Information gathering patterns and creativity a study of research chemists in an industrial research laboratory

Abstract

A comparison of creative and “noncreative” research chemists with respect to the ways in which they use their professional and technical literature. The creative chemists differ from the “noncreative” in that the former read more technical literature on the job, are less reluctant to use literature of greater reading difficulty, are less influenced in their independence of thought, read more extensively and consult more frequently the older material, are more inquisitive and have broader cultural interests. The findings of the study are believed to be helpful in planning library and information services, in refining future inquiries into the ways in which scientists use recorded information, and in improving tests for the identification of creative ability among chemists.