Abstract :
Hypothesizing that workplace significantly affects information-
seeking patterns, this study compared accessibility
and use of information sources among 233 Israeli
computer scientists and software engineers, employed
in industry and academy, using a mail questionnaire,
which yielded a usable reply rate of 33%. The two groups
were found to differ significantly in age, education, seniority,
and type of research they performed (basic vs.
applied). Printed textbooks, professional journals, and
oral discussions with colleagues or experts in the organization
were common to both groups, topping almost
all lists of accessibility and use. For most information
sources, however, the two groups differed significantly
and consistently. Printed professional journals as well as
printed and electronic conference or meeting papers
were consistently more accessible and more often used
by the academy group, while the industry group reported
greater access to and more frequent use of electronic
textbooks and trade or promotional literature. In regard
to handbooks and standards, in-house technical reports
(printed), government technical reports (Internet), librarians
and technical specialists (Internet), and oral discussions
with supervisors, no significant differences in accessibility
were found, but their use by the industry
group was much higher. In both groups, accessibility
was only partly related to use, and more so among the
academy than the industry group
