Is this correct and appropriate use of the word?

"The information is presented in a way that everybody can understand, irrespective of technical skill level."

The reason I ask is, it seems like it could carry connotations of.. not respecting, not regarding, not considering [people of all technical skill levels]. Whereas the intention is obviously to imply something contrary to that.

As in, it is taking into account all people and their respective proclivities, or inclinations, and areas of expertise (or lack thereof) in a way that's thoughtful and considerate; not exclusive to those with pre-existing technical knowledge in a specific field of study.

irrespective

(ˌɪrɪˈspɛktɪv)

adjective

1. 
   irrespective of (preposition) without taking account of; regardless of

adverb

2. 
   informal regardless; without due consideration: 
   
   

   
   

   he carried on with his plan irrespective

   
   

   
   

Origin of irrespective

ir- + respective

 

^{Collins English Dictionary | Complete & Unabridged}

irrespective

(adj.)

1620s (implied in irrespectively), "disrespectful," from assimilated form of in-(1) "not, opposite of" + respective in its sense of "regardful." Meaning "without taking account of particular circumstances or conditions" had developed by 1690s, from the notion of "not observing or noting with attention." In modern use it tends to be adverbial, in irrespective of, a use attested by c. 1800.

 

^{Online Etymology Dictionary | etymonline.com}

Related Words for irrespective

heedless, regardless, inattentive, careless, 
mindless, disregarding, disrespectful, impartial

 

^{Random House Unabridged Dictionary | dictionary.com}

respective

(rɪˈspɛktɪv)

adjective

1. belonging or relating separately to each of several people or things; several

we took our respective ways home

 

2. an archaic word for respectful

Origin of respective

ML respectivus < L respectus: see respect

 

^{Collins English Dictionary | Complete & Unabridged}

respective

(adj.)

mid-15c., "regardful, observing or noting with attention," from Medieval Latin respectivus "having regard for," from Latin respect- past participle stem of respicere (see respect (n.)). Meaning "relating or pertaining severally each to each" is from 1640s.

 

^{Online Etymology Dictionary | etymonline.com}

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Yes. Your use of the word is accurate and appropriate. In regards to connotation, there is no implicit disrespect -- I think it works well.

It seems to be appropriate insofar as I can tell at this time. Here is my rationale:

Regarding the Meaning

I assume that you are interpreting respect to mean something along the lines of reverence or esteem, and that irrespective should hence mean "with a tendency to lack esteem", since the ir- prefix can be used to indicate being without whatever it modifies. Crossreference ir-² with in-³ in the Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia for verification of that.

You could argue that this is a possibly valid interpretation from the derivational process of the affixes appended to it at a contrivance. You could use the word regardless instead to avoid this ambiguity at least to a degree. However, the word respect has other, more literal meanings, and I would suggest that there is only a negligable chance that the word irrespective would actually be interpreted that way in the first place.

"Worthy of Respect" seems to be a valid definition of Respective, but it was marked as not in use even as far back as 1828 in An American Dictionary of the English Language by Noah Webster, and it was neither marked as the first nor second definition of the word but rather the third. Irrespective has naught but one definition though, which is "Regardless of Circumstances" and he cites a passage from Nineteen Sermons on Several Occasions by John Rogers D.D. as an example:

[A]ccording to this doctrine, it must be resolved wholly into the absolute, irrespective will of god.

Now the Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia actually does seem to include your intended meaning of irrespective in definition 3, but still, it was marked as obsolete, and the only definition marked as not obsolete is definition 2 with Webster's being marked as number 1.

2. Regardless; not taking account; independent: followed by of before an object: Also often used adverbially, there being no noun to which it can be directly attacked; as, to do one's duty, irrespective of consequences.

The organization of the dictionaries back then was etymologically based, on presumed first meanings so that you could see what the word originally meant and see what came to follow, so the ordering of these entries is important, because it suggests that irrespective had already settled into the language based on earlier meanings of the word respect which pertain to circumstance, rather than the ones that are synonyous with esteem or reverence. Your proposed meaning lacks both originality and currency in use, so I see no reason to prioritize it over older and more common usages of the word or consider it more appropriate.

Consider the Context

It is also important to note that most words (exclaimations excluded) do not exist in syntactic isolation from the remainder of the sentence, and that there is a slight semantic twist here noted here. A preposition is being used to mark irrespective as having relationship to a following term. In this case, the preposition directly relates the word irrespective to "technical skill level". It is also worth note that even as a directly applied adjective, it would only serve to describe a quality of a noun. I do not know where you get the notion that it would be interpreted as applying to any people in this context because no people are even mentioned in the respective clause.

If the prepositional object was related something like a personal pronoun, perhaps in a sentence like "We are going to do it irrespective of you" I might be somewhat more concerned about this possible misinterpretation and suggest using the word regardless instead. However that concern would only be very meek. As easy as it is to forget, it should be noted that prepositions are words with their own meaning, and Of in particular is among the most well defined. It is preposition of origination, with a meaning somewhere between From and its twin sibling Off with a derivative sense of belonging. "We are going to do it [without a tendency to respect {originating from/belonging to}] you." does not make much sense.

Only a criterion of technical expertise is being disregarded in this context. Whether or not that is ignorant depends on the circumstance, but it nevertheless communicates the sentiment that the comminicator wants to communicate.

An Alternative Lessens the Need.

We also have another word for expressing the proposed interpretation that makes much more sense derivationally. If we want to indicate that we lack veneration for somebody with an adjective derived from the word respect, we would be more likely to use disrespectful meaning not full of respect, implying a lack of it. This contrived meaning of irrespective serves relatively little purpose as such, and would only make sense as a preferable alternative in cases where we really need to note a tendency to be disrespectful, rather than an overall lack of respect, and even then only when we really must use a single word which is not so often.