English 421Y: Technical Writing Online

The preliminary research for the white paper project that I am responsible for primarily concerns the introductory information. This introduction can be decomposed into three separate topics. First, what exactly is the problem? Next, why should small businesses be concerned about said problem. Finally, how do we propose to resolve this issue.

In a previous blog, I’ve outlined what the problem is: a lack of collaboration within small organizations and startup companies. Now, I would like to present why this is a problem. Nearly all of the initial data and information that I’ve collected regarding this topic has come from an article found at Indiana State’s Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, title “Collaboration Structure, Communication Media, and Problems in Scientific Work Teams.” This piece is extremely lengthy and offers ample valuable and applicable facts and figures.

I am confident that this reference is thoroughly credible for a number of reasons. First, and foremost, this article was written by 2 reputable professors from 2 very reputable universities: John P. Walsh of the Georgia Institute of Technology and Nancy G. Maloney of the University of Illinois at Chicago. Furthermore, all factual information, data, and figures include sufficient supporting evidence. Also, the paper contains more than 75 known-credible references. I feel that each of these aspects, and an assortment of others make this article sufficiently credible and, in reviewing the actual content, I believe this article may prove to be the most valuable asset we will reference in composing our white paper.

This piece, much like Susan Donovan’s from my first blog, has a smooth flow and is easy to read and find the information we desire. The topics that address why the lack of collaboration is a serious concern are clearly isolated and each go far to outline the various individual aspects that contribute to the overall problem. For this reason, I anticipate that this piece will prove extremely beneficial in composing our white paper by offering accurate, applicable information and providing useful data tables, figures, equations, and additional resources.