Have you ever opened up a package of medicine and found that paper inside? You know, the one you usually toss away as you dig for your medicine? Well, I am sure some of you have opened that piece of paper before and read it. Remember how it was really confusing and really really technical?
Some of you may have worried. Some of you may have shrugged it off. Some of you may not have taken the medication. Some of you may have called up a medical professional in a frenzy. Some of you may have consulted the Internet in a hope to decipher what was on that piece of paper.
Or some of you may have looked at the print out that your medical professional gave to you with the medicine. Or you made a bullet list of points. You know, the one where it says that you just pop 1 pill in your mouth every 6 hours and in about 2 days you will begin feeling better? She/he may have told you some side effects, like you may sleepy, cranky, hungry, thirsty or achey. But they told you in words that you understand and don't need the Internet or a dictionary to comprehend.
That is what a non-technical document is. A simplified version of all that jargon (or fancy mumbo-jumbo words) in a way that a reader who may or may not be familiar with the topic at hand can comprehend and read easily.
Why Are They Important?
So imagine that one day, someone who seems really important (like a doctor or scientist) comes into your home and begins showing you charts and figures about something. They use a lot of words that you've never heard of before and when you ask them to stop and explain, they just continue going and going, like the Energizer bunny. Next thing you know, they ask you if it is ok if they can do something-but that something is something you don't understand. You think they're really important, so you trust them. And since you trust them, you say yes. Only to find out later that it is not what you wanted-you did not want a double lumpectomy! All you wanted was to get your sore tooth pulled! Ok sure, that is an extreme and ridiculous example, but one that illustrates my point:
We are responsible for our health and have the ultimate say in what healthcare services we want performed on us.
But It's Impossible to Condense All of That Information Into a Non-Technical Document!
I know it can seem daunting, but I promise it is possible because so many people have done it time and time again (like with every medicine!). So, what you can do is to try to take the parts that would be the most important to the reader. Not to you, who cares that there was 95% power and a delta of 10 but significance was not found through an ANOVA but rather via a Chi-Square test (shame on you for utilizing the inappropriate statistics just to make your results seem significant), but rather the reader who needs to know why she/he should not play with mercury with their hands and what will happen.
Ok, I Wrote It! I Think It Sounds Way Too Basic but Am Worried It May Be Too Technical!
Chances are, you're correct. Often times, when we spend a lot of time researching a topic we become 'mini experts' or actual experts. So when we do try to 'dumb it down', we often fail to do so. It's ok, don't fear that you will never be able to communicate to anyone outside of your research again! I promise, it takes time, effort and practice to communicate to others effectively. Not only within your research, but in every aspect of life. This just seems even more challenging because you've not had too much practice at it or are learning it so late in life. Think of it this way: Remember when you first had to ask if you could be excused to go to the bathroom in kindergarten and you were probably nervous about it? But overtime, you got better at it and within no time, you could do it with ease. Well, same concept: practicing will help you to become an effective communicator.
Time for Review...
One way of doing this is to have someone quickly look over your non-technical document. Try to grab someone who doesn't work in your field. Your parents, roommates or friends may be a good option. This should not be too bad since they're typically about 1 page with lots of white space. Don't use a small font and tiny margins. Because if you're asking a friend for a favor, you do not want to waste their time and you want to make it easy for them to read and give feedback, right? Besides, you'll probably have to ask them for a second opinion.
Do You Have An Example?
I sure do! I have an example of the non-technical document right here that was written for one of my classes in my MPH program.
I have also included my technical document right here.
You can see the differences between the 2 documents as a side by side comparison if you wish.
Please do not ask what my scores on these assignments were. I do not remember if I got a perfect score on it or not, but I do remember doing very well on it. These assignments are posted only to serve as examples of a technical and non-technical documents.
