An examination has been made of the effects of using information
technology on the communication of research by
social scientists in Brazil. Two disciplines were studied –
economics and sociology – via both interviews and a questionnaire
survey. A small sample of UK social scientists was
also interviewed. The results indicate that major changes in communication
habits are occurring. These are already well advanced for
informal communication and are beginning to appear for
formal communication. Differences have been found
between economists and sociologists, with the former more
active in their use of electronic facilities. Along with such
discipline-related differences, the developments also appear
to be influenced, in part, by pressures from the research
community and from the institutional environment. One
significant impact of information technology seems to be an
increasing democratisation of the international research
community
