survey on editing

[Carolyn Rude <ditcr -at- TTACS -dot- TTU -dot- EDU>]

Questionnaire for editors

I am revising a college textbook on editing (Technical Editing, 1991) used
in courses to prepare future technical communicators. I would like the book
to reflect workplace practice as closely as possible. If you are willing to
help, please copy this survey, select answers by using the asterisk, and
return it to me at ditcr -at- ttacs -dot- ttu -dot- edu -dot- 

I will not quote anyone without permission, and since this survey is not
scientific, I will not report the results as research. I will use the
results to identify terms and trends in a general way only.

Thanks,
Carolyn Rude, Director of Technical Communication
Texas Tech University, Department of English
ditcr -at- ttacs -dot- ttu -dot- edu

1. What style manual do you use most often
       Chicago Manual of Style
       APA Publication Manual
       Words Into Type
       AP
       other (please name)

2. Does your organization have a house style manual?  ___yes   ___no
   Contents: Please asterisk all that apply:
      capitalization, spelling choices
      grammar and punctuation preferences
      number preferences (spelling vs. figures, punctuation, etc.)
      definitions of important terms and phrases
      templates used in publishing: description, definition
      other (please define)

3. Do your editorial responsibilities include evaluation for content,
organization, style, and page design?  ___yes   ___no

4. What name best represents the editor's work on content, organization,
style, and page design (editing beyond editing for grammar, punctuation,
and consistency)?
      substantive editing
      developmental editing
      evaluative editing
      copyediting
      other (please name)

5.  Do you use a computer to complete some or all of your editorial tasks?
        ___ yes   ___ no If no skip to question 9.

6. If yes, which of the following tasks are you MORE LIKELY to complete on
the computer than on hard copy?
        markup for grammar, punctuation, consistency, spelling
        spelling/grammar review
        editing for style (word choice, sentence structure)
        reorganization
        content development
        page design/format

7. Does policy at your organization allow you to make changes in the
document without a visible record of the changes?   ___yes   ___no

8. If you must leave "tracks" of your editorial intervention, how do you do
that?
    hard copy annotations
    annotations through word processor (annotations function, hidden text,
         sticky notes)
    document comparison program
    other (please define)

9.  How much editing on hard copy do you think you will be doing in 10 years?
     most or all for copyediting
        (spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar etc.)
     most or all for substantive or developmental editing
        (content, organization, etc.)
     little or none

10.  Does your organization use SGML or plan to do so in the near future?
        __yes   __ no    (If no, skip to question 12)

11.  What are the editor's responsibilities for SGML?
        complete all tasks, from DTD to coding
        complete some tasks
        someone else (not the editor) is the SGML specialist

12. Have you edited hypertext documents? ___ yes   ___ no (skip to question 16)

13.In editing hypertext, what are your editorial aims? (Asterisk all that
apply.)
        correctness, consistency, accuracy
        completeness of information
        page design including graphics
        organization
        navigation
        number and accuracy of links
        other

14. In editing hypertext, how do you use the computer?
        edit text on hard copy before coding
        complete all editing on the computer
        print screens and edit on hard copy

15.Has working with hypertext and online documentation changed your
editorial aims or procedures? __ yes  __ no    If yes, how?

16.Open question: what do you wish that college students would learn about
technical editing?

THANKS!