[Scientific communication at the beginning of the 21st century--Hungarian survey and international outlook in medicine and the life sciences].
BACKGROUND
Rapid developments take place in communication technology. It is a hard task to keep pace with them, but unavoidable. The scene of electronic communication and publication, the Internet has originally been constructed for scientific communication and publication of scientists. Nowadays, the electronic communication has spread all over the world. Though the share of sciences has been diminished, the progress in the scientific electronic communication has not been broken.


OBJECTIVE
The authors delineate the present situation in electronic communication in general and in Hungary.


METHODS
The authors asked by questionnaire survey the medical scientists and professionals about their knowledge and usage of modern publication possibilities. For comparison's sake, the authors referred to some foreign surveys as well.


RESULTS
In Hungary, the communication possibilities on the Internet--and the electronically accessible publications--are at the readers' disposal at the universities and academic institutions. The opinions about the popularity and effects of electronic publication are generally positive. Concerns were expressed in connection with the possible weaker professional control in case of certain types of publication. In the opinion of the majority of questioned people the electronic form of publication will never replace the traditional one completely, it will be, however, dominant.
Vasas
Lívia
L
Semmelweis Egyetem, Központi Könyvtára, Budapest. lvasas@lib.sote.hu
Hercsel
Imréné
I
D001690:Biological Science Disciplines; D003142:Communication; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary; D033181:Information Dissemination / Q000379:methods; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D020407:Internet; D007990:Libraries; D008490:Medical Informatics / Q000639:trends*; D011643:Publishing; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities