The information needs of Hungarian engineers (Results of a survey) I.

Abstract

The World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO) has, under a contract with UNESCO, developed methodology guidelines for the survey of the information needs of engineers. The combination of data collection by using questionnaires and by personal interviews was applied. Before the final version of the guidelines is completed, two trials have been conducted in 1985, one of them in Hungary. The survey revealed the information needs of various groups of engineers engaged in the electronics industry and in the pharmaceutical industry, based on 120 questionnaires and 20 personal interviews. The persons questioned included also engineers working in the management, education and research of the industries surveyed. The results indicate that the information needs are determined by the character of the industry and by the type of job. They are also influenced by the social and economical situation, and by the information infrastructure of the country. The results have proved the usefulness of the guidelines and provided good means for the development of the information culture in Hungary.
In the first part of this publication, the planning ad accomplishment of the survey, and the results of an analysis of the questionnaires are presented.