Media Richness Theory, media preferences of technical communicators in Japan

1. Survey Sent to Technical Writers
i
Dear Fellow Technical Writer:
Once more, I am asking for your assistance. This time I am collecting information
regarding the choice of communication channels that tech writers use to acquire
and check their work-related data.
(Of course, you can choose not to respond if you wish, but there aren’t many
questions and you will finish it in no time. You can forward this to any other technical
writers you know, or simply delete it.)
Your contribution will help throw light on an area of technical communication that
has yet to be fully explored, namely our usage of communication channels – why we
choose one method of communicating at certain times when there are so many
others available.
The questionnaire that follows will help us clarify the various communication
channels used by technical writers like you and how/when you use them. I will be
comparing the findings of this survey with those of an earlier survey (which this one
replicates). I can give you details about that earlier study, if you want them. And of
course, you are also welcome to see the findings of this study, when I’ve finished it.
Any information you provide will be recorded and stored anonymously and I’m not
asking you to give away product or company secrets, so don’t worry!
Send your responses back to me by e-mail. Just type into this Word file, save it
when done, and send it back as an attachment.
Please finish it by November 20th, if you can.
Your help is really appreciated.
Ken Wilkinson

2. Survey Sent to Technical Writers
ii
The Survey
The following questions focus on the various methods of communication used by technical
writers to obtain and verify the information we use in our daily work. Questions 2 to 6
present scenarios that ask you respond by choosing one of the following five communication
methods:
A. Cross-functional team meetings – usually held to discuss product
development progress and product-related issues.
B. Written or online document review – submitted primarily to SMEs for
evaluation of technical accuracy.
C. Individual face-to-face meetings with SMEs – to clarify questions and
product issues.
D. Telephone calls to SMEs – to clarify or obtain further information.
E. E-mail to SMEs – to clarify or obtain further information.
Let’s get started.
1. Which of the following methods do you use or have you ever used to obtain and
verify work-related information?
(Answer Yes or No to as many as necessary.)
A. Cross-functional team meetings: Yes / No
B. Written or online document review: Yes / No
C. Individual face-to-face meetings: Yes / No
D. Telephone calls: Yes / No
E. E-mail: Yes / No
To answer the questions that follow, simply indicate which communication method you’d
choose given the scenario described. If you like, you can also add an explanatory comment
or two under “Why?”

3. Survey Sent to Technical Writers
iii
2. You’ve been assigned to write the user manual for a new software product. You’ve
familiarized yourself enough with the product to have questions about design issues
and marketing requirements. Indicate the method of communication you would use
to obtain the information you need.
Why?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. As usual, you are facing a tight deadline for completing a project. You have already
received SME comments on a draft review and now you are trying to keep up with
the last-minute product changes that affect your documentation. Indicate the method
of communication you would use to obtain this information.
Why?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
4. You are facing a tight deadline (again). This time a conflict between yourself and
one of the main developers has occurred, but you still need to ask him a number of
important questions. Indicate the method of communication you would use to obtain
the information you need from this person.
A. Team meeting
B. Document review
C. Face-to-face meeting
D. Telephone
E. E-mail
F. Other
A. Team meeting
B. Document review
C. Face-to-face meeting
D. Telephone
E. E-mail
F. Other
A. Team meeting
B. Document review
C. Face-to-face meeting
D. Telephone
E. E-mail
F. Other

4. Survey Sent to Technical Writers
iv
Why?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
5. If you had to select just two of the following communication methods – one to use
when beginning a project, and one at the end when you need very specific details –
which would you select?
Beginning
Why?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
End
Why?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
***************
All done!
If you would like to comment on something or if there’s any information you’d like to
offer, please do so here.
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Please save this document locally and send a copy of it back to me as an e-mail
attachment:
A. Team meeting
B. Document review
C. Face-to-face meeting
D. Telephone
E. E-mail
F. Other
A. Team meeting
B. Document review
C. Face-to-face meeting
D. Telephone
E. E-mail
F. Other