Reading and Writing in Information Systems

Edited notes from the Writing Across the Curriculum workshop.

Purposes for writing in our field

• To inform
• To record thoughts
• To communicate problems/solutions
• To document ideas/work
• To plan

Genres of writing in our field

• Documentation – technical & user
• Diagrams and mockups 
• Reports
• User manuals
• Meeting minutes
• Message boards
• Blogs
• Email

Audiences for IS writers

• Clients
• Users of a system
• Other IS professionals
• Management
• Self

As an IS professional, what are my reading purposes

• Learning new skills and knowledge
• Integrating ideas from multiple sources
• Conducting literature reviews for research
• To better understand requirements
• Enjoyment

Kinds of documents I read

• Business books
• General IS books
• Technical books
• Research articles
• Web sites
• Blogs
• Trade publications

Strategies I use for reading

• With blogs and message boards, I scan headings to find interesting content to read
• With books, I tend to read in depth
• With articles – depends on context, but often skip to parts of interest.
• An over arching strategy I use is dedicate time slots for reading.  This is done to minimize distractions and allow better focus and comprehension of material.

The Difference between Novices and Experts

Edited notes from the Writing Across the Curriculum workshop I completed recently.


Write down 3-5 qualities of effective writing in your discipline

• Unique or fresh perspective on an issue
• Well structured
• Good use of evidence to support claims

Write down 3-5 qualities of effective student writing

• Error free
• Well structured
• Logical arguments
• Broad understanding of an issue

Compare the two lists.  What stands out?
Since students are novices (not experts), I generally expect them to be developing the knowledge and skills of topics or issues, but not necessarily bringing a fresh or unique perspective to the topic.   Especially in a field such as information systems, with detailed technical knowledge necessary for professional work, the emphasis in an undergraduate program is on developing the knowledge and skills of programming, networking, data modeling, analyzing systems, designing systems, security, etc.  While some of the more advanced students can bring fresh perspectives, that level of integration of ideas is beyond most students.

My typical writing process

The following set of posts are my edited notes from the Writing Across the Curriculum workshop I recently completed.


My typical wring process for research articles: 
I generally start with a research proposal.  In this proposal, I start with various research questions that have a common theme, perform a literature review of the area, develop hypotheses, design the method for answering hypotheses, and identify analysis to be used.  I generally seek some feedback from other academics at various points in this process, either one-on-one or at conferences.

Once I am satisfied with the proposal, I conduct the research and analysis.  With the results, I complete the paper, by adding discussion and conclusion.  Then its back to editing, editing, and more editing.  Lastly, I start the publishing process.

According to WAC, the stages of writing development:
Prewriting (brainstorming, planning, outlining, lists, reading and reviewing other successful approaches to writing in a genre)
Drafting - Free writing, writing sections/chunks, fill in an outline, audience
Revising – restructuring arguments, adding/deleting sections, rethinking, and rewriting
Proofreading – spelling and grammar checks, reading carefully, having someone else read it
Publishing – sharing the work with an audience
Reflecting – helps writers to analyze their own writing process.

Why do I write?

The following set of posts are edited notes from the Writing Across the Curriculum workshop I recently completed.

Why do I write?
My writing usually consists of 3 goals. 
1. To publish my thoughts and/or research about a topic of interest
2.For clarity or to receive feedback from other friends on my thinking
3.To advice and/or instruct others

Do I enjoy writing?
Yes!!!  Considering I was not a strong writer in high school or college (more math oriented), its surprising that today I enjoy the process of writing so much.  But I attribute that to my realization that it helps me think through problems.  The process of writing forces me to articulate my thoughts in a systematic way.

What makes writing fun and/or challenging?
The challenging parts to writing are my lack of skills at quickly writing something well.  I did not receive the type of training in writing that I wish I could have had.  So grammatical mistakes often plague my early drafts.  When I’m done with drafts, I often want to publish before I completely edit my work.  Unfortunately, poorly edited writing does me no favors.

Proactionary principles - an antidote to the precautionary principle?

As Objectivists have noted in the past, the precautionary principle is at odds with rational living.

Precautionary principle:

"If an action or policy has a suspected risk or harm, without scientific consensus that their will be no harm, then the burden of proof lies with those advocating an action or policy."

In Europe, this principle is ingrained in the law.  Many environmentalist are pushing hard to see it implemented in the United States.  As a principle, it negates technological advancement until 100% certainty is obtained.  That is simply impossible to achieve.  The entire notion of scientific consensus is an abdication of rational thought in a field where rational thought is essential.

Philosopher and futurist Max More offers an alternative, Proactionary principle:

"People’s freedom to innovate technologically is highly valuable, even critical, to humanity. This implies several imperatives when restrictive measures are proposed: Assess risks and opportunities according to available science, not popular perception. Account for both the costs of the restrictions themselves, and those of opportunities foregone. Favor measures that are proportionate to the probability and magnitude of impacts, and that have a high expectation value. Protect people’s freedom to experiment, innovate, and progress."

Although More's discussion is a bit rambling, I believe he is on to something significant.  Its a principle that accepts and combines the virtues of rationality and productivity.  It also sounds similar to an approach to the unknown that Peikoff discusses in one of his pod casts (I can't recall which one).

That being said - I am reluctant to tout the More horn.  More has shown a marked deficiency in understanding Objectivism, accepting many of the falsehoods perpetrated by the Brandens and their ilk.