Аннотация:In an effort to contribute to an empirically based sociology of knowledge application, this paper explores the frames of reference that decision-makers employ in assessing the usefulness of social science research for their work. Analysis of responses of 155 decision-makers in mental health fields to 50 actual research reports reveals five frames of reference: relevance of research topic, research quality, conformity of results with expectations, orientation to action, and challenge to existing policy. All frames are positively associated with perceived likelihood of using a study. Two significant interactions among the frames suggest that, in essence, decision-makers apply a test and a test in screening social science research. They judge truth on two bases: research quality and/or conformity with prior knowledge and expectations. They also assess utility on alternaive bases: feasible direction for action and/or challenge to current policy. The ways in which they apply research conclusions to their work is a broader, more diffuse, and wider-ranging process than many earlier investigators have recognized. In 1949, Robert Merton called for systematic study of applied social science and of the factors that facilitated or impeded its utilization for purposes of practical action. His luminous analysis discussed the cultural, organizational, situational, and cognitive contexts of applied social research and pointed to the need for empirical investigation of their implications for research use. He identified such dimen
