A Worthless Survey?

[royj -at- alltel -dot- net]

Hello all,

I want to thank those of you who responded to the manager's survey.
Unfortunately, I posted it just before the thread ran hot on marketing
collateral and relocation. I received 5 responses. One even went so far as
to say that my survey would inevitably result in ?worthless knowledge,?
and I should ?Get out and work in industry for awhile!? He or she added
this coup de grace: ?Why are you doing this survey? You are only
duplicating the efforts of hundreds of other graduate students.? Another
added, ?Good heavens, are we still focused on specific tools rather than
tech comm abilities, experience, maturity, and work ethic?? even though
only a minor portion of my survey addresses the tools technical
communicators use.

I am a big guy, and I can take criticism. But since the survey only
garnered 5 respondents, I am worried that many made an automatic
assumption that the survey is frivolous, although not in terms as severe
as those quoted above.  I am not a dew-eyed graduate student as some have
assumed; I am a 47 year-old veteran technical writer who is going back to
school to earn a graduate degree in the hopes of making more money and
obtaining better job security.

I would like to defend my survey, and myself, although I know that will
make me subject to the slings and arrows of some. By the way, I?m a big
fan of the TECHWR-L and have over 9,000 posts archived as a reference.
You?d be amazed how many questions I?ve answered by performing a search on
the posts. If you read the current issue of Technical Communication
Quarterly, you might even find that you?ve been referenced in an article
on technical communication that I wrote with my thesis advisor.

I admit that at first glance, my survey may seem like others you?ve seen.
But my survey is different, and here?s why:

For 2 ½ years, I have performed extensive research on competencies, and
believe me, there are not hundreds of studies like mine. I have
cross-referenced several competency standards from around the world,
including Switzerland?s technical communication curriculum
(SAQ-TECOM-Leitfaden), which is government-approved; Germany?s continuing
education program, administered by the Gesellschaft für technische
Kommunikation (tekom); the United Kingdom?s National Occupational
Standards, formulated by the ISTC (Institute of Scientific & Technical
Communicators); and the NWCET (National Workforce Center for Emerging
Technologies) skill standards, which include standards for technical
writers and other related fields. By cross-referencing all these data, I
have looked at curriculum, government standards, standards of professional
societies, and skill standards. But my research didn?t end there.

My next step was to pull the competencies from the course descriptions of
the top ten technical communication universities in this country in terms
of undergrad enrollment, and use the exact language in the course
descriptions from those programs to create a survey. The course
descriptions reflect what professors think your future employees need to
know. I am now determining the relevance of their judgment by examining
the academic competencies embedded in the course descriptions. By taking
the survey, you?ll have the opportunity to pass judgment on the
competencies asserted by the top academic programs in America. Some will
pass muster and others won?t. I want to find out if the instruction that
future technical communicators receive is effectively preparing them to do
what managers of technical communicators need them to do.

When I determine which skills and high-order competencies that the
managers validate and to what degree, I?ll cross-reference those with the
various worldwide standards mentioned above and develop what I believe
will be the definitive reference of our profession?s core competencies,
ranging from simple skill sets to high-order competencies that we all
need. I wouldn?t characterize that as worthless knowledge.  I believe that
the establishment of core competencies for technical communication would
be of great benefit to all areas of TCOM, both in the academic arena and
the practitioner community.

The writer cited above makes an excellent point when he or she asks, ?Good
heavens, are we still focused on specific tools rather than tech comm
abilities, experience, maturity, and work ethic?? Skill sets and the tools
relevant to the profession are easy to determine; high-order competencies
aren?t so easy to establish. Over the last 2 ½ years, it has become my
obsession to find out what those high-order competencies are. With this
survey, I am making tremendous progress in that area as well as refining
what skills technical communicators need. The ?unbiased reflection?
portion of my survey has proved a gold mine for high-order competencies,
as have responses by Lisa Wright, Bill Swallow, Donna Jones, Samantha
Lizak, and Dick Margulis to my post of 3/11/2004 to the TECHWR-L .

I hope that by now, you think that the survey is important. I have 50
responses to the survey from the STC Management SIG. I would like to have
as many responses from the TECHWR-L to contrast with those from the
Management SIG. If you?d like, you can take the survey at:

http://www.oakhillfarmalpacas.com/Manager's%20Survey/index.htm.

On the other hand, my argument may have just solidified your dismissal of
my effort. If so, feel free to air it out in a response. Like I said, I
can take criticism. In any event, I hope that you all have a great Friday!

Kirk Turner
 

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