Table 1.

Research Agenda Model: Key People and Organizational Issues—Sample Questions at Different Levels

	Social Science Discipline Level (Low Aggregation to High Aggregation)
Participants and Organizational Level (Low Granularity to High Granularity)	Individual/Cognitive Psychology	Workgroup/Social Psychology	Organization/Sociology	Culture/Cultural Anthropological
Individual	What affects information- seeking behavior and how information is used?	How do rapid communication and changing roles of health care providers affect profes- sional relationships?	How does widespread avail- ability of health information affect relationships and roles between providers and patients or consumers?	How should information be tailored to suit individuals from different cultural groups?
	How do different information sources influence health care decisions and outcomes?	How does widespread avail- ability of health information affect the patient role and patient decision making?	How do shifting patient loyalties and better-informed patients affect organizational structure in health care organizations?	How does one's culture affect one's use of IT?
	What information and infor- mation designs are effective for different individuals?			What meaning does “health” have for individuals of different cultural backgrounds?
Institutional	What personal characteristics are needed in IT leadership?	How are work routines affected by clinical practice guidelines, alerts, and reminders?	How are professional identities changed by new communication patterns?	How do professional cultures within an institution influence adoption of IT?
		How does a clinical information system change work routines and professional status?	How do different professional identities inter-relate to adoption of different informatics appli- cations?	To what extent is organizational culture uniform throughout an institution?
		How do work routines affect the use of IT?		How does IT change organizational norms and goals?
Trans-organizational	How can multiple sources and formats of individual data be integrated or aggregated?	How do auditing and moni- toring of care affect profes- sional identity and cohesion?	What would constitute an acceptable lifetime health record for each individual? Acceptable to whom?	How can data be integrated and aggregated across organizations to obtain indicators and guidelines for improving care?
		How does the potential for distributed information and workflow affect how processes are organized and carried out?	How do linkages through IT affect organizational identity and integrity?	How will clinicians and patients at an institution react to global indicators and guidelines?
Transnational	How are individuals' percep- tions of their health care needs influenced by trends elsewhere?	What pressures does inter- nationalization of health care services create for local health care providers?	How do disparities in health care maintain or disrupt social order?	How should disparities in health care be addressed at the national or cultural level?
	How may information tech- nologies be tailored for use by a wide variety of individuals in a wide variety of places?	What effects does health care information pitched to an affluent health care environ- ment have on populations with more basic needs and services?	How does provision of health care services and health care information by foreign institutions affect local institutions?	How well do different concepts of disease and health translate across cultures?
			What information needs are most pressing in different settings, and who decides on priorities?	What is needed for products and services to be successful and useful in a variety of locations?
				How can expenditures for IT be justified in light of pressing health care needs and high mortality rates?
				How is health care delivery in different places affected by transnational trends?