The achievement of both effectiveness and efficiency in communications directed to the technical representative demands careful communications planning. In particular, it demands analysis of the information needs of technical representative trainees, journeymen, and specialists. It also requires study of the information functions the communication is to perform—functions such as instruction, on-the-job reference, general reference, current awareness, and consultation.

Technical papers should be constructed as coherent wholes, using those organizational, stylistic, and informational devices necessary to communicate their intended message to the intended audience. Since messages and audience vary tremendously, so also must techniques of technical writing. The technical writer will find that techniques normally associated with the writing of fiction, including creation of hypothetical situations, composite characters, invented dialogue, and dramatic story lines, aid greatly in achieving improved technical communication.

“Scientific communication” is defined as the public display, by an individual scientist or small group of scientists to other scientists, of the results of recent research accomplished by the individual or small group, by means of papers published in scientific journals, delivered at conferences, or informally distributed among members of invisible colleges. A “social function” of scientific communication is defined as an effect of scientific communication on a scientific discipline or on one or more of its members. It is argued that the social functions of scientific communication grow out of three fundamental characteristics of science as a social enterprise: (1) science is a professional occupation; (2) science is a value-directed norm-governed social activity; and (3) science is a system of social exchange. The characteristics of scientific papers are examined in light of their social functions. It is suggested that these functions may be classified in three categories: (1) surveillance functions; (2) socialization functions; and (3) social control functions.

Standardized news selection, rigidly patterned reporting, and an outdated conception of the nature of the scientific enterprise have produced a misleading picture of science in the mass media. The ferment of scientific ideas, the revolutionary impact of scientific change, the variety of ways in which science has been practiced, and the fundamental importance of intellectual creativity in science have all been underplayed. Thoughtful, interpretive reporting based on a broad understanding of the history, philosophy, and sociology of science could vastly improve public understanding.