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Production
This report is about how information technology has changed the
conduct of scientific, engineering, and clinical research.
Information technology is that set of computer and telecommunica-
tions technologies that makes possible computation, communication, and the
storage and retrieval of information. The term, therefore, includes
· Computer hardware of all kinds, from microprocessors dedicated to specific
research tasks to the largest supercomputers;
· Communications networks that link researchers to each other and to
resources of various kinds; and
· Computer software that researchers use to design and run scientific
projects, and to manage the information that the projects yield.
The effect of information technology on the conduct of research has long been
a concern of the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy (COSEPUPI,
a joint unit of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineer-
ing, and the Institute of Medicine. A previous COSEPUP report, Frontiers in Science
and Technology: A Selected Outlook (W. H. Freeman, 1983), discussed ways of
improving scientific and technical communication and asked, "How can scientists
and engineers be encouraged to use the new electronic modalities innovatively
and effectively?"
The science policy community has occasionally discussed how computer and
communication technologies affect research, although mostly as a corollary to
other policy issues such as the need for support for advanced computing, the
computing requirements of individual research disciplines, national security
concerns about information dissemination, or the potential of developments in
information technology research. For example, in September 1985, the House of
Representatives' Committee on Science and Technology held hearings on "The
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INFORMATION Impact of the Information Age on Science" as part of its study of U.S. science
TECHNOLOGY AND policy (U.S. Congress, 1986a,b).
THE CONDUCT COSEPUP members felt that the subject deserved a thorough examination. In
OF RESEARCH July 1985, a COSEPUP planning group recommended a study, and in December,
1986, after approval and selection of a panel, the study formally began. The
study has received financial support from the Department of Energy, the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Bureau of Stan
dards and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the Depart
ment of Commerce, the National Library of Medicine, and the National Science
Foundation.
COSEPUP's charge to the Panel on Information Technology and the Conduct of
Research was to
~ Examine current and prospective applications of information technology
computers and communications-to improve productivity in selected fields of
scientific and engineering research, including the biological, physical, social, and
. . .
englneermg sciences;
· Identify impediments to the effective use of these technologies in research-
such impediments may be institutional, financial, behavioral, and technical;
· Examine the behavioral and cultural changes required to exploit the new
opportunities offered by these information technologies; and
· Suggest appropriate actions by federal agencies, as well as by universities
and other research institutions, manufacturers, vendors, scientific associations,
and individual researchers.
In considering its charge, the Panel decided that the goal of the study would be
to recommend how to stimulate research through the use of information
technology, and the focus of the study would be on both current and prospective
uses. Because little research on general scientific uses of information technology
now exists, the Panel gathered additional information from several disciplines
representing the range of scientific and engineering research. Experts were
provided with a list of questions, and commissioned to prepare papers on the use
of information technology in their fields. They were asked to represent their
colleagues' views as well as their own. The Panel believes that these papers reflect
the diversity in information technology uses within and across the scientific
disciplines. The papers provided essential inputs to the Panel's discussions and
eventual recommendations. They are listed in Appendix A, and are available from
COSEPUP on request.
The report is written from the point of view, not of those who specialize in
information technology, but of those who use it. For all researchers, information
technology is beneficial; for some, it has become central. Some researchers want
only better access to current technologies; others urgently want much more. The
Panel does not presume to prescribe a single model for all researchers, but it does
believe that the products of the information age are invaluable and should be
available to researchers who need them. Therefore, in what follows, the Panel
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does not appraise developments in computing hardware or software but empha-
sizes instead how these developments affect the productivity of researchers.
The report is directed to two principal audiences. One audience includes the
policymakers and leaders of those institutions responsible for the support and
management of research. For this audience, the Panel describes issues and
impediments, and recommends ways of helping the research community en-
hance its use of information technology. The second audience is the users
themselves, that is, research scientists and engineers. The Panel hopes that
researchers will find their concerns about information technology addressed
clearly and in their own terms. In addition, the Panel hopes that practices in
other disciplines may spark readers' ideas for their own research.
The Panel discovered early that there is almost no systematic information on
the users and uses of information technology. For example, the Panel cannot
estimate how many or what proportion of scientists use computers in different
fields, how access to networks and computer facilities is distributed across
disciplines, or to what extent useful applications are disseminated throughout
the research community. Systematic collection of such information is essential to
the development of intelligent policy. Researchers' experiences in using inforrna-
tion technology can help guide decisions about policy and resource allocation. In
turn, these decisions will shape the technological and institutional advances that
break down impediments to the further use of information technology. This
process will continue to change the nature of scientific, engineering, and clinical
research itself.
Finally, the Panel has come to a view of new ways of managing scientific
knowledge and conducting scientific research. In this view, scientists are more
productive because they are using the power of computers both to augment their
intellectual efforts and to improve communication. With artificial barriers to
communication lowered, science itself is closer to the open, collaborative search
that is its goal.
The next section of the report describes present trends, future potential, and
impediments to the use of information technology in support of research,
drawing on examples from a number of fields. The report's final section
summarizes the Panel's findings and recommendations.
INTRODUCTION
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Representative terms from entire chapter:
panel discovered
