This is a study of information transfer in the R and D operations of large industrial corporations. Its basis is a body of survey data collected from 2000 engineers and scientists in 13 establishments of four corporations and from 1200 members of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The data describe instances in which respondents acquired useful technical information from sources outside their immediate circle of colleagues. The analysis is descriptive in character, following a functional approach in which the use of various means of information transfer is considered in relation to the purposes of technical work. The report discusses the effects which management may have, within an organization, on the process of information transfer, and the need for managers and students of the process to take into account the interplay in this process of personal values, task requisites, and the structure of formal and informal social groups. Firms need to establish two-way communication about needs and possibilities. By so doing they may enhance the effectiveness with which advances in knowledge are translated into innovations in technology meeting the needs of society. (Author)