TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Madelyn wrote: "Look, I understand your perspective. But everyone here
is arguing with the only study actually done on this. Until or unless
additional study is done, we sound like government/church scientists
arguing that OF COURSE the sun goes around the earth, EVERYONE knows
that, and any evidence to the contrary is the work of Satan and
obviously wrong!..."
And
" Do you accept the possibility that it could ever be improved? "
>3. Real-world business results trump "research" every time.
Corollary: Research can improve on real-world business results,
delivering an even better product. How's the flat earth down in the
Antipodes?"
Hi All,
I am certainly not saying that the research is out to lunch. However,
all research is subject to review. Within the limitations of the paper,
the authors conclusion definitely have merit.
However, I stress the word "limitations".
I read the article and noted the samples with interest. All of the
partial screen captures were so partial as to give the reader no way of
determining where the information was located on the screen.
There is always room to discuss research, its results, the limitations
of that research, and whether our practical experience supports the
research.
In the scientific community, research papers have been published that
could not be supported by practical experiment - the research was
challenged, leading to new studies, new conclusions, or finding out that
the authors messed with their data.
In this case, we have one case study looking at one type of partial
screen capture as opposed to one type of other captures with call outs.
However, the research does not do the following:
- look at other types of partial screen captures
- examine the quality of the screen captures to begin with (many of
the captures with call-outs go against many things I was taught as part
of good technical communication. I am at work and don't recall the
reference right now, but there is an excellent book out there on
creating educational graphics - the designers of the graphics in the
research could stand to learn a thing or to
In light of these issues, I, and the people on this list, are quite
justified to DISCUSS (we are not arguing) the results, their impact, and
how we see these issues in our own practice.
Research does indeed improve our work. In fact, an article in Technical
Communication a few years back led to me drastically changing the way I
design tables. I recall colleagues asking why, and I said that I wanted
to see if people found them more readable. The answer? Yes. My practical
implementation of what I learned from the research improved my work and
further supported the research.
Finally, I dare say no one is on this list because they do not want to
learn. We are all communicating, discussing, and sharing, to learn from
one another and improve our own professional practice.
At the end of the day, my opinion (and I stress, this is my opinion) is
that this research article we have been discussing is somewhat faulty.
It has merit in stating the obvious (when one compares the graphics
selected for comparison to recommended graphic styles in other
publications), but it does not fully address the issue.
Well, now I really do need to get to work....
ComponentOne Doc-To-Help gives you everything you need to author and
publish quality Help, Web, and print content. Perfect for technical
authors, developers, and policy writers. Download a FREE trial. http://www.componentone.com/DocToHelp/
True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
