Diffusion of Innovation in Digital Libraries: Mobilizing Networks to Increase the Scope and Depth of Use of a New Cyber Infrastructure

美国社会学协会将进行一项详细的研究，研究与传统的纸质课堂材料相比，数字版本的课程材料在整个学院和大学中的使用和分发情况。本研究以创新扩散理论为基础，包括五个部分的预测行为实证分析。研究者将对不同类型的大学和不同年龄和培训形式的教授如何传播课程材料进行统计分析。本研究的结果将有助于理解数字图书馆作为一种获取教材的形式的当前价值，也可能有助于理解整个美国高等教育系统的教育材料的传播过程的方法和理论。 研究方法采用社会学实践的最新发展，如出版界的社交网络分析和社会学家的参考资料。

The American Sociological Association will conduct a detailed study of how well digital versions of course materials are used and distributed throughout colleges and universities compared with traditional paper forms of classroom materials. The study is designed based on theory of diffusion of innovations and includes a 5 part empirical analysis of predicted behaviors. The researcher would conduct statistical analysis of how diffusion of course materials occurs for different types of colleges and for professors of different ages and forms of training. The results of this study will be useful for understanding the current value of digital libraries as a form of access to teaching materials and it is also likely to contribute to the method and theory of understanding the diffusion process for educational materials throughout the US higher education system. The methods of study use the latest developments in sociological practice such as analysis of social networks among publishing and references of sociologists.