, well-established fields for precious resources. The continued development of our field requires a progressively dynamic research agenda developed from a productive and ongoing dialogue between academia and industry. Without such introspective collaboration, our struggle for legitimacy summons an exhibition of rhetorical blundering, which for an emerging field like technical communication, could be fatal.

Carver, Michael. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Research>TC

The State of Research in Technical Communication    

There have been many attempts to assess the state of research in our field. This article is our attempt to both (1) synthesize recent analyses, opinions, and conclusions concerning the status of technical communication research and (2) propose an action plan aimed at redirecting our field's agenda for its research. We explore these questions: What are the recent research trends in our field? What is and is not promising about our recent approaches to research? Where do we need to go next? What are the critical components for a new agenda for our research?

Blakeslee, Ann M. and Rachel Spilka. Technical Communication Quarterly (2004). Articles>Research>TC

Strategies for Research in Technical Communication  

The purpose of research in technical communication is to determine effective methods of communicating information to target audiences. This two-part workshop will provide hands-on activities for the participants. One leader will define strategies for locating sources and evaluating the literature; another will offer guidelines for the study design, collecting and analyzing data; another will help participants learn how to report results accurately for a given audience; and one leader will help participants learn how to write effective grant proposals. From this workshop, we should develop model strategies from which we can obtain evidence of effective methods for communicating information.

Applewhite, Lottie B., Kenneth Rainey Sherry G. Southard, Katherine E. Staples and Christopher Velotta. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>TC>Research

Strategies for Research in Technical Communication  

This is a repeat of a workshop at the 42nd annual conference sponsored by the Education and Research PIC. The workshop provides consultation for participants interested in conducting research projects. It provides hands-on activities for participants in designing research projects, methods for data collection, methods of data analysis, conducting literature reviews, preparing grant proposals, and reporting research results.

Rainey, Kenneth T., Lottie B. Applewhite, Sherry G. Southard, Christopher E. Velotta and Thomas R. Williams. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Research>TC

Strategies for Research in Technical Communication: Purpose and Study Design  

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.

Allen, Jo and Sherry G. Southard. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Research

Strategies in Technical Communication Research  

The annual offering of this workshop sponsored by the Education and Research PIC provides consultation for participants interested in conducting research projects. It provides hands-on activities for participants in conducting literature reviews, designing research projects, preparing grant proposals, methods for data collection, methods of data analysis, and reporting research results.

Rainey, Kenneth T., Lottie B. Applewhite, Katherine E. Staples, Christopher E. Velotta and Jan H. Spyridakis. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Research>TC

Strength in the Technical Communication Journals and Diversity in the Serials Cited    

More than 1,600 serials from across the disciplines were identified as sources for technical communication scholars. The 99 most frequently cited serials are described. This citation analysis is distinguished from others by the size of the database (25,000+ citations), the 10-year review of articles published in five technical communication journals between 1988 and 1997, the number of serials cited and reviewed, and the focus on technical communication as a discipline. The analysis yielded two observations. First, five technical communication journals have grown in strength as forums for discussions of technical communication. Second, the serials cited illustrate the diversity of resources referred to from business, education, psychology, science, and technology-related sources. As a discipline, technical communication has developed depth and rigor through building the base of its research and theory while integrating the research and theory gathered from a number of disciplines.

Smith, Elizabeth Overman 'Betsy'. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2000). Articles>Research>TC

Study Shows How to Get Bottom-Line Results from Internal Communication

Over the years, numerous studies have boasted the connection between internal communication and bottom-line results. These studies, though valuable for establishing a connection, do not delve into the important question of how. How does communication impact the bottom line? Which communication practices add the greatest value? Can communicators do to make their internal communication programs contribute to organizational success?

Vogt, Peter. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Research

Survey of Technical Writers in Small and Startup Software Companies

As part of my research for a presentation at the Forum 2000 Conference in June 2000, I conducted a survey of writers at small and startup software companies. The subject of the survey is the writer's perception of his or her role at a small or startup company. The survey also collected a small amount of factual data about the writer's place of work. I announced my survey on a number of technical writing mailing lists, probably reaching an audience of some 5,000 subscribers. Over 100 writers asked for the questionnaire, and 78 writers submitted replies.

Farbey, David. Tripod.com (2000). Articles>Research>Workplace

Technical Communicators Shun Research, Yet Research Results Are Applicable In Practice  

Like their colleagues who produce paper documents, few help developers are aware of the research that has been done on topics relevant to the information products they design. This article describes four recent studies that are relevant to help developers, and suggests how help developers can use the knowledge gained from those studies to improve the performance support systems they build. The fact, however, is that there is a lot of good research that addresses topics of concern to practitioners in our field. Moreover, the best research reports always include implications for practice. Finally, if we ignore research results, we won’t learn what we need to know so that we can stop spending all our time putting out fires.

Hayhoe, George F. George Hayhoe Associates (2001). Articles>Documentation>Research

Technology and Knowledge Transfer: Science and Industry Working Together    

Science and technology are intimately related. The technology sector that drives the modern economy would never have arisen without basic scientific research, and that research is now being funded by companies seeking to gain a technological edge over their competitors. Despite this mutual dependence, technical communication has taken different paths in science and industry. Technology and knowledge transfer, the communication of research results to an audience that can implement the results, bridges these two solitudes and strongly resembles much of the work done by other technical communicators.

Hart, Geoffrey J.S. International Journal for Technical Communication (2006). Articles>TC>Research>Workplace

Theory and Research Stem Overview  

The objective for this stem is to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas so important to the advancement of our profession. Qualitative and quantitative research, theory testing and building, experimentation, and applications testing are foundations of our profession, and this stem offers one venue for consideration of, collaboration about, and discussion of new research ideas and methods. The Theory and Research Stem brings together people from business, industry, and academia for what we hope will be enlightening and stimulating sessions that promote additional research and theory building after the conference.

Porter, Lynnette R. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Research

Theory and Research Stem Overview  

In its second year the Theory and Research stem has grown in scope and subject matter. We welcome a myriad of Usability sessions into this stem - new this year! We think you’ll find a natural link between the latest research, new theory, and their application with a focus on the user. Research and its implementation are essential to improving our methods, tools, and response to users’ needs. From planning, to prototyping, to collaborative design, to usability testing, through production, you’ll find topics to pique your interest. This stem provides a forum for discussing fresh ideas and new results, assessing trends, and evaluating research that confirms or revises the way we work.

Logan, Leanne. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Usability>Research

Understanding Statistical Significance: A Conceptual History    

Few concepts in the social sciences have wielded more discriminatory power over the status of knowledge claims than that of statistical significance. Currently operationalized as a = 0.05, statistical significance frequently separates publishable from nonpublishable research, renewable from nonrenewable grants, and, in the eyes of many, experimental success from failure. If literacy is envisioned as a sort of competence in a set of social and intellectual practices, then scientific literacy must encompass the realization that this cardinal arbiter of social scientific knowledge was not born out of an immanent logic of mathematics but socially constructed and reconstructed in response to sociohistoric conditions.

Little, Joseph. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication (2001). Articles>Research>Statistics>History

Unraveling the Mysteries of Sampling

The number of surveys to send out depends on how many employees you have and what rate of response you are likely to achieve. If you have a relatively small number of employees, you might need to send out surveys to everyone. If you have over several thousand employees, you would need only 500-600 completed surveys to have fairly reliable results for your population as a whole, assuming the respondents accurately reflect the demographics of the entire group. So, if you expect to have a 100% response rate, you would mail out surveys to a random sample of 600. More realistically, if you typically have a response rate of 50%, you'd need to survey 1,200 people (600 divided by 0.5).

Sinickas, Angela D. Sinickas Communications (2001). Articles>Research>Methods>Surveys

Usability Laboratories: A 1994 Survey

This article provides a table with summary statistics for the thirteen usability laboratories described in the papers in this special issue. It also gives an introduction to the main uses of usability laboratories in usability engineering and surveys some of the issues related to practical use of user testing and CAUSE tools for computer-aided usability engineering.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1994). Articles>Usability>Research

User Research Doesn't Prove Anything

Quantitative studies, while providing us with a method for estimating user population statistics, cannot provide us with proof. Used carefully, however, they can tell us a great deal--and if not with certainty, at least with a known amount of uncertainty.

Baty, Steve. UXmatters (2007). Articles>Research>Methods

User Research: Subjectivity and Objectivity in Practice

A discussion of concerns about the actual quality of the user research companies are undertaking and the validity of any conclusions they have drawn from the resulting data.

Baty, Steve. UXmatters (2006). Articles>Usability>Research

Using Formal Reference to Enhance Authority and Integrity in Online Mathematical Texts

This ability to provide evidence and evaluate arguments is critical to a liberal arts education or an engineering one. Hence, the interface between the document and the verified repository not only ensures correctness and eliminates error by construction, but also gives depth to the article, from the inserted math to its very foundations.

Lorigo, Lori, Stuart Allen and Robert Constable. Journal of Electronic Publishing (2006). Articles>Scientific Communication>Research>Mathematics

The Value of Research in Technical Communication

Over the years, there has been much debate and discussion in the Society as to whether technical communication is a field, an endeavour, a profession or a discipline, none of the above or all of the above. The topics of professionalism, certification and accreditation have often appeared in the pages of Technical Communication and Intercom. I would like to take the opportunity to review the status of technical communication and to highlight the role of research in technical communication.

Hosier, William J. Boston Broadside (1991). Articles>TC>Research>Body of Knowledge

Web Measurement Strategies for Small Businesses

Tools to build an effective Web measurement strategy on a tight budget.

Mason, Neil. ClickZ (2007). Articles>Web Design>Research>Log Analysis

What Research Should STC Sponsor?  

This session is an open forum moderated by the STC Research Grants Committee; its goal is to elicit and discuss suggestions from STC members for research areas and topic's the STC should sponsor. The input will help guide the members of the Research Grants Committee as they decide which research proposals to approve during the next year.

Rosenbaum, Stephanie L. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>TC>Research

Who's Writing Your White Papers? The Never Ending Debate of Technical Knowledge Versus Writing Proficiency

A common mistake that many companies make when starting a white paper project, is the assumption that a technical subject matter expert who has used, developed, or is highly knowledgeable about the topic is automatically assumed to be best qualified as its author.

Kantor, Jonathan. WhitePaperSource (2006). Articles>Writing>Research>White Papers

The Winning Mindset: Effective Competitive Intelligence Research on the Internet    

Suggests that search engines are useful but limited in their application for competitive intelligence searching on the internet, and highlights the importance and effectiveness not just of structured searching but also of creativity. Explains some of the technical limitations of internet searching and suggests conditions in which a competitive intelligence search may be made more effective, pointing out that the value an information professional adds is in having some idea in advance of what they are likely to find. Gives details of what search engines will and will not retrieve, and illustrates how search strategies can be improved through use of the available filtering syntax. Suggests that using Boolean logical operators and other features directly in the search box is likely to produce better results than simply relying on the search engine's advanced search feature. Concludes by re-emphasizing the need for a creative mindset, building on some structure.

Kendrick, Terry. Business Information Review (2007). Articles>Research>Online>Search