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Research for technical writing
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The subjects covered by technical reports are of infinite variety.
A technical report that has much in common with a degree thesis
is the most important type of writing anyone in the applied sciences
undertakes. This is because they often deal with highly technical subjects
in which the writer puts her or his knowledge and expertise in the
hands of peers for their critical scrutiny. [See URL www.achart.ca/publications/mathematics.html for such a technical paper read at an international conference.] It
is therefore in the writer's interest to be certain of facts and the
manner in they are presented. This section offers comments on research,
which are the foundation of all well-produced technical texts. Research
Information obtained by research helps you to order your thoughts.
The more accurate and meticulous the information the more you will
have to work with. When collecting information keep your objective
in mind. Who will read the report? How detailed should it be? What
evidence supports your facts? If the answers to these questions are
not clear you will have no basis for separating the relevant from the
irrelevant.
Once you have defined
the criteria you may need to seek help from someone knowledgeable in the field
or with more expertise than you. What sources are at your disposal? These might
include government information services, specialists in your own field, colleagues.
Make use of the libraries at your disposal, both public and private. Reference
librarians are usually skilled researchers and can locate information in a
fraction of the time you would take; they're also willing to help you find
what you are looking for.
As distinct from library
sources (see below) available on line only to academics or those with access
to them, the internet has changed the nature of research. Where once one spent
hours in libraries researching data in a plethora of reference books information
available on the world wide web is readily available at a touch of the keyboard. On-line data
Many libraries have an on-line database that can be invaluable to
the researcher and is often connected with a national or international
information database. For example, DATALOG, a source of information
available to researchers for a fee, provides access to 180 databases
covering a broad range of subjects. Depending on the database and the
information searched, fees vary from the cost of being connected to
the Internet to in excess of $300 an hour.
Two important databases on technical subjects are COMPENDIX and INSPEC.
COMPENDIX references articles in the applied sciences: mechanical,
electrical, control and chemical engineering, electronics, and physics.
IN SPEC provides information in the pure sciences. The cost of searching
COMPENDIX and INSPEC is about $100 an hour. Other database programs
provide patent information, U.S. and Canadian theses from 1976 on,
and statistical information. A good source book on databases is Nahum
Goldmann's Online Information Hunting (TAB books of MacGraw Hill).
[Note: the information provided here on data bases will undoubtedly
be supplemented by other sources of information available for the searching
on the internet.
Not all data base services are chargeable; others are. The hourly
charge for database search may seem high but, compared with the cost
of a research assistant who must physically search documents and bibliographies,
the expense is reasonable. Electronic databases contain only abstracts
of listed articles. An abstract, however, is sufficient to indicate
if the article, thesis, or patent is worth further investigation. Copies
of complete texts are available through the inter-library loan service;
delivery of material through the service can take up to a week or more.
There remains the task of sorting researched information once you have
it. You can deal with the information in two ways.
First, make a bibliographic
record of every document you use, whether it has been published or not. Note
the date of publication, author, title, and publisher. Use a two or three letter
abbreviation for each reference to simplify the task of recording the source
and page number of your notes. This avoids having to retrace your steps when
annotating the references.
Secondly, list every
question, query and lead that occurs to you during the research. Then, at a
convenient opportunity, check the list for those items that, on reflection,
are not worth exploring. Strike these from the list and investigate further
those that seem worthy of further research. This frequent review of your notes
is a good habit to form.
This advice may strike
those with master and doctorate degrees as old hat, but not every engineer,
research technologist, scientific assistant, and others with specialist expertise
have the advantage of that experience. During our courses given to specialist
groups working in the applied sciences, the advice given regarding research
was new to more than half of those who attended. Confidentiality
Apart from the restraints of time, the scope of the work, costs and
your own resourcefulness, it is often necessary to keep your work confidential.
Reports are not always confidential, but when they are it is important
to recognize those who should be approached with questions and what
those questions should be. The subject of your report or text may be
sensitive and controversial. This calls for caution in discussing the
subject with others. Similarly, some of your sources may say their
information is confidential.
This may impose difficulties
both in research and the writing of the report. Occasionally it means having
to go without information you should report. On the other hand, if you can
prove yourself worthy of trust, you may be given access to restricted information,
strictly for your understanding of the subject, on condition you do not reveal
it to your readers. Being made privy to confidential information is part of
the stock in trade of journalists that goes under the rubric 'off the record'
information. If this is the case you must take care to include it in your text
in such a way that it need not be referenced. Interviewing
The need to interview colleagues, and experts external to the organization,
is equally an important part of research. Some interviewers succeed
where others fail. The degree of success depends on attitude, preparation
and the ability of the interviewer to put the person being interviewed
at ease. What preparation can you make?
Explain your reasons for wanting the interview; this is also an excellent
way of introducing the subject to the person you're interviewing. Although
you want to obtain facts, you may also be interested in the other person's
ideas, opinions and recommendations, which are all good reasons for
using an interview sheet. To separate fact from opinion, divide the
interview record sheet into four parts:
Have space at the top of the sheet to record basic information: time,
date, place and subject. Questions of a general nature can be asked
by way of introducing the subject. It is also good to ask some questions
to which you know the answers; by this means you can establish a congenial
atmosphere in which to conduct the rest of the interview. In sum, an
interview form might have these components. [See below the elements
of an interview form used by our technical writers and researchers.]
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