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Dissertation Information for Jeannette Marguerite Kremer

NAME:
- Jeannette Marguerite Kremer

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science

SCHOOL:
- University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (USA) (1980)

ADVISORS:
- Frederick Wilfrid Lancaster

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Rolland E. Stevens
- Cora Thomassen
- Donald W. Krummel
- Linda C. Smith

MPACT Status: Fully Complete

Title: INFORMATION FLOW AMONG ENGINEERS IN A DESIGN COMPANY

Abstract: This study was undertaken in order to gain some insight on how technical information flows through formal and informal channels among engineers in a design company. The engineers' needs for information were identified, and their behavior while searching for information, or while obtaining it by chance, was analyzed. It was found that the formal and informal channels interact in a complex way, although following specific patterns, and that they complement each other during the process when engineers acquire information. The use of the channels was also assessed from the point-of-view of their internal and external location. The population surveyed is not involved in research. The instrument for data collection was a self-administered questionnaire, and 82.19% of responses were obtained.

There is a decided preference for internal channels of information (formal and informal), and engineers of all degrees of experience make the same small amount of use of external channels. The use of external channels is as small among the gatekeepers as it is among nongatekeepers, therefore it is not possible to claim that gatekeepers are the main link between their colleagues and external channels of information. Actually, gatekeepers in this company do not contact more people inside or outside the company than other groups. The difference between gatekeepers and nongatekeepers lies rather in the fact that the former are more often contacted than the latter.

Gatekeepers can be identified among the most experienced engineers. Also, most gatekeepers (70%) have been with the company for over five years, and 40% have been there more than ten years. The most striking characteristics of gatekeepers are the high proportion of managers among them, as compared to the number of managers in the general population, and the fact that 90% of them have graduate degrees.

The selection criteria determining the choice of an information channel were identified, and it was found that: (1) The perceived accessibility, ease of use and technical quality, as well as the amount of experience the engineers have had previously with each information channel, determine significantly the choice of a channel. Nevertheless, there are some differences in the degree of influence exerted by each criterion during this process; (2) Accesssibility and ease of use are perceived by these engineers to be greatly similar to each other; (3) Amount of experience makes the engineers aware of a channel's accessibility, ease of use and technical quality; (4) Frequency of use of mostly determined by the perceived technical quality of a channel, and secondly by the amount of experience users have had with it. Perceived accessibility and ease of use are also important considerations when the engineers select an information channel.

Engineers consider books and manuals their best sources of information. However, the rankings of information channels vary according to the fields of specialization of the engineers. Evaluation of the locations of sources of information by the engineers seems to follow Zipf's principle of least effort, since they rank higher those locations which present highest physical and psychological accessibility, and a preference was shown for their personal files.

Most searches for information (56.7%) were undertaken by the engineers to find a solution to a scientific or technical problem, and most information found by chance (49.1%) was important for the same reason. The company librarian plays an important role during the searches for information. The engineers prefer formal sources to informal ones, and they seem to avoid asking their colleagues to help them.


MPACT Scores for Jeannette Marguerite Kremer

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:16:52

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Students under Jeannette Marguerite Kremer

ADVISEES:
- None

COMMITTEESHIPS:
- None