English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

I've done a lot of research in the past for both classes and for lab scale scientific research, but I think I still have a few things to learn from this reading. Once again, the text offers several systematic techniques to guide one through researching. The first thing that should be done may sound obvious, but I know I at least have skipped this when researching for classes in the past: defining a research hypothesis. Without this, you're just learning instead of researching-there is no directive.

After I dusted off my Thompson Handbook and began reading, I remembered how hard it is to follow this book. I know we’ve all said it before, but man, it’s like kryptonite. However, I got through it and gained some useful knowledge.

My group’s project is on educating people about the different smart phones available to business users so that companies can better pick cell phones that they want to purchase in bulk. We have broken up the research into four parts: one for each member. The four parts are (1) operating systems and software, (2) hardware, (3) public opinion, and (4) support. I will be conducting research mainly related to part 1, operating systems and software.

It is always hard to start researching for a project, especially if there is a minimum of citied sources needed. In the Thomson Handbook, it explains that most people do not want to begin research early in a project because of the harsh anticipation of it. The Thomson Handbook recommends that everyone people should start research early to establish their ethos, credibility, and to be trustworthy. The “Talk like an Insider” was very interesting because if someone reads a paper and are familiar with the subject, they are going to want to hear the terminology that they are used too.