Writing Technical Information

Wright, Patricia

doi:10.2307/1167315

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…The research has not been driven by any particular notions about text structure, or by any strong views about mathemagenics or cognitive psychology. Along with others (e.g., Broadbent, 1971;Baddeley, 1981;Wright, 1983) we believe that interesting theoretical issues arise from the results of trying to answer practical questions. In our view the experiments described in this article have both practical and theoretical implications, but, as a research policy, we like to see evidence from detailed and thorough studies -such as our own -before we start to make theoretical generalisations.…”

Section: Overall Summary and Concluding Remarksmentioning

confidence: 74%

A research strategy for text desigbers: The role of headings

Hartley

Trueman

1985

Instr Sci

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This article describes some of the issues confronting research workers who want to carry out research on the effects of"access structures" -devices which enable people to gain access to a text (such as summaries, headings, and numbering systems). Although this paper focusses specifically on the role of headings, two general points can be made: (1) the literature on any access structure is diffuse and inconclusive and (2) some order may be gained from the chaos by carrying out a series of systematic studies which replicate and build upon themselves. A third, more contentious, point is that we need descriptive and a-theoretical studies first in order to clear the ground for later theoretical work.This article presents the results from seventeen experiments on headings which illustrate these points. The first nine experiments centre on three main variables, (1) the position of headings (marginal or embedded); (2) the form of headings (statements or questions); and (3) the nature of the task (free recall, searching unfamiliar text, and retrieval from familiar text). The results showed that the position of the headings (marginal or embedded) had no effect, but that headings in either form aided the recall, search and retrieval of information from the text used in these experiments with 14-15 year old participants.These experiments were then replicated using a different text in a further four experiments with 1 1-12 year old participants. These experiments showed that headings aided l 1-12 year old's search and retrieval but not their recall from this second text. However, an additional study with 14-15 year olds and the second text showed that headings again aided recall with this groupsuggesting a developmental trend in children's capacity to use headings as recall devices. Finally, another three experiments tested whether headings in the form of questions helped lower-ability readers more than headings in the form of statements (a hypothesis which had emerged from both the preceding and other earlier studies conducted by the authors). In these three studies, however, no significant differences were found to result from the different forms of heading. 0020 4277/85/$ 03.30

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Section: Overall Summary and Concluding Remarksmentioning

confidence: 74%

A research strategy for text desigbers: The role of headings

Hartley

Trueman

1985

Instr Sci

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“…This suggests that consumers are not interested in all information, but rather want to check how particular providers perform compared to others. This corresponds to what we know from cognitive science about interpretation in light of questions and information already in mind when viewing information, such as reviews of other patients or media reports [16,26]. Therefore, it seems important to relate comparative healthcare information to alternative information that consumers find familiar [48].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…People often apply this processing mode, using shortcuts or intuitive heuristics, especially when large amounts of information are concerned [ 20 - 22 ]. Usually, consumers only scan information [ 23 ], looking for information they want [ 24 ], and in the light of questions they already have in mind, their knowledge, and their expectations [ 25 , 26 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How do healthcare consumers process and evaluate comparative healthcare information? A qualitative study using cognitive interviews

et al. 2009

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BackgroundTo date, online public healthcare reports have not been effectively used by consumers. Therefore, we qualitatively examined how healthcare consumers process and evaluate comparative healthcare information on the Internet.MethodsUsing semi-structured cognitive interviews, interviewees (n = 20) were asked to think aloud and answer questions, as they were prompted with three Dutch web pages providing comparative healthcare information.ResultsWe identified twelve themes from consumers' thoughts and evaluations. These themes were categorized under four important areas of interest: (1) a response to the design; (2) a response to the information content; (3) the use of the information, and (4) the purpose of the information.ConclusionSeveral barriers to an effective use of comparative healthcare information were identified, such as too much information and the ambiguity of terms presented on websites. Particularly important for future research is the question of how comparative healthcare information can be integrated with alternative information, such as patient reviews on the Internet. Furthermore, the readability of quality of care concepts is an issue that needs further attention, both from websites and communication experts.

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“…L'identification de ces compétences constitue un enjeu de taille, car elle peut permettre de déterminer les programmes de formation à développer en direction des rédacteurs techniques (voir par exemple Clerc & Beaudet, 2002, à ce sujet). Wright (1981b, c ;1987) a entamé un travail de recensement des différents types de compétences dont doivent faire preuve les rédacteurs techniques. Pour cet auteur, cinq types de compétences sont nécessaires pour la conception de documents techniques.…”

Section: Les Compétences Des Rédacteurs Techniquesunclassified

“…On les distingue parfois avec plus de difficulté des écrits techniques non procéduraux comme les articles d'encyclopédies, les fiches produits ou encore certains documents légaux (garanties, avertissements). Pour Wright (1987), un certain nombre d'éléments permettent de différencier ces différents types de documents : certains indices visuels (dans les documents techniques, la disposition spatiale du texte et des images répond à des contraintes fortes), le style rédactionnel (l'usage de l'impératif ou de l'infinitif est fréquent dans les documents procéduraux), la dépendance au contexte d'utilisation (très forte dans le cas des documents procéduraux), ou encore les contraintes d'usage (qui peuvent déterminer le format du document). Le process de conception des documents lui-même constitue un facteur de différenciation.…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Écrire pour transmettre des connaissances procédurales : le cas des documents techniques procéduraux

Ganier¹

2016

pratiques

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Writing Technical Information

Cited by 14 publications

References 74 publications

A research strategy for text desigbers: The role of headings

A research strategy for text desigbers: The role of headings

How do healthcare consumers process and evaluate comparative healthcare information? A qualitative study using cognitive interviews

Écrire pour transmettre des connaissances procédurales : le cas des documents techniques procéduraux

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