examples of unethical technical writing

Ethical writing, then, involves being ethical, of course, but also presenting information so that your target audience will understand the relative importance of information and understand whether some technical fact is a good thing or a bad thing. If you are a technical writer and you join a professional associations such as the Society of Technical Communicators you will need to be aware their codes of ethics, published online (e.g., http://www.stc.org/about-stc/ethical-principles). How a writer presents information in a document can affect a readers understanding of the relative weight or seriousness of that information. Even more common is an ethics violation resulting from the person who is designing the information seeing it as evidence for whatever s/he understands as true and honestly not recognizing the bias in how s/he has presented that information. Including an item only in the source list at the end suggests you have used the source in the report, but if you have not cited this source in the text as well, you could be seen as misleading the reader. Overall, there are a few basic points to adhere to whenever you are writing a professional document: a) do not mislead, b) do not manipulate, and c) do not stereotype. Hey, I have this great new idea that will solve world hunger, cure cancer, and make mascara really waterproof. It is amazing the number of stuff people will see and believe on social media. In this case, your commitment to loyalty might outweigh your sense of self-preservation. Collecting information from multiple brokers would demonstrate thorough and unbiased research. (Full disclosure: this online textbook incorporates material shared under a Creative Commons license. If your actions cannot stand up to that scrutiny, you might reconsider them. Quoting the work of others in your writing is fine, provided that you credit the source fully enough that your readers can find it on their own. Your goal is to maintain and enhance your credibility, and that of your organization, at all times. Often in technical writing, the underlying principle is already well-documented (maybe even common knowledge for your audience) and the point SHOULD be to use that underlying principle to propose a specific application. .) accurately reflects the status of the principle; then you would go on to apply that principle to your specific task or proposal. Thorough research requires that a writer integrates information from a variety of reliable sources. In fact, if you can easily find 94 high-quality sources that confirm you are correct, you might want to consider whether your idea is worth developing. examples of unethical technical writing unethical behaviors frequency ethic academic This law extends beyond the major companies. There are different templates and structures for user manuals, case WebThe Nature of Technical Writing. Skim through the manual to familiarize yourself with its content and design. It can be written or oral. What do you notice about how the information is conveyed to the reader in these two charts? unethical stamp rubber scratches grunge dust effects easily removed Imagine that the company disposes of its chemical waste in a way that could endanger peoples health. 2023 Central New Mexico Community College, by Allison Gross, Annemarie Hamlin, Billy Merck, Chris Rubio, Jodi Naas, Megan Savage, and Michele DeSilva is licensed under, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, A classic example of unethical technical writing is the memo report NASA engineers wrote about the problem with O ring seals on the space shuttle Challenger (see, The Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster: A Study in Organizational Ethics. Are the methods and arguments used based on solid reasoning and sound evidence? What was the topic of the memo and why do the authors call it out as unethical? This can be done by lying, misrepresenting facts, or just twisting numbers to favor your opinion and objectives. In a more serious situation, people might not risk their own lives to save a strangers life, but some might well risk dying to save their own childrens lives. For example, scholarly research is theoretically intended to find evidence either that the new researchers ideas are valid (and important) or evidence that those ideas are undeveloped, trivial, or simply wrong. For example, hiding some crucial bit of information in the middle of a long paragraph deep in a long document seriously de-emphasizes the information. That is why it is important that when you find an element you would like to incorporate in your document, in the same moment as you copy and paste or make a note of it in your research file you need to note the source in a complete enough form to find it again. . Ethics is one of the most important topics in technical communication. Unethical source use includes suppressing information about how you have used a source, such as not making clear that graphical information in your report was already a graph in your source, as opposed to a graph you created based on information in the source material. (You would not necessarily identify the journal name in the report text itself, but it does need to appear in the endpaper documentation). Since you are employed by this parents group, should you leave out the medical evidence, or do you have a responsibility to include all research, even some that might sabotage the groups goal? tailored to your instructions. WebUnethical behavior should absolutely be avoided in technical writing. Lets look at a few. To promote their cloud-based workspace product and explain how it works, Citrix Systems shares a handful of different business use cases using clear, persuasive language. In practice, though, most folks are primarily looking for support. Collecting information from multiple brokers would demonstrate thorough and unbiased research. Ethical behavior, including ethical technical communication, involves not just telling the truth and providing accurate information, but telling the truth and providing information so that a reasonable audience is made aware of the behavior. None of these things can be used without proper recognition of or approval from the appropriate company or individual involved. This means that any document from memos and emails to proposals and studies can be subject to revision by a court of law. When you can communicate clearly and effectively, and when it is your task to help others to When writers present information visually, however, they have to be careful not to misrepresent or misreport the complete picture. Chapter 4: Ethics by Michael Beilfuss is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. What this allows you to do is base a solution around many different sides instead of just your own. However, a closer look at the numbers shows that the graph shows only a narrow range of numbers in a limited perspective (9100 to 9800). The following website contains several examples of open-source instruction manuals. Anyone with a Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok account can post whatever they want without any consequences. The unethical feature was that the crucial information about the O-rings was buried in a middle paragraph, while information approving the launch was in prominent beginning and ending spots. There are usually two kinds: express warranty and implied warranty. Make sure as you start your research that you always question the credibility of the information you find. Imagine you are researching a report for a parents group that wants to change the policy in the local school district requiring all students to be vaccinated. Be cautious when using figures, charts and tables, making sure they visually represent quantities with accuracy and honesty. For example, scholarly research is theoretically intended to find evidence either that the new researchers ideas are valid (and important) or evidence that those ideas are partial, trivial, or simply wrong. More information regarding specific Creative Commons licenses can be accessed on the Creative Commons website. Possibly the engineers were just poor writers; possibly they did not consider their audience; or possibly they did not want to look bad and therefore emphasized all the things that were right with the Challenger. In a far more serious situation, a person might not risk their lives to help a stranger, but they might risk their lives to help a close friend or relative. The visual below shows two perspectives of information in a pie chart. Many organizations and employers have a corporate code of ethics. Let us look at a few. The graphic below shows two perspectives of information in a pie chart. In almost every field, there are legal and professional consequences for committing unethical behavior, and often remaining silent about corrupt conductwhether the action are yours or a colleaguescan implicate you as well. If using someone elses property affected the market for the copyrighted work. If you would go to prison, lose your friends, lose your job, or even just feel embarrassed, the action is probably unethical. What exactly makes a warning adequate? describe the function of workplace codes of ethics and conduct, related to information access and record management; determine if a sample written summary of given source material would be considered plagiarism or not; and. Sometimes, the copyright holder allows it if credit is given. Destructive communication includes abusive language and The National Whistle Blower center is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that has many resources available for individuals who may be faced with the difficult situation of doing the right thing (https://www.whistleblowers.org/index.php). A brief mention (Research conducted at major research universities over the last ten years (see literature review, Smith and Tang, 2010) establishes that. 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