Discourse Communities

Informal Research

While we won't spend much time talking about informal research, it can be very useful. Interview people who you think can add insight to your project.

I went to Linguist List for clarification on that point. They have a nice search mechanism. Those guys can be really funny and irreverent too!

Note: If the experts use terms that you or your audience are not likely to understand, discuss possible translations with them.

Then, when you first introduce the specialized term to your audience, provide an explanation. If there are many such terms or the document is more than 2 or 3 pages long, consider using a glossary. Your readers will hate having to try to find the first use of a term if they can't remember what it means or what acronym you used to describe it.

Online forums you find on the web are another way of learning about the ideas of professionals. Just remember that informal research has its limits (as does everything).

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© Dr. Bonnie Duncan
bduncan@millersville.edu
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English Department
Millersville University
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