| This study explored the transition to the virtual world from the traditional paper world in formal scholarly communication in the mid-1990s. It investigated the transition in classic natural and social science fields: economics, political science, sociology, physics, biology, and geology. The purpose of this research was to explore the degree of the transition from paper to electronic formal scholarly communication that has occurred in these selected fields, and to determine if there are significant differences between the two science domains in the stage or character of this transition.; This study drew two samples of high impact research oriented journals in fields from both the natural sciences and the social sciences, and examined the changes associated with the Internet in these typical journals. For exploration of these changes, a set of unobtrusive indicators was developed to describe the transition in formal scholarly communication, including activities such as publicity, manuscript submission, citation, and information access. Descriptive statistics were used to profile the changes towards the global computer networks in formal scholarly communication. Inferential statistics were employed to test the hypotheses of differences between the two science domains and the difference between 1994 and 1997 in electronic publicity of journals and scientists, acceptance of electronic submission, electronic accessibility of information, and utilization of electronic information resources in these selected fields.; The research generated a cross-sectional picture of the degree to which formal scholarly communication several classic science fields has converted to electronic formats in place of paper forms. On most measures, it was found that the transition had started during the three-year period between 1994 and 1997. On other hand, the degree to which the transition has been completed by 1997 varied substantially from one indicator to another.; It was also found that the two science areas shared a similar pattern in the electronic publicizing of journals, electronic accessibility of information, and utilization of electronic information resources, with a few exceptions. The significant differences between the two science are, however, were found in the acceptance of electronic submission and the electronic publicity of scientists, with the exception of releasing a scientist's Web site address. The findings suggest that electronic formal scholarly communication, as a new paradigm, have not been completely accepted. Further study should focus on cognitive aspects of the transition and explore underlying reasons for the transition. |
