Innovations in meta-analysis and social impact analysis relevant for tech mining 10.1016/j.techfore.2006.01.008

In the social sciences, non-utilization of knowledge is a major problem. Many publications stored in libraries or available on the Internet should be used more than they are now. Conventional approaches like providing abstracts and lists of keywords have proven to be insufficient. For more than thirty years already, meta-analysis is available for the accumulation and dissemination of scientific knowledge. In the social sciences, meta-analysis has been used on a limited scale only, mainly because there still remains a gap between the knowledge available and its application in policymaking. Recently, value transfer has been introduced as an additional method to bridge the gap between available knowledge and the demands for knowledge in new problem areas. Not only in the social sciences but also in the information sciences non-utilization of information is a major problem. It is the mission of tech mining to contribute to a mitigation of this non-utilization. In this article, we will show how tech mining could profit from innovations in meta-analysis and social impact assessment. Special attention will be paid to research on technology generations, research on social change in cohesive social systems showing solidarity at work, and tech mining in support of the Lisbon Strategy of the European Commission. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.