Information seeking at different stages of the R&D research process

Abstract

This exploratory study investigated the information needs, information-seeking behaviors, and work group communication patterns of 27 industrial R&D researchers and managers. Participants came from 9 project teams that were at different stages of the R&D research process. Trends in the data suggest differences in information-seeking behavior by research stage. The Investigative Stage of the research process was the most information-intensive research stage, requiring both technical and business information. The Development Stage required patent, technical, and internal information. The Transfer Stage involved internal communication and information sharing with internal technology transfer partners. Understanding the types of information seeking behaviors at each stage enables us to begin modeling information-seeking in the industrial R&D research process, as well as identifying and developing information retrieval tools targeted to their information needs.