Elsevier Online Opinion Survey Reveals Researchers Ready to Push Scientific Search and Discovery to the Next Level

AMSTERDAM, October 4, 2010 - On Tuesday, September 28, Elsevier released the results of a
"Future of Search and Discovery" opinion survey that was designed to provide
a "quick pulse" of the attitudes of researchers through an informal online
opinion poll. While it was not a scientific research study nor labeled as
such in the release, we should have included more information about the
survey's methodology and limitations. To avoid any confusion, we have
clarified the press release and survey results to communicate more clearly
the nature of the survey. The complete, updated release follows.

Elsevier, (www.elsevier.com/) a world-leading publisher
of scientific, technical and medical information products and services,
released highlights from a new online opinion survey that suggests that
researchers around the globe are not only ready for the next phase in search
and discovery, but also prepared to actively contribute to making it a
reality.

In developing SciVerse, Elsevier's recently launched search
and discovery platform, the company conducted a significant amount of
qualitative market research within the scientific community. Building on this
earlier work, the online "Future of Search and Discovery" survey offers a
quick pulse of the attitudes and opinions of 1,200 researchers across the
globe. Respondents primarily hailed from academia (79%) with the balance from
government (15%) and industry (7%). The survey was conducted as an informal
online opinion poll and while indicative of opinions of those responding, it
is not intended to be viewed as a rigorous scientific research study on the
matter.

Methodology

This summer, 1,200 academic, government and industry
researchers participated in Elsevier's "Future of Search and Discovery"
online survey. A link to the online survey was distributed via email to
11,570 ScienceDirect users on June 22, 2010, with 1,801 users clicking the
link. The link was sent to an additional 22,768 Science Direct users on June
28, 2010, 1,223 clicked that link. As multiple subject area lists were used,
it is possible there were some duplicate email addresses. A link to the
survey was also included on info.scopus.com and
info.sciencedirect.com. The survey was closed to further responses on
July 5, 2010 after 1,200 responses were received (the goal was to collect
more than 1,000 responses). Respondents came from 100 countries and 20 fields
within the physical sciences and engineering, life, health and social
sciences disciplines.

Broad-Based Web Trends Poised to Enhance Search Process

The survey investigates the current understanding of the
prospective impact of open data and the opening up of platforms through the
release of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). The results clearly
suggest awareness of the potential these trends hold for enhancing search. In
fact, almost all respondents agree that "open data is important to the future
of search and discovery," with 71 percent indicating it is "very important"
and another quarter (26%) finding it "somewhat important."

Researchers also have a high level of awareness of APIs,
seeing them as important components that can foster innovation. Eight in 10
concur the "availability of APIs will foster experimentation and the
development of innovative search and discovery applications."

"The ability to find and access raw data is increasingly
critical to research. As the volume of data continues to grow and
repositories proliferate, researchers will need new solutions to help them
find and use that data," explains Judson Dunham, Senior Product Manager
Science and Technology for Elsevier. "New platforms, APIs and tailored
applications can help to release the full potential of that data. The survey
suggests that researchers recognize the potential for these trends to
accelerate research."

Taking Application Development Personally

Researchers not only agree that APIs will result in
search-related application experimentation, they are also ready to play an
active role. More than two-thirds (68%) say they would be personally
interested in developing a search and discovery application using scientific
content for their own institution. Within this group of respondents, 61
percent identify "the opportunity to help speed up research among the
scientific community as a whole" as best describing the driving force behind
their interest. Comparatively, less than one third (31%) say their motivation
would be to speed up their own research.

Despite their attraction to application building, less than
one third of these researchers (31%) feel their institution would be
supportive in terms of time and resources. In fact, 41 percent indicate their
institutions would expect them to develop applications on their own time,
using their own resources. These results suggest development could
potentially be curtailed by uncertainty with respect to support.

The survey also revealed technical fluency as another possible
barrier. Among those who did not initially indicate application development
interest, 66 percent say they would indeed be interested if they could
collaborate with others who would handle the technical aspects.

Diversity of Needs Reflected in Specific Application Interest

Perhaps reflective of the diverse needs and interests of
researchers, there were no clear leaders when respondents were asked which
type of applications would be most useful to the scientific community. In
fact, all of the application options in the survey had similar response rates
as follows: applications that facilitate more customized search (18%); those
that extract data to elicit more meaningful insight (17%); apps that show
content which trusted peers find valuable (16%); those that provide
personalized content delivery based on my interests and background (16%); and
apps offering analytical tools that are able to target trends, look at
historical research output and text/data mine to create semantic
relationships across scientific content (16%).

The Future of Search… It's All in the Network

In an effort to understand where researchers think things are
headed, the survey asked respondents what they thought would be the greatest
impact of search technology over the next several years. Nearly half (47%)
selected "the establishment of collaborative knowledge networks (online
groups of trusted peers)," followed by 28 percent who chose "the linking of
data sets to published research," 15 percent who say "improved
interoperability of data and content" and 10 percent who agree "the ability
to correlate data collected across instruments."

Further indicating an awareness of the importance of knowledge
networks to the future of search and discovery, eight in ten (81%)
respondents agree "in the next several years, researchers will use knowledge
networks (online groups of trusted peers) as a reliable source for filtering
and viewing information."

"Entering a new era in search and discovery will require new
collaboration, with all members of the scientific community participating and
embracing new roles," added Dunham. "Trends like openness and
interoperability can empower researchers and developers to build innovative
applications for solving specific research pain-points. Researchers also
clearly hope and expect to benefit from the social revolution on the web,
seeing the formation of knowledge networks that will help filter the growing
pool of available and useful content."

Highlights of the "Future of Search and Discovery" survey were recently
shared during an Elsevier-hosted webinar. To view the webinar replay please
register here. (
mediazone.brighttalk.com/event/ReedElsevier/d7b76edf79-4207-intro)

About Elsevier

Elsevier is a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical
and medical information products and services. The company works in
partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more
than 2,000 journals, including The Lancet (www.thelancet.com/) and
Cell, (www.cell.com/) and close to 20,000 book titles, including major
reference works from Mosby and Saunders. Elsevier's online solutions include
ScienceDirect, (www.sciencedirect.com)/) Scopus, (
www.scopus.com/) Reaxys, (www.scopus.com/) MD Consult
(www.mdconsult.com/) and Nursing Consult, (
www.nursingconsult.com) which enhance the productivity of science and
health professionals, and the SciVal suite (www.scival.com/) and
MEDai's Pinpoint Review, (www.medai.com/) which help research and
health care institutions deliver better outcomes more cost-effectively.

A global business headquartered in Amsterdam, Elsevier
(www.elsevier.com/) employs 7,000 people worldwide. The company is
part of Reed Elsevier Group PLC, (www.reedelsevier.com/Pages/Home.aspx
) a world-leading publisher and information provider, which is jointly owned
by Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV. The ticker symbols are REN
(Euronext Amsterdam), REL (London Stock Exchange), RUK and ENL (New York
Stock Exchange).

    Tom Reller, Vice President, Corporate Relations, Elsevier
    Phone: +1-215-239-3508
    E-mail: t.reller@elsevier.com

Tom Reller, Vice President, Corporate Relations, Elsevier, Phone: +1-215-239-3508, E-mail: t.reller at elsevier.com