Dombrowski, P. M. (2000). Ethics and Technical Communication: The Past Quarter Century. Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 30(1), (pp. 3–29). https://doi.org/10.2190/3YBY-TYNY-EQG8-N9FC

In Paul M. Dombrowski’s (2000) article, “Ethics and Technical Communication: The Past Quarter Century” he indicated that “Though the transmission of concrete technical information lies at the core of technical communication, we now realize that there are successive layers to the functions and purposes of technical discourse rippling well beyond this core” (p. 3). Dombrowski evaluated the important role ethics plays, the responsibility of technical writers and communicators to be ethical, and provided an overview of opinions and perspectives on the subject (professional, academic, and systematic). Dombrowski’s purpose was to showcase “an annotated bibliography of ethics and technical communication journal articles over the past twenty-five years” to illustrate how the complex and inclusive nature of technical communication has changed (p. 5). Dombrowski’s intended audience was scholars needing an overview of the previous opinions on upholding ethics in technical communication. Dombrowski provided an in-depth analysis of research already conducted, but he could have enhanced his arguments by providing more personal opinions into the mix.