What do technical editors do?

The following definitions are taken from Suzan Flanagan’s chapter “The Current State of Technical Editing Research and the Open Questions.”

Technology-Based Definitions

Coggin & Porter (1993)	Editing: “the process of modifying text to prepare it for publication; may involve several types of edits from substantive revision to minor proofreading” (p. 233). Technical Editing: a type of editing that involves technical and scientific content, technical accuracy, and consultation with subject-matter experts.
Rude & Eaton (2011)	Editing: the process of making text “complete, accurate, correct, comprehensible, usable, and appropriate for the readers” (p. 8). Technical Editing: involves subject matter that requires specialized expertise and/or subject matter that requires the editor to “analyze, explain, interpret, inform, or instruct” (p. 11).
Amare, Nowlin, & Weber (2011)	Technical Editing: the process of communicating complex information to audiences in understandable terms.

Rhetoric-Based Definitions

Greenberg (2010)	Editing: “a decision-making process, usually within the framework of a professional practice, which aims to select, shape, and link content … to help deliver the meaning and significance of the work to its audience” (p. 9).
Tarutz (1992)	Technical Editing: includes “any specialized subject that addresses a specific audience, has its own jargon, and whose approach is objective” (p. 4).

Actor- and Activity-Based Definitions

Murphy (2010)

Technical Editing: “the planning, analysis, restructuring, and language changes made to other people’s technological or scientific documents in order to make them more useful and accurate for their intended audiences” (p. 1).