The Design of Information Systems in the Social Sciences (DISISS) is a research project with the objective of carrying out research necessary for the effective design of information systems in the social sciences, whether by the creation of new systems or the modification of existing systems. This working paper reports the work to date on the…

Reference service is defined as the mediation by a librarian between the need structures of users and the structures of information resources. The general process by which reference librarians accomplish this is outlined as including the phases of question clarification, question translation, search strategy formulation, search execution, delivery…

Libraries must be aware of the needs of the users in their funding organization, and yet, there is growing concern among library funding organizations that libraries are not fully coping with the information explosion. In fact, libraries, by not adopting new techniques to become more productive, are actually helping to cause the problems of the…

Sixty farmers were interviewed to identify their principal sources of agricultural information, their perceptions of Cooperative Extension credibility, and the socioeconomic characteristics affecting their relationship with Extension. Among the presented findings is that extension agents and commercial dealers were used as secondary information…

Illustrates how archival records can provide information in Third World countries. The issues of Saudi Arabia's official newspaper were examined over a one-year period and 434 announcements calling for bids for a variety of educational services were recorded, coded, and organized. (MLF)

Reviews the literature on the topic of information use by physicians. The five areas presented include the concept of information use, relevant bibliographies and reviews, the use of library related sources of information, the use of nonlibrary related sources of information, and factors affecting information use by physicians. (93 references)…

Information utilization was examined among 90 social service decision makers. Results indicated that propensity to use a particular type of information is relatively independent of the propensity to use a particular source from which the information is obtained. (Author/LMO)

Examines the nature and accomplishments of social policy research and provides general suggestions for improving information flow to particular areas. The author maintains that the majority of policy research has been carried out in education and has been less successful than it might be due to insufficient feedback systems. (Author/DB)

This guide is written for people in British higher education institutions (HEIs) who use, or would like to use, regional and local labor market information (LMI) in strategic, operational, and business planning. It is also designed for agencies who commission and produce regional and local labor market, skills, and economic reports. Chapter 1…

Probes two aspects of scientific communication: (1) the extent to which journal article authors continue work in the same area as their articles; (2) the sources of information used by active researchers in conjunction with their current research. (Author/JM)

Medical researchers, clinical specialists, and their supervisors covered by this survey, did not make frequent use of the services of research librarians, even after these services were specifically introduced to them. The potential value of a research librarian seems to depend upon the early education of the researcher and his awareness of the…

Law schools should incorporate more training in scientific method, and social scientists could benefit from study of the subtleties of the law. (Editor)

Examines how 1980 Census data can be used in: (1) estimating Hispanic Americans' health care needs; (2) identifying Hispanic subgroups with special health care problems; and (3) designing other local social surveys of Hispanics. Discusses problems in using census data for Hispanic health services research, and explores strategies for dealing with…

Explores assumptions behind local control of public schools by elected boards of education, e.g., existence of personal choice, availability and use of information, power to intervene in school affairs and willingness to exercise that power, and ability to create stable environment in which organizational changes can be sustained. (AH)

Responses from 130 of 156 technology education students indicated that 93% found the Internet an important research tool but 70% used it primarily for e-mail; only 14 had formal Internet training; 78% were unaware of the need to document Internet information sources; 74.2% believed this is public information; most said instructors did not teach…