Friedman on the Daily Show: on book | on alternative energy
Business Communication Quarterly
A list of white papers from National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)
Employment Project Resources
Job Search Engines
(from TCT, p. 391)
From the research activity:
"A white paper is used to explain something such as a new business or policy. Some examples of governmental use of white papers include proposing an action, or explaining a new policy." (Jill)
"I learned that a white paper is a document to help educate others and to help make decisions. They can also be used for government report outlining policy. There were a few famous white papers on wikipedia, none of which I had ever heard of or new any information about but a few were "If Japan can... Why can't we?" and "In Place of Strife."" (Chris)
"I did find plenty of info. about white papers and found that they are a much more persuasive type of document than I thought had been described in class. That should make the project a little more interesting I guess." (Adam)
"According to the textbook, white papers give information to customers or management about a problem or issue. They are much like printed versions of briefings. White papers give a short synopsis and discussion about the facts at hand. They also predict how those facts will ultimately be important. White papers don't take sides or require an action. They are supposed to be objective in their description of the subject matter." (Maya)
"I learned that white papers are closer to persuasive papers than research papers. The purpose is to inform and "sell" your idea or solution to a problem." (Alaina)
"White papers there was just enough information to discern a defintion of what they are and the format of them as well as what the audience would like to see out of them." (Brendan)
"The definition I found was, “A white paper is an authoritative report. White papers are used to educate customers, collect leads for a company or help people make decisions. They can also be a government report outlining policy” from an online wikipedia encyclopedia." (Rachael)
"A white paper is an authoritative report. White papers are used to educate customers, collect leads for a company or help people make decisions. These types of white papers are almost always marketing communications documents and are designed to promote a specific company's solutions or products as it relates to the issue or topic examined. They can also be a government report outlining policy." (Qingruisi)
"White papers are a way to inform management of important issues. For the most part they are straightforward and impartial. White papers will influence a policy decision, promote specific programs, or a research agenda. The effective of a white paper allows the reader to make a decision based upon facts. I gathered this information also out of my textbook. By going to the library to research more on white papers I would want to find examples of previous white papers written. I think it would also be interesting to find any white papers that may have been written by any Purdue University employees." (Nicole)
Followup questions:
1. What are some of the inconsistencies you see in these definitions?
2. Which of you should get (virtual) gold stars for proper citation format? :)