Prospectus for a Multimodal Study of Single Sourcing and Content Management

This paper presents the rationale, objectives, and research plan for a multimodal investigation to measure and describe the use of single sourcing (SS) and content management (CM) within technical and professional communication. Though SS and CM have generated considerable interest in our field, we do not have reliable, empirical data on how widely and significantly these methods and tools are affecting the work lives of practitioners. In May 2007, the Society for Technical Communication awarded this author a research grant of $10,000 to fund a year-long study that will provide quantitative and qualitative data on how widely SS and CM are being used within technical communication and how these technologies are affecting practitioners in terms of routine tasks, workflow, required knowledge and skills, productivity, and job satisfaction. The conference presentation will summarize preliminary findings from interviews, site visits, and a pilot version of the survey.