How To Prepare Defense-Related Scientific and Technical Reports: Guidance for Government, Academia, and Industry [Hardcover]

Walter W. Rice (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 9, 2007 | ISBN-10: 0471725099 | ISBN-13: 978-0471725091 | Edition: 1

This book provides thorough and specific guidance on how to prepare defense-related scientific and technical reports, including classified scientific and technical reports. It includes an appendix describing the workings of the Defense Technical Information Center, the central repository for defense-related scientific and technical reports, and an appendix addressing tone and style, including pertinent information from the United States Government Printing Office Style Manual 2000, the official style guide of the U.S. Government and, therefore, the Department of Defense. Every facet of preparing defense-related scientific and technical reports is addressed, thereby making it unnecessary for the user to have to refer to the standards and numerous regulations pertaining to this subject. In effect, the book provides "one-stop shopping" for the user. Also, some of the official guidance on preparing defense-related scientific and technical reports requires interpretation, and in those cases the book provides a prudent analysis of that information and prescribes a "best practices" course for the user.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

An essential guide for preparing scientific and technical reports for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)

"Walter Rice, in his excellent book, takes a necessary next step by taking guidelines from the revised NISO standard and other standards and adding DoD requirements. Walter was on the committee that produced ANSI/NISO Z39.18-1995. This, plus his extensive knowledge based on his years of experience editing scientific and technical reports in the U.S. Government, industry, and, now, academia, makes his book a very valuable resource for all who create, manage, distribute, and archive defense-related technical reports.
It is one thing to be knowledgeable; it is another thing to be able to communicate this knowledge. Walter does this well, addressing in clear language and useful illustrations and tables everything needed by all the participants in the scientific and technical information continuum, from authors to librarians to archivists."
—from the Foreword by Kurt Molholm, former Administrator of the Defense Technical Information Center

How To Prepare Defense-Related Scientific and Technical Reports is a one-stop guide for expert instruction on preparing defense-related scientific and technical reports, including classified scientific and technical reports. The only book available with this type of in-depth coverage, this time-saving book provides and clarifies essential material from the various standards and regulations pertaining to DoD scientific and technical report preparation and prescribes a "best practices" approach, making it the only book authors need.

How To Prepare Defense-Related Scientific and Technical Reports also features two helpful appendixes:

• One appendix describes the workings of the Defense Technical Information Center, the central repository for defense-related scientific and technical reports.
• The other appendix addresses tone and style, including pertinent information from the United States Government Printing Office Style Manual 2000, the official style guide of the U.S. Government and, therefore, DoD.

About the Author

Walter W. Rice is a senior technical writer/editor with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). He has more than twenty-nine years experience in the field of technical communication, twenty-two of which were in the U.S. Government, primarily DoD. He is a member of the Society for Technical Communication. The APL Subcommittee of the Sabbatical Fellows and Professors Programs appointed him a Stuart S. Janney Fellow to write this book.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 342 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Interscience; 1 edition (February 9, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471725099
• ISBN-13: 978-0471725091
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 1 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,015,349 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Complete Technical Reference for Scientific Reports, January 10, 2008

By 

Andrea J. Sutton (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How To Prepare Defense-Related Scientific and Technical Reports: Guidance for Government, Academia, and Industry (Hardcover)

How to Prepare Defense-Related Scientific and Technical Reports is a combination how-to book and style guide with information that could very well be applied to any industry. Although the amount of detail is tremendous, this is one of the first books I have read that really provides step-by-step guidance for a professional scientific report with no need to pick and choose portions out of each chapter. The chapter sequence is well-designed and walks you through each aspect of the technical report.

Rice provides a history of the technical report, a background on his approach to this subject matter, and his background in providing technical expertise while serving on a committee on scientific and technical reports for the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the National Information Standards Organization (NISO).

The chapter contents give an excellent combination on ANSI/NISO technical report guidelines, beginning with formatting: report number formats, preparation of abstracts, and details of publishing requirements. I was also surprised at the amount of detail written about author and non-author responsibilities, report review and distribution, and marking requirements for both classified and non-classified documents.

The book contains an almost step-by-step guide to the front matter, body text, and back matter of a scientific report, covering every topic from cover page to heading levels to footnote symbols and their use.

Much attention was also given to the organization and design of reports, providing not only contextual guidelines for report publication, but also an ample amount of graphic examples for tables, columns, margins, image areas, placement of warning notices, emblems, and other graphical inserts contained in the report. There are detailed descriptions and accompanying illustrations for the orientation of tables and figures, which are great for future reference.

And just when I was sure this book only detailed the issues of print publication, Mr. Rice provides a section on the role of the editor in online markups and explains that the print versions are still favored because they provide an easy-reading alternative versus the eye strain of online reading.

Walter Rice has covered everything from cover page to appendix and then gives you more. He provides everything you need to write a successful scientific report--all in one book! If you are planning on writing a scientific technical report, I suggest you read this book first. After absorbing the guidelines provided in this book, all you will need are the words.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to Write Dull but Precise, February 10, 2007

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How To Prepare Defense-Related Scientific and Technical Reports: Guidance for Government, Academia, and Industry (Hardcover)

It should come as no surprise to anyone that the Defense Department has a written set of standards on how to write technical reports -- ANSI/NISO Z39.18.1995. It also has it's own style guide, 60 pages long, complete with it's own set of approved abbreviations, i.e. DOTMLPF - doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, and facilities.

This book is written by a member of the committee that produced ANSI/NISO Z39.18.1995 and is written with the combined goals of explaining the requirements along with doing so in a manner that can be easily understood and followed by the person charged with preparing documents. As such, this work is not written like the documents is is telling you how to write. In fact, it is written so that you can make sense out of it.