TCOM210
Research, Analysis, and Information Design
This course is designed to provide you with practical skills for research, analysis, and information design so that you can communicate succinctly with different kinds of readers. You will learn to conduct context and task analysis to identify valuable information, as well as how to create a document outline using the organizational patterns that are appropriate for your audience.
Prerequisite(s):
If you plan to complete the Technical Communication Certificate, we strongly recommend that you successfully complete Concepts and Practice of Technical Communication and Technical Writing and Editing before registering for this course.
Related program(s)
This course is available at the following time(s) and location(s):
| Section | Session(s) | Date/time* | Campus | Instructor(s) | Cost** | Registration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TCOM210-ON11341 | - | Aug 6–Sep 9, 2013 (Register by Jul 22, 2013) |
Online | Jenny Watson and Kathryn Potter | $440 | Register |
* This course involves 15 instructional hours.
** Members of the Society for Technical Communication are eligible for a 10 percent discount. Please contact us to confirm your membership and register. You may not combine discounts.
What will I learn?
By the end of the course, you will be able to do the following:
- Choose an appropriate writing style and document format
- Explain how document design affects document acceptance and usage
- Describe and use a variety of research and organization methods for several purposes:
- to collect documents and information related to new products, processes, or projects
- to learn about and characterize your customers or clients
- to determine the type of information you have, whether it is valid and complete, and how useful it will be
How will I learn?
- Reading
- Discussions
- Case studies
- Assignments
- Group work
How will I be evaluated?
Your grade will be based on the following:
- Assignments (30% each)
- Group activity (5%)
- Discussion (5%)
Textbooks and learning materials
All course materials are available online.
Hardware and software requirements
In this course, you will work and communicate online. We will deliver the course materials and communication tools to you online in a program called WebCT. You will gain access to this program one week before the course begins.
- High-speed Internet access
- A web browser that supports tables, frames, Java, and Javascript
(The list of browsers supported by WebCT Vista 8.03 is available online.) - Adobe Acrobat Reader
- Microsoft Word 2003 or later, or other word processing software that can create PDF files
(You need to be able to use styles, bullets, headings, and tables.)