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.

As with almost any paper that is written, research must be done. There are certain steps that should be followed to make the entire process of researching and writing go smoothly. After solidifying a topic and hypothesis, I like to create an outline of the paper so that I know every subject that needs to be covered. Next, I gather as much reliable information on my topic as possible and read through it. All relevant information or data is compiled in a text file on a computer or on paper if no computer is accessible.

The beginning of a research project can be intimmidating and overwhelming. It's tough sometimes to know where to start. The biggest message I took from Part 3 on research from the Thompson Handbook was about getting organized.

When beginning any technical document, it is crucial to have valuable research performed correctly. Our White Paper Project revolves around the idea of providing the correct information for home owners to make the proper decision if renewable energy is right for their home and choose a type of domestic renewable energy source. Part three of The Thompson Handbook suggests several good processes of potential research methods when beginning our White Paper Project.

This weeks reading in the TH focuses on how to do a research project. For our white paper it seems like research will be the bulk of the work that we do. From the very beginning of the reading the TH lays out ways to make sure your research project is a success. TH says to make sure you start early and plan your research ahead of time. I think that my group and I have a good start on this after completing our Gantt chart where we divided up the research and set up initial time frames that we want to have our research accomplished by.

After the reading and some recent comments about our proposal there has been a lot I’m taking from this week’s lessons. First and foremost, our group discovered we really need to revamp our proposal. We discovered that we don’t have much of a specific audience and need to really address this big issue. So this is currently where the project is at. I’ve found that in order to research this topic we’re going to really need to slim down our audience focus. This week’s reading from the Thompson Handbook covered the importance of research and gave several strategies for successful research.

I thought the Thompson Handbook did a good job of bringing up a lot of very valid points for researching topics. Rather than saying not to procrastinate like we hear over and over again, it brought up that you should have a sense of urgency when doing your research. I think it is a common misconception that because you start early, you are going to keep pace. Many people start early but lolly-gag and end up having to cram it all in at the last minute. I think this is where they got the saying “If you wait until the last minute, it only takes a minute to do.”