Utilization of social science research knowledge in Canada

This paper addresses three questions: What is the extent of the use of soci al science research in Canada? Are there differences between the social sci ences disciplines regarding extent of use? What are the determinants of uti lization of social science research knowledge in Canada? The paper develops and tests an empirical model that derives its dependent and independent va riables from prior studies in knowledge utilization. Instead of limiting ut ilization to instrumental use, the paper defines utilization as a six-stage cumulative process. Based on a survey of 1229 Canadian social science scho lars, the findings of this study show that nearly half of the research resu lts lend to some use by practitioners, professionals and decision-makers. F urthermore, comparisons of means of utilization show that the professional social sciences (social work and industrial relations) lend to higher level s of utilization than the disciplinary social sciences (economics, politica l science, sociology and anthropology). Multivariate regression analyses sh ow that the most important determinants of utilization are the mechanisms l inking the researchers to the users, the dissemination efforts, the adaptat ion of research outputs undertaken by the researchers, the users' context a nd the publication assets of the researchers. The other explanatory factors exert a more mitigated influence on knowledge utilization. The last part o f the paper derives policy implications from the regression results. Overal l, the most important finding of this paper is that knowledge utilization d epends much more heavily on factors regarding the behavior of the researche rs' and users' context than on the attributes of the research products. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.