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If the version I get in my OLR is anything to go by, most of the
questionnaire didn't make it. So here goes again.
By the way, if you were wondering, I'm an author, not a psychologist.
Don't be put off by the multi-choice questions. They work!
ooOoo
Below is a questionnaire for professional technical authors/writers.
Please complete it and return it if you can (and get your associates
and colleagues to do it too). It's a bit dry, but that's how they
like it here.
As it says in the questionnaire, if you really need it, I **will**
pay postage and send you disks etc. (just remember I'm a student!).
1 What is your job description or main occupation?
2 What percentage of your time is spent producing:
Printed documentation ____
Online help ____
3 How do you construct your manuals? Do you just start writing,
or do you have (official or unofficial) guidelines that you
follow?
4 If you have guidelines, are they mainly to do with keeping
layout and style consistent, or do they also deal with things
like the proportion of introductory material to
actual procedures?
Please summarise the guidelines: continue on a separate sheet
if necessary
5 If you had the chance, what guidelines would you change or add?
Please summarise your own ideas: continue on a separate sheet
if necessary
Samples of work
It would help me a great deal if you could give me two samples of
your work: one that follows your company guidelines, and one that you
are happy to call your own. If one sample fulfills both conditions,
then fine, just give me that one.
I am interested in the actual words, and the order and structure of
paragraphs and sentences, rather than the design aspects; so while I
would like whole (short) manuals if possible, a contents list and one
or two chapters or extracts from longer works is acceptable. You can
disguise or remove product and company names, logos etc. as you wish.
Thank you for your help. Now complete the next item.
These sets of words describe how you learn, they do not test your
learning ability. All the options in the sets are equally good.
Imagine yourself in a learning situation. For example, you have been
given a new, complicated piece of software to document. You will be
getting information from the system itself, from other documents and
from talking to the designers and programmers of the system. The
project starts next week, and you are sitting at your desk thinking
about it.
Below are nine sets of four words. Rank each set of four words in the
order that best describes your approach to learning about the system.
Put a 1 by the word in each set that best describes your approach;
Put a 2 by the word that next best describes it;
Put a 3 by the next best;
Put a 4 by the word that least describes your approach.
Example
This set of words indicates that I like raspberry icecream best, and
chocolate least.
Please complete all nine sets of words, even if you find it hard to
rank them. Try not to take more than about 30 seconds per set.
SET 1 SET 2 SET 3
__ Discriminating __ Receptive __ Feeling
__ Tentative __ Relevant __ Watching
__ Involving __ Analytical __ Thinking
__ Practical __ Impartial __ Doing
SET 4 SET 5 SET 6
__ Accepting __ Intuitive __ Abstract
__ RiskTaker __ Productive __ Observing
__ Evaluative __ Logical __ Concrete
__ Aware __ Questioning __ Active
SET 7 SET 8 SET 9
__ Present-Orientated __ Experience __ Intense
__ Reflecting __ Observation __ Reserved
__ Future-Orientated __ Conceptualisation __ Rational
__ Pragmatic __ Experimentation __ Responsible
Finally: is there a question I should have included in this
questionnaire, and didn't? What is it?
And what is the answer?
Please continue on a separate sheet if necessary
Returning the questionnaire and samples
I can handle text in ascii or in these formats:
PC/Windows - Ventura 4.2, Word 2, AmiPro 3, Framemaker 3.
DOS - Wordstar, Wordperfect.
Macintosh - Quark, Pagemaker, Word.
Plus whatever filters these packages have. For simply laid-out
documents in other formats (tagged bookmaster for example), bare
ascii text would be acceptable.
** IF YOU ARE ON CIX** you can binmail the completed questionnaire
and a softcopy of your sample work to the cix address below. Make up
a file name using your date of birth and initials (eg. sd059402), and
the extension qiz (ie. sd059402.qiz). Write the format (eg. Word2) at
the top.
Alternatively, you can send it to me on disk or as hardcopy. If you
give me your address and say whether you'll be sending soft- or
hardcopy, I can send you a 3.5" disk in a stamped /addressed disk
carrier, or an envelope, as appropriate. If you haven't filled in
your name above, the envelope will be marked **SBU author
questionnaire**.
My address is:
Steve Delanghe
c/o SCISM, South Bank University, 103 Borough Road,
London SE1 0AA (UK)
Phone: +44 1 243 378694 (often an aswering machine)
Email: zulu -at- cix -dot- compulink -dot- co -dot- uk
delangs -at- vax -dot- sbu -dot- ac -dot- uk
Thank you for completing the questionnaire. The results will be
posted on the cix techpubs conference next year. If you would like a
copy of the results, or have any comments about the content or format
of the questionnaire, feel free to mail me, or write them here.
