Field study, using an ethnographic approach, offers a potentially powerful methodology for the technical communication researcher, a methodology that provides a useful balance to the strengths and weaknesses of experiments and surveys. Technical communication studies, however, exhibit not only the typical constraints of field research but several additional constraints inherent to research conducted on-the-job in business, industry, and government, which deserve consideration when designing research.

Principles of and guidelines for using a conference approach, in which managers and engineers can work together successfully to improve engineers' reports, are discussed. It is argued that most managers feel underprepared for working with an engineer's writing process, but they can make a difference in the quality of the writing without overediting, rejecting, or rewriting reports. Managers need to face two related challenges when facilitating an engineer's report writing: managers can help engineers to write better, but the engineers themselves are responsible for their own writing. It is concluded that with the conference approach, both manager and engineer have clear responsibilities. The manager is responsible for listening and making suggestions. The engineer is responsible for writing and rewriting the report.