Rapid Research Skills When Under Pressure

Overview

You're busy, your audience is busy, but you still need to find reputable research rapidly to help them make decisions in the workplace and for the public, in their own lives. Where can you find appropriate sources? How can you evaluate the information under a short deadline? What is the most important information to present?

This course will help you figure out the basics of good research, from learning about peer review to evaluating proper statistics. Guided by your audience's needs, we will discuss how to deal with technical information and the best way of presenting it to the people who read your work. We'll conclude the course with a deadline exercise to get you used to researching effectively "on the clock," so that you can bring the skills back to your workplace for the next big project.

Topics

• Speaking to your ideal audience
• Evaluating sources: What is legitimate? How will my audience use them?
• Seeking the most important information to present to your audience
• Finding peer-reviewed information and statistics
• Writing about technical information under a deadline crunch

Audience

• Junior to mid-level employees who need to respond to requests quickly, and who are seeking more information and strategies about finding reliable information.

Duration

6 hours

Cost

• $655 (plus tax)

Featured Instructor

Elizabeth Howell (Ph.D.) is a self-employed business and space writer in Ottawa. Her work has appeared in Forbes, the Ottawa Business Journal and trade magazines such as Space.com. Her teaching experience includes courses in business writing, communications and journalism at the University of Ottawa, Carleton University, Algonquin College and La Cité.

Sessions