Technical Communication Skills Unit 7: Academic Research Writing

Objectives: To Help Students Understand the Research Process, and Practice Writing Research Papers Objectives: To Help Students Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Key Words: Hypothesis Independent variable Dependent variable Authorship Sponsorship Critical reading IS Units Descriptive abstract Informative abstract Documentation References In-text citation Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Research Process Features of Academic Papers Evaluating and Interpreting Information Components of Academic Writing Summary Homework Agenda Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Research Topic “ In order for a topic to be workable, there are three things for you to consider. Your research on the topic is likely to bring some meaningful result in its relevant field. You need to consider the time and tools available. There should be available references. ” Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Samples and analysis (1) 1. Unfeasible: I made a plan about my pocket money, and I used it wisely last month. Feasible: A research on how university students use their pocket money Analysis: A topic around “I” is too personal, and does not carry scientific meaning. If you expand the same issue to a group of people, it may become a good research topic. Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Samples and analysis (2) 2. Unfeasible: A usability report of the web pages on the Internet Feasible: A usability report of IBM’s revised home page Analysis: The first topic is too wide in its scope. It is almost impossible to test the usability of all web pages. The second topic narrows it down to one particular company home page, and is therefore manageable. Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Samples and analysis (3) 3. Unfeasible: Yesterday’s news paper reported a conflict between two Middle East countries. Feasible: Historical origin of Middle East conflicts Analysis: A newly happened event does not have too much relevant material for you to refer to when you do research about it. Your writing therefore, will be at most a news report. The second topic is more workable because there are enough references. Technical Communication Skills

II. Features of Academic Papers “ Writing purpose Intended audience Research procedure Major components Evaluation criteria: ” Technical Communication Skills

III. Evaluating and Interpreting Information 1. Evaluating information

Technical Communication Skills Book title: Author’s name: The publisher: Front and back covers: Introduction: Table of contents: References: Index: Technical Communication Skills

Evaluating on-line information “ Authorship: Sponsorship: “About” or “Welcome” link: Recency: ” Technical Communication Skills

III. Evaluating and Interpreting Information

Technical Communication Skills Samples and analysis “ (pp. 139-141) ” Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills IV. Components of Academic Writing Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Preliminary Part: title author and affiliation abstract key words Text Part: introduction literature review methods results discussion conclusions Supplementary Part: Acknowledgements References Appendices Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Title “ Guideline 1: Reveal key information Guideline 2: Be concrete in meaning Guideline 4: Avoid abbreviations Guideline 3: Avoid unnecessary words ” Technical Communication Skills

Author and affiliation “ Guideline 1: Use proper order Guideline 2: Omit titles Guideline 3: Indicate multi-author and multi-affiliation ” Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Abstract “ Guideline 1: Be concise. Guideline 2: Be self-contained. Guideline 3: Follow paper chronology. Guideline 4: Focus on results. Guideline 5: Avoid evaluation Guideline 6: Use proper tense ” Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Key words “ Guideline 1: Be specific in meaning Guideline 2: Use noun form Guideline 3: Control the number ” Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Introduction “ Guideline 1: Develop the background from general to specific Guideline 2: Raise research questions by pointing out imperfection Guideline 3: State purpose by answering the research questions ” Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Literature review “ Guideline 1: Select the most relevant sources Guideline 2: Arrange in proper order Guideline 3: Maintain your own voice Guideline 4: Use proper citation ” Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Methods “ Guideline 1: Follow chronological order Guideline 2: Integrate materials with procedures ” Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Results “ Guideline 1: Locate the data Guideline 2: Explain the data Guideline 3: Be truthful ” Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Discussion “ Guideline 1: Refer back to the hypothesis Guideline 2: Compare with other studies Guideline 3: Indicate limitations ” Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Conclusion “ Guideline 1: Draw a summary Guideline 2: Avoid over- generalization ” Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Acknowledgements “ Guideline1: Be brief and sincere Guideline2: Put in the right place Guideline3: Ask for permission ” Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills References “ Book citations Periodical citations Electronic sources ” Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills “ APA MLA ” Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Appendices “ Guideline1: Refer to it in the text Guideline 2: Separate in different page ” Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Sample analysis “ (pp. 157-163) ” Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills V. Summary Research mainly goes through several steps including choosing research topic, literature reading, narrowing down and refining the topic, designing experiment, and carrying out experiment, etc. Publishable academic papers carry with them some common features in their writing purpose, intended readers, research process, major components, and evaluating criteria. To write good papers, evaluating and interpreting data are two important skills. Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills There are some common elements in an academic paper: title, author and affiliation, abstract, key words, introduction, literature review, methods, results, discussion, conclusion, acknowledgements, references, and appendixes. Documentation of a paper is no less important than the text. Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills VI. Homework (Individual Assignments) 1. Choose a topic in your own field. Write a hypothesis, distinguish its dependent and independent variables, and design a research plan to test your hypothesis.  2. Choose one of your most frequently visited web pages. Evaluate its quality by checking its authorship, sponsorship, “About” or “Welcome” link, and its recency. Think of any other method you can use to evaluate it. Exchange your opinion with your classmates. Technical Communication Skills

Technical Communication Skills Thank you! Technical Communication Skills