NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report 6: The Relationship Between the Use of US Government Technical Reports by US Aerospace Engineers and Scientists and Selected Institutional and Sociometric Variables

Book excerpt: A study was undertaken that investigated the relationship between the use of U.S. government technical reports by U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists and selected institutional and sociometric variables. Survey research is the methodology used for the study. Data were collected by means of a self- administered mail questionnaire. The approximately 34 000 members of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) served as the study population. The response rate for the survey was 70 percent. A dependent relationship was found to exist between the use of U.S. government technical reports and three of the institutional variables (academic preparation, years of professional aerospace work experience, and technical discipline). The use of U.S. government technical reports was found to be independent of all of the sociometric variables. The institutional variables best explain the use of U.S. government technical reports by U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists.