Public managers' acquisition of scientific and technical information

A number of information channels are available to public managers, but there is considerable variance with regard to the flow of scientific and technical information along the various channels. The objective of this study, based on data derived from a questionnaire mailed to program managers at the Canadian Environmental Protection Service, is to examine aspects of information acquisition with a focus on scientific and technical information. More specifically, the study attempts to determine (1) the relationship of information channel preference to scientific and technical information acquisitiveness and (2) the relation of 'externalist/internalist' orientations to STI acquisitiveness. Analysis of correlations indicated that the proposition relating STI acquisitiveness to disposition for formal channels is supported. The results for 'externalist/internalist' indicate that those more closely tied to the scientific and technical communities' activities and norms (i.e. those who attend scientific meetings, publish, have Ph.D.s in the sciences or engineering), are more active in acquiring STI, but it does not follow that the internalists (at least as measured by identification with the organization rather than the profession) are less active in acquiring STI.