Insights from a National Survey of Japanese Researchers Covering Topic Exploration and Outreach

In this paper, we investigate how researchers collect information about their research, write articles, distribute their findings to the public, and what actions high performers prioritize. The subjects of this study were researchers affiliated with various universities, national research institutes, and independent administrative research institutes in Japan. Participants were informed in writing, and responses were collected via a web-based questionnaire. Letters were sent to 486 organizations, and 1440 valid responses were obtained. The results indicate significant differences in information-collecting practices across disciplines. Additionally, it was found that highly accomplished researchers place a stronger emphasis on disseminating their research findings more widely than on methods for searching, collecting or acquiring information.