Social Science Literatures and Their Users [ELIS Classic]

This entry reviews the impact that electronic communication and the availability of electronic information resources are having on social science literature and its users. The two key elements to this being the effect on literature and communication in the social sciences, and the effect on the use of social science literature. The perceptions of social scientists of electronic resources and their use are outlined, and the emergence of a hybrid communication system in the social sciences, through the phenomena of parallel publishing, is highlighted. The effects on social science information seeking behavior of the availability and use of electronic resources are explored with particular reference to the use of electronic journals and Internet resources. Although the main features of the information seeking patterns of social scientists appear generally unchanged, electronic resources are altering the nature of the social science literature base and affecting aspects of its use.