Electronic editing in technical communication: Practices, attitudes, and impacts

This dissertation examines the adoption and diffusion of computer-aided editing methods in technical communication. It begins with a literature-based, critical investigation into the reported reluctance of technical editors to adopt electronic editing procedures. The theory advanced is that for many editors the greater responsiveness and tangibility of hard-copy editing creates inherent advantages over on-screen editing which they are unwilling to give up for potential gains in efficiency.;Preliminary qualitative research and a pilot survey produced substantial evidence that most technical communicators did indeed associate hard-copy editing with ergonomic, portability, and text-processing advantages. Most of those contacted, however, also valued the potential gains in efficiency of editing on screen. While a good number of them chose hard-copy markup over on-screen markup options, most reported frequently or primarily editing on screen.;A more in-depth study involving 20 face-to-face interviews with technical communicators at five different workplaces showed that organizational cultures mediate perceptions of electronic editing according to their unique configuration of priorities and established practices. Finally, a sample survey of 992 members of the Society for Technical Communication provided a global snapshot of editing practices in technical communication. In 1998, technical communicators who edited others were about evenly divided between those who used hard-copy markup alone as their primary editing method and those who used one form or another of keyboarding changes and annotations directly into computer files. Most technical communicators who edited others used both hard copy and electronic editing procedures, alternately or together. About two-thirds at least occasionally used some form of electronic procedures when editing others, and most of those used hard copy to mark up or to proofread as part of their standard electronic editing process.;The erratic diffusion of electronic editing in technical communication is explained from a theoretical perspective that combines the Diffusion of Innovations theory and the explanatory conceptual framework of cultural-historical activity theory. Predictions about the future evolution of electronic editing practices are offered, along with recommendations for future research into technical editing and, more generally, the adoption and diffusion process by which new technologies affect the lifeworlds of practitioners.