White papers, reports, and issue briefs require a specific kind of editorial development: deep research, source synthesis, clear structure, and careful audience judgment.

Organizations that need complex information, data, or evidence turned into clear, credible, useful research assets for professional, client, patient, investor, member, donor, or stakeholder audiences often need specialized research-based assets.

This work is designed for teams that already have a defined purpose, audience, and research need, and want the final document developed with scholarly discipline, careful sourcing, solid structure, deliberate methodology, and polished writing.

Research-based assets may include:

• White papers
• Research reports
• Issue briefs
• Special reports
• Executive reports
• Insight papers
• Policy papers
• Case studies
• Research-based newsletters

These documents may support client education, stakeholder communication, industry visibility, institutional credibility, thought leadership, campaign support, donor or member engagement, or long-term content strategy.

"Dahna brought senior strategic and editorial judgment to our work at NorthBay Health. She developed an editorial strategy blueprint that helped establish the direction for the publication, then carried that thinking through the reporting and development of the stories. Her sourcing was disciplined, her writing was clear and engaging, and each story supported what we needed the publication to communicate.”

—Courtney Clarke, AVP, Strategic Marketing, Brand & Events, NorthBay Health

Research-based assets are not simply longer editorial assignments.

They require judgment about what the evidence supports, what belongs in the document, what should be left out, how the evidence should be structured, and how the finished work should serve its audience.

Depending on the assignment, this work may include background research, source review, qualitative inquiry or subject matter expert interviews, synthesis of findings, narrative structure, drafting, revision, and coordination with the client’s existing editorial, brand, compliance, legal, or review process.

The goal is to create a credible research-based document that helps an organization explain an issue, clarify expertise, support decision-making, or communicate value with substance.

My background combines award-winning journalism, graduate-level communications training, doctoral research training, interviewing, editorial strategy, and more than 20 years of writing for national publications, financial institutions, healthcare organizations, and major brands.

My doctoral training includes qualitative research methods, which are distinct from journalistic interviewing and useful when a project requires deeper inquiry into themes, patterns, stakeholder perspectives, organizational context, or lived experience.

I have developed white papers, special reports, and substantial institutional publications for organizations including Northern Trust, Allianz Global Investors, Epicor, Healthgrades, NorthBay Health, and others.

This work draws on the same strengths that shape my journalism and editorial practice: research discipline, source evaluation, narrative structure, audience awareness, and the ability to make complex material clear without oversimplifying it.

While many of the research assets I develop are bound by a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements, here are select projects clients have allowed me to share in my portfolio.

Research-based writing projects are scoped according to the complexity of the work.

Relevant factors may include the type of document, intended audience, length, number of interviews, amount of source material, depth of original research required, level of subject complexity, review process, timeline, and whether the assignment involves one document or a related group of deliverables.

Projects can begin with a clear brief, outline, or research direction, available source materials, audience goals, timeline, and approval process. In some instances, I create outlines or a research direction for research assets being produced and that is reflected in the project scope.

To learn how to work with me on your research project, please contact me for more details about your project and my process.