EN

The Impact of Public Access Venue Information and Communication Technologies in Botswana Public Libraries

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

Objective

A study on the impact of Public Access Venue (PAV) Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) was conducted in Botswana libraries with Internet connections. The main objective was to determine the impact of ICTs in public libraries.

Methods

Using the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework as a theoretical lens, the study used semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions to investigate the impact of PAV ICTs in 4 study sites, resulting in data from a total of 39 interviews and 4 focus groups.

Results

The results of the study show that PAV ICTs had a positive impact on users in the areas of education and economic benefits. Within educational and economic impacts, social benefits were also found, pertaining to the use of social media and the Internet for formal and informal communication. The study also revealed a slight difference between school going users and non-school going elderly users where the use and acquisition of computer skills was concerned. Elderly non-school going users tended to rely on venue staff for skills more than the younger school going users.

Conclusion

The study recommends that PAV facilities should be improved in terms of skills offered and resources availed so as to appeal to both the younger school going generation and the older non-school going users. It is also recommended that education on ICT be improved to help curb rising unemployment in Botswana; such skills would enhance the income generation skills of the unemployed users as well as school leavers.

URL : The Impact of Public Access Venue Information and Communication Technologies in Botswana Public Libraries

Alternative location : http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/23908

EN

The role of trust and authority in the citation behaviour of researchers

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

Introduction

This paper reports on an interview-based citation behaviour study, part of a wider study of trust in information resources, investigating why researchers chose to cite particular references in one of their publications. Their motivations are explored, with an emphasis on whether they regarded the reference as an authoritative and trustworthy source, and, if so, to what extent and why.

Method

Semi-structured critical incident interviews were carried out with eighty-seven researchers from the UK and the USA.

Analysis

The answers were analysed using qualitative techniques and then grouped under descriptive headings of the types of reasons for citation provided. These were then used to create a table of these types of reason and the frequency of their use.

Results

The motivations for citing were found to be complex and multi-faceted but, in nearly all cases, researchers do regard the authority and trustworthiness of the cited source as an important factor in choosing to cite it. This suggests that citation is at least partly an acknowledgement of the intellectual influence of the content of the cited source. It was also found, however, that researchers have strong social networks of trust and collaboration. They make considerable use of these in receiving and gathering information for research and thus context is also important in their eventual citation decisions.

Conclusions

Citing behaviour does include an acknowledgement of useful intellectual content, but this process cannot be separated from the researcher’s position in networks of trusted social and research influence. The digital transition has provided tools to help maintain and develop these social networks and it has also made it easier for researchers to investigate the credentials of the sources of documents. This suggests that the current distinction in the literature between normative and constructionist theories of citation behaviour may not capture the nuanced and complex relationship between these two factors.

URL : http://www.informationr.net/ir/20-3/paper677.html

EN

A new direction in information science research: making information science a human science

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

Introduction

The term human is a core concept of information science literature. However, information science authors have hardly discussed the term. Consequently, what is and is not human remains unclear. The purpose of this paper is to bring consideration of human conditions to the centre stage of information science research.

Method

To ascertain the place of humans in the body of work pertaining to information science, the paper undertakes a content analysis of over 800 articles published between 2011 and 2012 in five major journals of information science, and outlines some research consequences.

Results

Six current humanist research themes were identified from the content analysis.

Conclusions

The paper suggests a new direction for information science authors, which will enable information science to go past the functionality of systems and the optimization of information seeking to engage with the fuller actualization of humans. The goal is to drill deeper in the structures of oppression and vulnerability to allow the worst-off individuals to be well-off. We cannot help our readers as a human species by shunning the concept human.

URL : http://www.informationr.net/ir/20-3/paper686.html

EN

Empirical Big Data Research: A Systematic Literature Mapping

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

Background

Big Data is a relatively new field of research and technology, and literature reports a wide variety of concepts labeled with Big Data. The maturity of a research field can be measured in the number of publications containing empirical results. In this paper we present the current status of empirical research in Big Data. Method: We employed a systematic mapping method with which we mapped the collected research according to the labels Variety, Volume and Velocity. In addition, we addressed the application areas of Big Data.

Results

We found that 151 of the assessed 1778 contributions contain a form of empirical result and can be mapped to one or more of the 3 V’s and 59 address an application area.

Conclusions

The share of publications containing empirical results is well below the average compared to computer science research as a whole. In order to mature the research on Big Data, we recommend applying empirical methods to strengthen the confidence in the reported results. Based on our trend analysis we consider Variety to be the most promising uncharted area in Big Data.

URL : Empirical Big Data Research: A Systematic Literature Mapping

Alternative location : http://arxiv.org/abs/1509.03045

EN

Level of Awareness of Open Access Electronic Resources by Scientists in Agricultural Research Institutes in Edo State, Nigeria

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

Purpose

This study was conducted to determine the level of awareness of open access electronic resources (OAER) by scientists in agricultural research institutes in Edo State, South – South geopolitical zone of Nigeria.

Methodology

Descriptive survey research design was adopted. One hundred and fifty research scientists in agricultural research institutes in Edo (70 from Rubber Research Institute of Nigeria and 80 from Nigerian Institute For Oil Palm Research) constituted the population for the study. Questionnaire was used as instrument for data collection.  Two research questions guided the study.

Findings

The result of the study showed that scientists in agricultural research institutes in Edo state are fully aware of the existence of open access electronic resources but yet have greater access to traditional library materials than electronic journals and books for their research work.

Implication

The study implies that the scientists though fully aware of existence of open access electronic resources but have challenges that compeled them to still access traditional library materials for their research work.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the management of the two agricultural research institutes in Edo State should provide functional Internet facilities for the scientists and organize regular workshops and seminars aimed at informing their scientists on the relevance and use of open access electronic resources.

URL : Level of Awareness of Open Access Electronic Resources by Scientists in Agricultural Research Institutes in Edo State, Nigeria

Alternative location : http://www.ijier.net/assets/level-of-awareness-of-open-access-electronic-resources-ijier.net-vol-3-8-11.pdf

EN

Ethical Research Primer for the Novice Researcher

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

As the research process is embarked upon, it is important that a novice researcher become well versed in ethical standards. Maintaining the highest level of ethical conduct is of paramount importance at all stages of the endeavor. Unethical behavior compromises research quality, slows the advancement of knowledge, and undermines societal trust. Thus, development of familiarity and expertise surrounding ethical complexities will enhance the chances of a successful and worthwhile research project. The purpose of this article is to create awareness of the ethical dilemmas novice researchers are faced with in maintaining the academic integrity of published works. The article explores the literature related to ethics in research, and provides a discussion of a number of ethical issues which threaten research quality.

URL : Ethical Research Primer for the Novice Researcher

Alternative location : http://www.ijier.net/assets/ethical-research-primer-ijier.net-vol-3-8-13.pdf

Non classé

Barriers to Open Access Publishing: Views from the Library Literature

Posted on by Hans Dillaerts

The library and information science (LIS) community has an active role in supporting access to information and, therefore, is an important stakeholder in the open access conversation. One major discussion involves the barriers that have hindered the complete transition to open access in scientific publications.

Building upon a longitudinal study by Bo-Christer Björk that looked at barriers to the open access publishing of scholarly articles, this study evaluates the discussion of those barriers in the LIS literature over the ten year period 2004–2014, and compares this to Björk’s conclusions about gold open access publishing. Content analysis and bibliometrics are used to confirm the growth of the discussion of open access in the past ten years and gain insight into the most prevalent issues hindering the development of open access.

URL : Barriers to Open Access Publishing: Views from the Library Literature

DOI : 10.3390/publications3030190