Assess Your Knowledge: How Much Do You Know about Technical Communication?

This activity has three steps.

Step One

Answer the following questions.

1. Approximately how many people work as technical communicators in North America?
1. Less than 25,000
2. Between 25,001 and 50,000
3. Between 50,001 and 100,000
4. Between 100,001 and 200,000
5. Over 200,000

2. Which of the following types of information do technical communicators publish? (check all that apply)
1. Software manuals
2. Military specifications
3. Policies and procedures manuals
4. Reference manuals
5. Marketing brochures

3. How many colleges and universities have established programs in technical communication (program defined as a certificate, bachelor’s, master’s or Ph.D. programs):
1. Less than 20
2. Between 21 and 50
3. Between 51 and 100
4. Between 101 and 200
5. Over 200

4. What percentage of technical communicators work in the independent sector (as contractors, consultants, or employees of contracting and consulting firms):
1. Less than 5 percent
2. Between 6 and 10 percent
3. Between 11 and 25 percent
4. Between 26 and 50 percent
5. More than 50 percent

5. Which of the following organizations primarily cater to technical communicators (check all that apply)?
1. IEEE
2. ISPI
3. tekom
4. ATTW
5. I don’t know what any of these acronyms mean

6. To remain informed about developments in the latest research and theory in technical communication, which of the following publications would you consult? (check all that apply.)
1. Editorial Eye
2. Intercom
3. Publish
4. Technical Communication
5. Technical Communication Quarterly

7. In technical communication, the design process refers to:
1. The process of planning a communication product
2. The process of designing screens or pages
3. The process of preparing graphic images
4. All of the above

8. Which of the following disciplines directly contribute to the theory and practice of technical communication?
1. Composition theory
2. Cognitive psychology
3. History
4. Systems theory
5. Telecommunications networks

Top

Step Two

Award points to your answers to each question, then compute your total score.

1. Approximately how many people work as technical communicators in North America?

A: approximately 175,000.

a - 0 b- 0 c - 0 d - 5 e - 0

2. Which of the following types of information do technical communicators publish? (check all that apply).

A: Technical communicators produce each of these. Award yourself 1 point for each item identified.

a. -1 b- 1 c - 1 d - 1 e - 1

3. How many colleges and universities have established programs in technical communication (program defined as a certificate, bachelor’s, master’s or Ph.D. programs):

A: Approximately 180 programs.

a. - 0 b- 0 c - 0 d - 5 e - 0

4. What percentage of technical communicators work in the independent sector (as contractors, consultants, or employees of contracting and consulting firms):

A: Approximately 25 percent (according to surveys conducted by the STC).

a. -0 b- 0 c - 5 d - 0 e - 0

5. Which of the following organizations primarily cater to technical communicators (check all that apply)?

A: Although the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) has a special interest group on publications, the IEEE itself does not primarily cater to technical communicators. International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) primarily caters to instructional designers, although many technical communicators belong to the organization. tekom is a professional association for technical communicators that is based in Germany. The Association of Teachers of Technical Writing primarily caters to teachers of our field, so we’ll give you the points.

a. -0 b- 0 c - 3 d - 2 e - 0

6. To remain informed about research and theory in technical communication, which of the following publications would you consult? (check all that apply.)

A: Editorial Eye, Intercom, and Publish each primarily focuses on aspects of practice. Although their how-to suggestions are usually rooted in research, they are not research and theory publications perse. In contract, the focus of the journals Technical Communication (published by STC) and Technical Communication Quarterly (published by ATTW) is on the latest in research and theory.

a. - 0 b- 0 c - 0 d - 3 e - 3

7. In technical communication, the design process refers to:

A: Although designing screens and pages and preparing graphic images are important design services, when we refer to the term design, it refers to the overall process of planning a communication product.

a. -5 b- 0 c - 0 d - 0

8. Which of the following disciplines directly contribute to the theory and practice of technical communication?

A: Composition theory, cognitive psychology, and systems theory directly contribute to the field of technical communication. Although history and telecommunications networks have provided some technical communicators with helpful frameworks of thought they are not generally considered to be primary sources for the field.

a. - 2 b- 2 c - 0 d - 2 e - 0

Top

Step Three

Match your total score with the description.

32- 42 You have a keen understanding of the technical communication industry.

20-31 You have some understanding of the technical communication industry, but would benefit from a better understanding.

Below 20 You have a limited working knowledge of the technical communication industry.

To build your knowledge of the industry, continue reading Intercom, attend conferences and regularly scheduled STC meetings, and become more active in STC or other organizations to build your knowledge.

Top

Project Management | People Management | Business Management | Information Design Models, Processes, and Techniques | Home

(c) Copyright. 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002. Saul Carliner. All rights reserved.