Chapter 13: More on the Main Components of the Research Writing Process

From the shortest informative email to the sprawling analytical report, most professional messages involve relaying information that was looked up—that is, they involve research. Employers value employees who are resourceful, whose research skills go well beyond Google-searching on the internet and focusing on the top few results like anyone can do. Whether such in-demand employees get the needed information from a print book in a library, a manual from a database on a company intranet, an article from a subscription database on the internet, or simply by asking a reputable authority such as a veteran co-worker, they prove their value by knowing where to find valuable information, how to use it appropriately, and how to document it if necessary.

In the previous chapters, we learned a little more about research expectations and sources in school and at work. in this chapter, we focus more on research from the perspective of a research report writer, discussing in more details aspects such as responding to our readers’ needs both in our choice of sources and in the way we work with them.