On-Line Research-Support Systems

Abstract

This article provides an overview of trends in electronic communication among research scientists, with particular attention to the Experimental Research in Electronic Submission (EXPRES) initiative at the National Science Foundation (NSF). NSF is an independent agency of the federal government authorized to initiate and support basic scientific research and to strengthen the nation's scientific research potential and education in the sciences. EXPRES is a conceptual and technological project attempting to facilitate the exchange of compound scientific documents between research sites possessing different kinds of computer hardware and software. In its most fundamental aspect, EXPRES is about scientific collaboration as well as communication. This dual process is exemplified in the development of basic research proposals by scientists at universities, and the subsequent procedures by which such proposals are submitted, evaluated for scientific merit by the scientists' peers, and ultimately funded or declined. EXPRES holds the promise of not just streamlining but also enhancing the support systems by which today's scientific research is carried out.

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References

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2. Ibid., p. 2.

3. J[ames] Merton England , A Patron for Pure Science (Washington, DC: National Science Foundation, 1982), pp. 279-310.

4. Derek de Solla Price , “Towards a Model for Science Indicators,” in Towards a Metric of Science: The Advent of Science Indicators, ed. Yehuda Elkana et al. (New York: John Wiley, 1978), pp. 69-95.

5. Ibid., p. 71.

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7. Price , Little Science, Big Science, pp. 62-91.

8. Hiltz and Turoff , Network Nation, pp. 214-250.

9. Ibid., p. 238.

10.

10. Ibid., p. 239.

11.

11. John Seely Brown , “The Impact of the Information Age on the Conduct and Communication of Science,” Testimony before the Task Force on Science Policy, Committee on Science and Technology, House of Representatives, U.S. Cong., 1st sess., 12 Sept. 1985.

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12. Ibid., pp. 7-8.

13.

13. EXPRES Newsletter, 1(1):7 (June 1987).

14.

14. Ibid., p. 1.

15.

15. Robert P. Lowman and E. Ralph Dusek , “Federal Research Support: A Primer for Proposal Writers,” in Guide to Research Support, ed. E. Ralph Dusek et al. (Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, Scientific Affairs Office, 1984), pp. 41-53.

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16. John P. Crecine , “The Next Generation of Personal Computers,” Science (28 Feb. 1986), pp. 935-942.

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17. EXPRES Newsletter, 1(1):4-6 (June 1987).

18.

18. Ibid., p. 4.

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19. Donald B. Straus et al. , “Computer-Assisted Negotiations: A Case History from the Law of the Sea Negotiations and Speculation Regarding Future Uses,” in Computer Culture: The Scientific, Intellectual, and Social Impact of the Computer, ed. Heinz R. Pagels , Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Series, vol. 426 (New York: New York Academy of Sciences, 1984), pp. 234-265.

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