R and D productivity: Relationship to Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) in the corporate environment.

摘要

Selective Dissemination of Information (SDI) is an information alerting service designed to keep individuals informed of new developments in their particular field of interest. The unique aspect of SDI over other information services is that it is based on the creation of a user profile by the information scientist that identifies specific research interests. The service received much attention in library and information science literature in the late 60's and early 70's, but lost its popularity in the mid-70's as the online cost to run the service increased, making it expensive to use and maintain.;This investigation evaluated the use of SDI by basic research scientists working at six major research companies located in the United States. The following conceptual areas were reviewed in developing the best model of SDI use and productivity: (1) background of the individual; (2) work environment; (3) need to keep abreast of new research developments; (4) use of information sources; and (5) productivity or number of papers published.;Two hundred and eight responses were received from the mailing of 244 questionnaires to basic research scientists at the six companies. One hundred and fifty six individuals met the entrance criteria and were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Frequency of SDI use was found to be related to the environment, need to keep abreast of research developments, and use of primary and secondary information sources, including patents. Productivity was found to be related to background characteristics of the scientist, environment, need to keep abreast, and use of various information sources. Based on these research findings, scientists who use SDI on a regular basis are more productive than their colleagues who are infrequent users, or who do not subscribe to the service.;Recommendations for future research include an in-depth look at the frequency with which SDI profiles are updated as well as developing a formal procedure to ensure that SDI profiles remain current. The effect of reprint requests based upon SDI use will also need to be addressed. Finally, two models on SDI use and productivity were presented for the purposes of testing new hypotheses that will, it is hoped, contribute to a better understanding of scientific communication.