Sponsorship of research: A survey of scientific literature, 1920–1960

This paper surveys 116 000 articles, published between 1920 and 1960, in fifty scientific journals. It analyzes each paper by field and by sponsorship. The details of change of sponsorship are followed from the period when 70 percent to 80 percent of sponsorship resided in the university and university funds, to the time when this had dropped to below 20 percent. The anatomy with respect to government agencies is given, together with the field of science. The pattern of sponsorship is changing. The Navy has, in general, provided by far the most generous share of sponsorship. In the period 1949–1960, the average share of sponsorship was: government, 48 percent; university, 29 percent; industry, 15.5 percent; and private research organizations, 7.5 percent. However, the shares of government and industry sponsorship are rising rapidly while those of universities and private research organizations are falling.