Enculturation in Industrial Research

Abstract

The new researcher undergoes a learning experience in the laboratory, in which he attempts to relate his technical competence to the needs of his employer. More than one hundred members of ten industrial laboratories were interviewed in order to discover the kinds of things the new researcher learns, the problems he encounters, etc., as he first adapts himself to the milieu of the industrial laboratory. Emphasis is placed, in the analysis of these data, on the factors influencing the kinds of ideas he produces and how he handles ideas.