Innovation and Information: Researchers Cite Increasingly Important Link
Shaun Briley, Library Connect Marketing Intern, Elsevier, San Diego, CA, USA
The world of technical research and development is a challenging and competitive environment, and those who have the best tools and resources are often more successful in beating the competition to the marketplace.
An independent survey commissioned by Elsevier asked over 25,000 R&D engineers and scientists in the US how access to paid R&D information tools impacts their work and their ability to drive innovation. The survey reached representatives of companies such as AT&T, Boeing, Dow Chemical, Kodak, GE Healthcare, IBM, Intel Corporation, Johnson & Johnson, 3M and other household names and industry leaders.
A report detailing the survey findings shows the importance of R&D information tools such as Engineering Information’s Engineering Village 2. Two-thirds of surveyed research engineers and scientists reported an increasing need for resources that provide access to the work of other professionals in their fields. Eighty-four percent of respondents stated that access to experiences of other researchers was vital to their own work.
Professionals feel it's vital to have access to the experiences of other researchers.
The survey results reflect the growing pressure on engineers and scientists to perform. Three quarters of respondents reported there is less room for error in their investigations now as compared with four or five years ago, and a slightly larger group, 78%, said they felt their institutions had increased the pressure for faster innovations and for them to contribute to their companies’ growth.
The report highlights the value researchers place on having access to paid information tools. An overwhelming 93% of respondents said their own accomplishments are built on knowledge provided by paid R&D information tools. Access to high-quality R&D information resources, such as Web databases with articles, peer-reviewed journals, books and related literature, “helps me be more creative, looking at other approaches to a problem,” remarked one respondent.
Researchers find paid R&D information tools are effective in stimulating innovation.
Ninety-one percent of survey respondents reported that access to R&D information tools generated productivity in excess of their cost, and several respondents reported paid information resources had reduced costs and mistakes at their institutions. Besides avoidable mistakes, other pitfalls of not having access to high-quality, paid R&D information include unintentional patent infringement and time lost in unproductive or redundant searches.
Some researchers went so far as to say that without access to paid R&D information tools they would not be able to launch new products in the market. One respondent said it “would be like shooting ducks in the dark; couldn’t possibly conduct relevant research.”
Respondents without access to such research tools commented: “Credible academic works would be superior to what usually comes back in a ‘Google,’” and “I search for hours for something that should only take minutes.” Among researchers who did not have access to paid R&D information tools, 87% wanted to gain access.
“R&D workers have overwhelmingly indicated that the research environment continues to grow more challenging,” noted Ross Graber, Marketing Director of Elsevier Engineering Information. “R&D organizations are being pushed to innovate faster and deliver greater results. R&D workers feel strongly that information plays a vital role in their innovation process. Without access to superior information tools their companies would be at a significant disadvantage.”
Full survey findings appear in the special report, “The Role of Information in Innovation,” available at www.ei.org/documents/Innovation_Brochure.pdf. Findings were independently collated by Martin Akel and Associates of Chester, New Jersey, following an email questionnaire sponsored by Elsevier in 2005.
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