Communication policy research has been defined as a response to the policy maker's increasing need for factual information in an environment of accelerating technological change. This definition presumed that the social researcher provided the policy maker with such information. Enough examples of contradition between research findings and policy statements exist to suggest that this definition is a somewhat idealized conception. While a direct linkage between policy research and policy making has been often obscured, it was projected that an indirect linkage will begin to emerge in the future, especially for research focusing on new technology. Since the design of communication systems utilizing new technology has become an integral part of the research, the social researcher has become involved not only in studying communication behavior, but also in the design of communication systems. (HAB)