From reading the few pages in Thompson and the white paper about white papers (does that make it a meta-white-paper?) I have solidified some things that I have also gleaned from personal experience. The main thing is that when done properly white papers are quite useful and informative. However when done improperly, white papers can be nothing more than useless propaganda pamphlets.
One of my classes last semester required that I read some white papers regarding automatic identification technology. Some I read were objective, clearly written, and discussed the issue without being too technical. However some I read told how great the product was, yet failed to acknowledge any faults. Conveniently these were written by the same copy which makes the product. As stated in “Steak Behind the Sizzle”, these reasons are exactly why white papers often fail. Ideally white papers “provide unbiased information and analysis about a business problem” that a company might be facing. They help to explain a complex technology in more words than what fit on a product brochure.
One of the best things that I got from “Steak Behind the Sizzle” was the idea of using a team to write the white paper. I feel that this useful in that it helps to make sure that the white paper isn’t overly technical (I hate trying to read white papers written like PhD dissertations.) and aren’t pure marketing hype (that’s what product brochures and websites are for). I feel that this is going to be crucial to my group project. By including more than one “type” of person (engineer, marketing, etc.), it makes it easier to write for the average audience (if that’s your goal). If a team of engineers write a white paper, it is probably going to be very technical and hard for a customer to understand. If a team of people in marketing write the white paper, it probably isn’t going to be technical enough.
While there are cases where the writer of the white paper is targeting a specific audience (writing a white paper for a conference) I would say that white papers are probably one of the best ways for the “scientist” (one who has expert knowledge) to communicate with the “citizen scientist” (one who doesn’t have the expert knowledge but is interested in learning).
*ADDED 4/1*
It is my hope that with the information taken from these readings, my group and I will be able to write a white paper that properly discusses a technical issue. As I stated earlier, white papers have a wide audience. From those you are merely interested in the topic to those that are heavily involved in the field. However no matter who is reading the white paper, it needs to be able to accurately describe the information in an objective and clear manner.
Tit for Tat R12
I like when you say “if a team of engineers write a white paper, it is probably going to be very technical…” and the converse about a team of people in marketing. I think that’s a good reason why the instructors were looking for teams that were in or near the same major as each other. There is very little logic in having a group of marketing people create a white paper for engineers about rocket specifications. So, I think that this project should be relatively easy in the fact that we should be talking to our own kind, assuming we pick a proper subject. I think that’s an important idea to keep in mind right now, during the planning stages, more than any other time since we need to be choosing a topic that is down our alley.
Shane
Self-Proclaimed Greatness
After reading your post, it occurred to me that I'm usually turned off my articles or reviews written by a company about its own product. Of course they're going to say it's the best thing since sliced bread. Their goal is to sell! Thus, many of the self-written white papers are probably useless (self-written, as in written by a company about its own product). In this project, however, most (if not all) of us will be writing about some sort of product or subject that we have no responsibility for. Therefore, our research and opinions are less likely to be biased, giving us the potential to write some pretty effective white papers.
Best product or service out there.
I feel the same way about a company writing a white paper for their own product or service. You can’t tell me that if someone is writing about their own “stuff” they wont “beef” it up to make it sound like the best thing on earth. I mean that is exactly what people in marketing get paid to do. They make products or services sound better so people who read how great they are will want to buy them. That why I think you hit the nail on the head when you said that if a white paper is written by someone outside the particular company or organization it will most likely include little or no biased information.
Not our products...
I also feel the same way about the company or organization who writes a white paper about the product or service that they are producing. No matter what company it is in the world, this paper is going to be somewhat biased. No company in the world, unless they are trying to fail, is going to put out an unbiased white paper that deals with the problem their product or service fixes. The white papers that we produce should be totally unbiased, considering that they will be over products/services that we are not manufacturing or sell. Having a team of different members making the white paper should make it so that they are not too technical or pure marketing.