The need to justify public expenditure has increased the emphasis on impact of research. Identifying ways to maximise impact is a requirement of research funders and a concern of governments internationally. Researchers are expected to communicate findings clearly, make use of the media and influence politicians and administrators. Through an…

Discusses social science as an aid to decision making, as a source of social technology, and as a tool for understanding innovation and productivity. Identifies factors that limit the utilization of social science in innovation and productivity research. (GC)

Articles in this special issue discuss the utilization of social research by governmental commissions. How social science knowledge influences their decision making is examined. (RM)

The linkage between policy research and policy formation can be strengthened through the use of qualitative methods. Currently, the linkage between policy research and policy decision making is tenuous; there are differences in philosophy, function, self-definition, and criteria by which success is measured. Although research cannot dictate the…

This paper suggests that while the social sciences have closely allied themselves with administrative and political decision makers, there is a role for them as well in working with the courts. (Author/AM)

Discusses five characteristics of policy making within governmental sectors and the consequences of each for the social sciences: (1) degree of centralization, (2) characteristics of major policy actors; (3) characteristics of major institutions, (4) nature of decisions made by the sector, and (5) availability of alternate source of information.…

Social science research does not fit well, either in its execution or in its results, with the organizational structure and the time requirements for decision making in the federal administrative system. Different organization of research for procedural questions and policy issues could eliminate this ill-timing. (Author/KR)

Discusses strategies to improve policy makers' utilization of research based on the "two-communities" theory that social scientists and policy makers live in two different worlds. Notes that for high level decision making, collaboration must involve more general problems and a decision to use either data-based or nonresearch knowledge for solving…

Explores experiences of a school board member, himself an educational researcher, that relate to the relationship between social science research and educational policymaking. Why decision makers are skeptical about the value of research in formulating policy is considered, and thoughts are presented on the future of educational research. (SLD)

Results of a study to determine the impact of social policy research upon organizational decisions are reported. Studies of 120 projects in the Netherlands were drawn from three areas of social policy making: industrial and labor relations, regional and urban planning, and social welfare and public health. Three functions of social policy research…

Although substantial efforts have been made in social science research in rural areas, the assembled data often has not been extensively utilized by decision makers. This paper proposes a collaboration between researchers and decision makers and suggests guidelines for enhancing research utilization. (DS)

Social science research can make a valuable contribution to family law analysis and formation. It can help define problems, identify possible solutions, and challenge underlying normative assumptions. Recent studies related to family law reform have analyzed the use of wage-withholding and other changes to increase child support amounts and…

In this paper, social science utilization is studied as an aspect of legislative decision making. The purposes of the paper are to provide a review of political science literature on state legislatures, offer a theoretical framework for interpreting utilization of social science research, apply the framework to interview data, and generate a…

A preliminary review of findings and implications of social science research utilization among government officials is provided. The data come from face-to-face interviews of 204 persons at the upper levels of decision making in the executive branch of the federal government. Section one presents descriptive data on the diversity of the…

There are three ways by which the social science research community can influence government decision makers. First, researchers need to understand the scope and limitations of governmental agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission. Second, objective research rather than biased "advocacy research" should be conducted.…