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Chapter 3Ms. Amany AlKhayatTechnical Writing for SuccessConducting Technical ResearchInformation is everywhere. The problem that technical researchers face is not a scarecity of information but in understanding what info they need, where it is, how it is stored, how to retrieve it, and what to do with it.Process of technical researcher can be outlined in steps Researching at workResearch is usally involved in all of the following situations:Developing a new productHandling a productionPurchasing equipmentEstablishing safety proceduresSelecting employee benefitsPlanning an advertisement campaignStrategies for collecting informationFind and evaluate the right materialConduct the research and reading efficientlyRecord the information you find and later paraphrase it to avoid plagiarismDocumentation

Two basic sources of information: Secondary and primaryFinding Secondary DataHere are some possible ideas for you:Check your organizations correspondence and archives where the problem exists.Companys Library catalogPeriodicals: Magazines, journals, newsleters and newspapers published for a scholarly or academic audience

Finding Secondary Data Cont.General Reference Materials: encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, almanacs and fact books can be relied of for background information.Electronic resources: periodical databases, indexes, and online general reference materials such as encyclopedias and dictionaries.Finding Electronic InformationSearch engines (p. 50-51)Searching with Keywords (strategy: TO LIMIT A SEARCH OR TO EXPAND A SEARCH) P.51

Documenting Secondary SourcesDocumentation is a system of giving credit to another person for his or her work to avoid plagiarism.Check p. 53 for tips on avoiding plagiarismAnd what information should and should not be documented.

Documenting and Secondary sources IIBibliography and works cited: A list of sources used in researching a topic that has 3 purposes:It establishes credibility by showing readers what sources you consultedIt allows others to find your information path so they can continue or evaluate the studyIt gives credit to other peoples thoughts, words, and sentences that you used.Internal citations Figure 3.1 P 56

Evaluating sourcesPublication dataAuthors credentialsDepth and coverage: covered in a way that is appropriate for you (You are looking for Islamic Architecture in Modern times and you found a book on Islamic architecture in Ottoman empire)Special guidelines for Electronic Resources P.59Taking notes from sourcesYou can used borrowed info in your notes in three ways:SummaryParaphraseDirect quotationSee Fig 3.2 p 61-63

Collecting Primary DataSurveys: Respondents, population, sample p.65-67InterviewsObservationExperimentationValidity and reliability:Valid data are data that provide an accurate measurement of what an individual intend to measure (you cant measure English fluency in a math test)Reliable data are data that provide results that can be duplicated under similar circumstances: if you explain that mixng two chemical liquids will create a solid, then other people can try the same test.Thank you