Informal scientific communication in Nigerian universities

This article examines the informal communication patterns of Nigerian university scientists. Ninety‐five percent of the scientists belong to at least one scientific society, while on the average each scientist belongs to three. Within a period of 12 months, 75% of all the scientists attended at least one scientific meeting such as a conference, seminar, or a symposium. The major reasons for attending such meetings were the need for exchange of information and the desire to present a paper or contribution. However, most of the attendants of scientific meetings held overseas believe that the most important aspect of the meetings was the opportunity of making informal contacts. These contacts subsequently seem to play an important role in transborder flow of information, considering the fact that most of the colleagues with whom the scientists maintain regular communication for exchange of scientific information are in overseas countries. Another effect of attending scientific meetings was that many scientists had to modify their ongoing research as a result of ideas they took away from the meetings. In most cases, the modification involved studying new sources of information and further examining the work of other scientists. Considering the importance of these communication channels to the scientists, a number of measures are suggested for managing them in order to make them more effective. © 1990 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.