Case study research can make important contributions to the field of professional communication if the research is carried out with rigor. The paper discusses inaccurate uses of the term "case study" and then presents ideas for conducting more rigorous case studies. Advantages and disadvantages are described, as well as typical techniques, such as interviews, logs, and visual and verbal protocols.

Research in technical communication in 1989 is assessed. The analysis indicates that systematic research in technical communication is still in a limited stage of development. One major problem is the lack of a clear distinction between an illustrative case and a case study in the empirical sense. In the few articles presenting systematic research, the most frequently used methodology is survey/questionnaire. Problems include sample selection and generalizability. In several studies, however, surveys were just one of several tools in a qualitative approach. While some projects were carefully designed, overall, the quality of the methodology is uneven. A comparison of the areas being researched with those designated by technical communicators as needing research revealed that more research is needed in management. Also needed is more systematic research into visual aspects of technical communication.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>