This anonymity could not be further from the authorship of scientific journal articles. Ultimately, the white paper reflects directly on the company that sponsors it, not directly to the author. Final editing and approval is granted by the sponsoring company. The entire process can take anywhere from 25 - 50 hours to complete, from planning to publication. The author may have a background in the topic or product, but this is not required. The writer meets with the marketing staff to discuss the information to be presented, to determine an angle, and set parameters on facts and messaging. Difference #1: The AuthorĬommercial white papers are written by a company's in-house staff or by a freelance writer under contract. ![]() Looking behind the surface, however, reveal 3 important differences. Even the formatting will look similar, with section headings including a brief summary, background, analysis, and presentation of data. Both will have citations, either as footnotes or end notes, using current research from respected journals and thought leaders. They are similar in length - from 6 to 12 pages, give or take. They are both presented with an emphasis on narrative rather than design, so neither will have flashy artwork or photographs and statistics are presented in black and white tables or graphs. On the surface, commercial white papers and scientific papers published in journals appear similar. Today we will compare these two documents in order to help our readers see beyond the surface similarities and become aware of the important differences. While both publications have their purpose, it is important for the consumer to know how they differ. ![]() ![]() This last type, the concise document with information to solve a problem, came to be the formula for what is now known in many industries as a "white paper." Today, white papers are produced for sales purposes by for-profit companies, making them a marketing tool that can often be confused with a neutral scientific paper. When government agencies provided data to Parliament to help them make decisions, they would offer three different types: Very long, comprehensive documents with a blue cover, open-ended reports with a green cover, and short, focused reports on a single topic with white covers. The term "white paper" comes to us from a 100-year-old practice of government reporting in the UK.
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