This week’s reading in the Thompson Handbook covered the importance of research and gave several strategies for doing it effectively. The reading covering the Gantt charts also provided insight into Gantt charts and how to go about creating them.
The reading stressed the importance of actually being interested in the topic. I feel that this will be very important because we all know how a person’s disinterest in a topic can be noticed. I imagine that this is even true in white papers. How is a reader supposed to be interested about a white paper, if its writer could not even be interested in it?
Of the strategies suggested to aid in research, I will most likely use summarizing. In the past I have used similar methods and have found it to be very effective. Often times when I have had to do lots of research, I will want to find a minor detail but won’t remember which source contained it. I will however remember some of the other information that was in the same article. This has saved me from having to pour through all of my sources for a second time. Another benefit of summarizing the source is that once I am done, I often am able to find similar summaries in my articles which make it easy to determine the key points of the topic.
Since we will be doing our research independently and then collaborating with each other, I feel that the Gantt charts will be very effective. They eliminate any question as to what should be taking place and when it should be done. We should be able to effectively plan out our research so that it can be completed in a timely fashion. As a side note, I must say that I was happy to see a Wikipedia page as an assigned reading.
For our project, we will be focusing our research on the domestic use of wind turbines. Since our white paper will be targeting our primary audience, we will need to be sure to spend time researching our primary audience to determine exactly what they will be looking for in a white paper. For those of us in our group who are not that familiar with wind turbines, we will need to spend a great deal of research learning about how they work and the different types of wind turbines. Some potential sources for information will be news articles, technical journals, web sites and group members who have prior insight. This research should allow us to create a white paper that will explain the technical details of wind turbines.
Working Smarter
The rhetorical question you propose in closing the second paragraph of this post is as important as it is true. As you said here, choosing a topic that interests the author is imperative, for even the best writers likely cannot compose white papers that will keep the reader’s attention, let alone prove effective. It is just not very feasible to author clear and effective documents, for any purpose, when possessing little to no interest in regard to the topic. I also agree that using the summarizing strategy is advantageous, for some of the same reasons you’ve included. In summarizing, you collect only the information that appears pertinent and use that as the source for future reference, which saves both time and effort.
Interested writer
I agree with your comment that states, “How is a reader supposed to be interested about a white paper, if its writer could not even be interested in it?” I believe that the writer of any document, let alone a white paper, needs to have some sort of interest in the topic of it to create a document that will captivate and bring in the reader. If the writer does not care about the topic or think that it is something worthwhile, the reader is the one who is going to be affected because most likely the document is not going to be as effective.
Care
Your rhetorical question is very true in many aspects in life. We should be interested in a topic we are covering. Being enthusiastic in our topics will show up in our writing style, and personality. I know there have been times where I was not interested in the topic and it shows in my writing. I did not research enough. I did not proof read at all. I just submitted the paper without a care in the world about my performance. Needless to say I received an average grade but in the end it did not bother me. Oh well, always the next one. By caring in our topics we will in turn receive a better grade….hopefully.