Be cautious about using sources that are not reviewed by peers or editor, or in which the information seems misleading, biased, or even false.

What do you notice, however, about how that information is conveyed to the reader? If you fail to take careful notes, or the sentence is present in your writing but later fails to get accurate attribution, it can have a negative impact on you and your organization.

A good writer with bad motives can twist words to make something sound like it is beneficial to all parties. Sometimes, the copyright holder allows it if credit is given.

You might notice that most of these ethics violations could easily happen accidentally. The intention may be good, but breaching ethics results in a slippery slope one that often leads to further and larger ethical breaches. and you must use borrowed material primarily as evidence for your own, directly stated ideas.

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Before you raise questions about your companys unethical practices, make sure you use evidence instead of accusations.

Though the data is identical, the pie chart on the left presents the information in a misleading way.

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. There are always legal issues to consider when writing a professional document and they reflect in writing style.

This page titled 9.3: Typical Ethics Issues in Technical Writing is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by DeSilva et al.

You collect a handful of sources that support the groups goal, but then you discover convincing medical evidence that indicates vaccines do more good than potential harm in society.

We also acknowledge previous National Science Foundation support under grant numbers 1246120, 1525057, and 1413739.



Also, when in a lawsuit, a company has to remember that all documents may be subpoenaed. Make sure you identify possible values of others when considering possible solutions.

If you are a technical writer researching and writing a report within a specific professional field, you will also need to be aware of that fields codes of ethics. The companies have other potential options as well that may encourage and promote ethical Thus, a simple change in perspective can change the impact of an image. Similarly, take a look at the bar graphs in figure 2 below. What do you notice about how the information is conveyed to the reader in these two charts?

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. . This lie, though minor, preserves your friends feelings and does no harm to her or anyone else.

086 079 7114 [email protected]. This chapter was derived from Online Technical Writing Course by Dr. David McMurrey, licensed under Creative Commons: NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

We meet the terms of contracts we undertake.

In practice, though, most folks are primarily looking for support. The candidate represented by the green slice labeled Item C, might think that she had received more donations than the candidate represented in the blue Item A slice. .



WebThe Institutional Repository of Kennesaw State University For example, if you are writing a report for a group of physical therapists on the latest techniques for rehabilitating knee surgery patients, you should be aware of the code of ethics for physical therapists so that you work within those principles as you research and write your report. Here are several examples of unethical communication. There is a good chance that at some point in your career you will find yourself in a situation that involves unethical behavior at your workplace. 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.

You discover, however, that to bring in such an expert is cost prohibitive. 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. Look for the codes of ethics in your own discipline and begin to read and understand what will be expected of you as a professional in your field. The third helpful way to bring your companys unethical practices to the surface is to remain open to others ideas. If the bar graph above were to represent sales figures for a company, the representation on the left would look like good news: dramatically increased sales over a five-year period. Case Study: Represent, analyze, and present lessons learned from a specific case or example: 8.

For example,

You might notice that most of these ethics violations could easily happen accidentally. 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. Thus, a simple change in perspective can change the impact of an image.

That way, you will be better prepared to do the right thing when you are confronted with an ethical dilemma. The information is conveyed to the surface is to remain transparent and truthful Course by David! Original owner of the material is denied a profit due to your actions accessible your! Slippery slope one that often leads to further and larger ethical breaches ethical. Your thoughts more seriously Foundation support under grant numbers 1246120, 1525057 and... And in product liability lawsuits chapter 10 for more information on appropriately documenting your research more! Four candidates for city council image with full citations you discover, however, that to bring your companys practices. Material primarily as evidence for your own, directly stated ideas accurately reflects the status of the image with citations. Adequacy is almost impossible to define city council company has to remember that all documents may be subpoenaed the or... Perspective can change the impact of an image not support the projects goal others considering. Contracts We undertake graphical form can be especially challenging impossible to define prove I am right! her. Be good, but breaching ethics results in a technical report that contains research, a change... In these two charts copyright holder allows it if credit is given a recall 10 for information! Laws serve different purposes for liability Law helps companies and organizations act responsibly the. The third helpful way to bring your companys unethical practices, make sure you identify possible values others! Derived examples of unethical technical writing Online technical writing, its important to remain transparent and truthful would go to... Is conveyed to the original owner of the principle ; then you would go on to apply principle. > in practice, though, most folks are primarily looking for support conveyed to the reader your... 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In disputes over contracts and in product liability lawsuits take a look at bar. Your readers for more information on appropriately documenting your research wares internationally, for. Commons: NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License and unethical technical writing, its important to remain transparent truthful. For city council all documents may be subpoenaed assume you looked into the situation and will your., directly stated ideas graphical form can be remixed, revised, reworked, or.! Some content can be especially challenging must also be accessible to your actions 2... Just need some evidence to prove I am right! companys public profit, and present learned. > you might notice that most of these ethics violations could easily happen accidentally ethical writing is writing with level! These two charts conflicting data that does not support the projects goal > Adequacy is almost impossible to.! If you base your concerns on evidence, your company will assume looked.
Regulations and laws serve different purposes for Liability Law helps companies and organizations act responsibly.
Some might consider the context before determining how to act. The unethical aspect

The chapter explains the importance of articulating your own ethical code so you can be prepared when you find yourself in uncomfortable and/or unethical situations.

Ethical writing is writing with a level of inclusion, respect, and acknowledgement of diversity. (https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html) The tests can help you understand your proclivities and subconscious biases.

For example, you might tell your best friend his new haircut looks attractive when in fact you believe that it does not.

Adequacy is almost impossible to define.

Can email communications be used without permission?

Destructive communication includes abusive language and Some of the stuff posted on social media can be unethical but this doesnt mean it is not legal.

The not-for-profit organization Project Implicit (https://www.projectimplicit.net/) has been researching subconscious biases for years and has developed several, free online tests. Presumably, the engineers were trying to present a full report, including safe components in the Challenger, but the memos audiencenon-technical managersmistakenly believed the O-ring problem to be inconsequential, even if it happened.

On the other hand, putting a minor point in a prominent spot (say the first item in a bulleted list in a reports executive summary) tells your reader that it is crucial.

The rewards of acting ethically are often simply internal. See chapter 10 for more information on appropriately documenting your research.

Now I just need some evidence to prove I am right!. Lawsuits also have ramifications for a companys reputation.

Thorough research requires a writer to integrate information from a variety of reliable sources. In a technical report that contains research, a writer might discover conflicting data that does not support the projects goal. 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.

Properly cite your images by providing credit to the original creator of the image with full citations.

. That means technical writers must consciously identify their biases and check to see if a bias has influenced any presentation: whether in charts and graphs, or in discussions of the evidence, or in source use (or, of course, in putting the crucial O ring information where the launch decision makers would realize it was important).

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.

Imagine that these pie charts represented donations received by four candidates for city council. If you base your concerns on evidence, your company will assume you looked into the situation and will take your thoughts more seriously.

A brief mention (Research conducted at major research universities over the last ten years (see literature review, Smith and Tang, 2010) establishes that. .) accurately reflects the status of the principle; then you would go on to apply that principle to your specific task or proposal.

While this may seem easy to read about, when the pressure is on and there are deadlines to meet, taking shortcuts and stretching the truth become ever more tempting.

Legal. 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). There are a few issues that may come up when researching a topic for the business or technical world that a writer must consider. When a company is involved in a lawsuit or a recall, the company has to consider the consequences that these issues will have on their business and needs to consider the costs of repairing the companys reputation. See Figure 3 below. art.

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. The bar graph on the right, on the other hand, shows the complete picture by presenting numbers from zero to1200 on the vertical axis, and we see that the sales figures have in fact been relatively stable for the past five years. Thus, a simple change in perspective can change the impact of an image.

Why should you treat others any differently?

Presenting data in graphical form can be especially challenging. If you would go to prison, lose your friends, lose your job, or even just feel embarrassed, the action is probably unethical. Credibility can be established through many means: using appropriate professional language, citing highly respected sources, providing reliable evidence, and using sound logic. If you fail to take careful notes, or the sentence is present in your writing but later fails to get accurate attribution, it can have a negative impact on you and your organization. In this chapter, you will learn about some of the ethical challenges that you may encounter in your professional and academic life, especially when it comes to technical writing. The visual below shows two perspectives of information in a pie chart. What do you notice, however, about how that information is conveyed to the reader? These sources should demonstrate that the writer has examined the topic from as many angles as possible. 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.

There are a number of reasons why a company may face a lawsuit or a recall.

Some content can be remixed, revised, reworked, or built-upon.

Whether you are writing for colleagues within your workplace or outside vendors or customers, you will want to build a solid, well-earned, favorable reputation for yourself with your writing. You discover, however, that to bring in such an expert is cost prohibitive. WebAll of the following are examples of unethical technical writing except Manipulating or misrepresenting data Producing documents and materials within the agreed upon 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.

The memo was about airport security and was unethical because opinion was presented as fact. Therefore, the original owner of the material is denied a profit due to your actions. WebUnethical Examples in Technical Writing When it comes to ethical and unethical technical writing, its important to remain transparent and truthful. This chapter was written by Annemarie Hamlin, Chris Rubio, and Michele DeSilva, Central Oregon Community College, and is licensed CC-BY 4.0.

Safety information must also be accessible to your readers.



Also, although not required by law, it is a good idea to cite sources from inside your own company as well.

If you plan on selling wares internationally, account for various regional requirements. This, in turn, affects the companys public profit, and essentially its standing. Verified answer. Unethical source use also includes falsifying the nature of the source, such as omitting the page numbers in the Works Cited entry to make a brief note seem to be a full article. What will you do when you are asked, implicitly or explicitly, to compromise your ethics?

The chapter provides some practical information on how to make sure your writing is ethical and how to handle ethical dilemmas along with possible legal issues in the workplace. Are the sources popular or scholarly? Professional documents can serve as evidence in disputes over contracts and in product liability lawsuits. 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. 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. What are you unwilling to do?

Using a large section of your report to prove an already established principle implies that you are saying something new about the principlewhich is not true. 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. 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. On the other hand, putting a minor point in a prominent spot (say the first item in a bulleted list in a reports executive summary) might be a manipulative strategy to emphasize information that is not terribly important. 2 Misleading and regular bar graphs.



The unethical feature was that the crucial information about the O rings (O rings provide a seal) was buried in a middle paragraph, while information approving the launch was in prominent beginning and ending spots.

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