Industrial Research 



175 



has arrived at the optimum ratio, the net achievement 

 to be expected may still be estimated roughly from the 

 total number of workers. 



In figure 44 is shown the growth of research employ- 

 ment for the years 1920-40, as reported to the National 

 Research Coimcil. The "Research Personnel" repre- 

 sents the total number of employees reported as engaged 

 in or assisting with technical research, except as noted 

 below.* The upper curve relates to all of those com- 

 panies which reported in the various surveys, and 

 represents therefore an over-all figure for research 

 employment. 



The lower curve of figure 44 indicates the trend 

 toward increased research staffs in existing laboratories. 

 It shows the number of research employees ° of 200 



* These figures are drawn from questionnaire surveys conducted by the National 

 Research Council in 1920, 1921, 1927, 1931, 1933, 1938, and 1940. In a general way, 

 these surveys are comparable. There has, however, been a continuing increase in 

 the number of organizations covered, particularly during the period 1921-27. Slight 

 changes in the wording of the questionnaire in 1938 and again in 1940 have resulted 

 in the inclusion of previously unreported classifications of research personnel. Con- 

 sequently, the data shown in figure 44 for 1938 and 1940 have been adjusted to reflect 

 the actual growth in those classifications reported in previous surveys. This has been 

 done by the exclusion of the classes of personnel first covered in 1938 and 1940. The 

 resulting totals will be referred to as "comparable totals." 



The data utilized in the preparation of figures 44, 47, 49, and 50 has been drawn in 

 part or entirely from tabulations published in Industrial Research and Changing 

 Technology (see footnote 1), which is based on the National Research Council surveys 

 of 1920-38. 



• The number of employees in 1938 and 1940 have been adjusted for comparability, 

 as explained in footnote 4. 



identical companies which reported throughout tho 

 period 1921-40. This group of companies contains 

 representatives of all industrial classifications. 



Both curves show a rapid increase between 1920 and 

 1931, a considerable drop between 1931 and 1933, and 

 further increases between 1933 and 1940. The total 

 for all companies (upper curve), deviates sharply from 

 the total for identical companies during the early years, 

 duo principally to the effect on the upper curve of the 

 increased coverage of later survej's. The over-all rate of 

 growth between 1921 and 1940 is approximately 10 per- 

 cent per year for all companies (upper curve), and 5 per- 

 cent per year for the identical companies (lower curve). 



The over-all growth (upper curve of figure 44) can be 

 broken into four components: (1) The increase in per- 

 sonnel employed by those laboratories which have main- 

 tained and reported research tliroughout the period 

 covered; (2) The increase in personnel due to the estab- 

 hshmcnt of new laboratories; (3) the apparent increase 

 in personnel resulting from the increased coverage of 

 succeeding surveys; (4) the apparent increase in person- 

 nel due to the inclusion in recent surveys of additional 

 classifications of research workers. Components (3) 

 and (4) represent an apparent rather than a real 

 growth." 



' However, component (4) has been excluded from figure 44. See footnote 4. 



THE INCREASE OF RESEARCH PERSONNEL BETWEEN 1938 AND 

 I940i RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF THE VARIOUS COMPONENTS 



TOTAL RESEARCH PERSONNEL 



70,033 



49,467 



1940 



1938 

 1 



REAL GROWTH 



INCREASED STAFF OF PREVIOUSLY REPORTED LABORATORIES 



PERSONNEL OF LABORATORIES ESTABLISHED 1938-1940 



APPARENT GROWTH 

 PERSONNEL OF LABORATORIES FIRST REPORTED IN 1940 



NEW CLASSIFICATIONS OF PERSONNEL 



TOTAL INCREASE 



20% OVER 1938 

 1% OVER 1938 



11% OVER 1938 

 9% OVER 1938 



41% OVER 1938 



Figure 45. — Tbe Increase of Research Personnel Between 1938 and 1940; Relative Importance of the Various Components 



