Measuring the Global Research Environment: Information Science Challenges for the 21st Century

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Measuring the Global Research Environment
Information Science Challenges for the 21st
Century
Caryn Anderson Graduate School of Library and
Information Science Simmons College
Gabriele Bammer National Centre for Epidemiology
and Public Health Australian National
University Hauser Center for Nonprofit
Organizations Harvard University
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Measuring the Global Research Environment
Information Science Challenges for the 21st
Century
Our Question What does the global research
environment look like? Particularly
global research production?
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Measuring the Global Research Environment
Information Science Challenges for the 21st
Century
no nation that wants to shape informed policies
and take effective action can afford to be
without its own independent capacity in science
and technology. Kofi Annan Secretary-Genera
l United Nations Science, 2004
Annan calls for global cooperation in developing
a large collective reservoir of knowledge and
expertise.
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Measuring the Global Research Environment
Information Science Challenges for the 21st
Century
Why global research production?

• assumed (mistakenly) that data would be readily
  available
• a sense of global research production would
  provide a useful context for development of new
  field of Integration and Implementation Sciences

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Measuring the Global Research Environment
Information Science Challenges for the 21st
Century
Integration and Implementation Sciences
Developing theory and methods needed for the
cross-disciplinary research that supports
tackling large-scale, complex, social problems
and for the use of that research in informing
effective policy and action. Combines

• Systems Thinking Complexity Science
• Participatory Methods
• Knowledge Management Information Science

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Measuring the Global Research Environment
Information Science Challenges for the 21st
Century
Global Research Environment as Case Study
Inquiry into the nature of the global research
environment highlights potential information
science responses to challenges in the
management, exchange and implementation of
knowledge globally.
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Measuring the Global Research Environment
Information Science Challenges for the 21st
Century
Two Dimensions Relevant to Information Science

• Data Collection Process
• challenges in gathering, integrating and
  presenting data
• activities central to the work of information
  science
• Research Capacity
• inequalities in capacity evident in the results
• information needs and knowledge-sharing
  capacities of specific populations are the
  concern of information scientists

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Measuring the Global Research Environment
Information Science Challenges for the 21st
Century
The Investigation

• UNESCO Research Development Data (1996-2002)
• Institute of Scientific Information publications
  listings (Jan 98 Mar 03)
• World of Learning 2002 Reference Volume

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Measuring the Global Research Environment
Information Science Challenges for the 21st
Century
UNESCO Research Development Data (1996-2002)
18.9 (Austria) 1,083 (Sweden)
1 (Trinidad Tobago) 193 (Czech Republic)
2 (Honduras) 86.8 (South Africa)
0.1 (Zambia) 19.7 (India)
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Measuring the Global Research Environment
Information Science Challenges for the 21st
Century
Institute of Scientific Information publications
listings
High 2,060,522 (USA) Median 19,169
High 104,865 (India) Median 236
High 153,753 (Russian Federation) Median 737
High 60,207 (Poland) Median 1,375
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Measuring the Global Research Environment
Information Science Challenges for the 21st
Century
World of Learning 2002 Reference Volume
Institutes/Organizations of Higher Learning
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Measuring the Global Research Environment
Information Science Challenges for the 21st
Century
Limitations of Data Sources

• UNESCO Research Development Data (1996-2002)
• only 91 countries (38 of 241 listed by ISO)
• data not available for all countries in all years
• some countries calculated data differently
• 3 related reports difficult to re-combine and
  analyze
• Institute of Scientific Information publications
  listings (Jan 98 Mar 03)
• author country affiliations had to be searched
  manually
• variations and typos complicated process
• World of Learning 2002 Reference Volume
• no indication of size, reputation or influence of
  the institutions
• structural differences among research institutions

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Measuring the Global Research Environment
Information Science Challenges for the 21st
Century
Research Production Boundary Issues

• Beyond the scope of information scientists
• poor compliance with standards in primary data
  collection
• lack of local resources
• political issues restricting/prohibiting release
  of data
• Where information science can contribute
• improved information retrieval systems,
  technologies and policies
• simple ways for combining and analyzing diverse
  information from multiple resources

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Measuring the Global Research Environment
Information Science Challenges for the 21st
Century
Information Science Strategies

• Access and Exchange strategies
• RSS, OAI-PMH, OpenURL, Open Access Publishing
• Integration Strategies
• standardized data transfer standards customized
  for domains and cultures (XML, RDF, TEI, EAD,
  IABIN, EST, etc.)

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Measuring the Global Research Environment
Information Science Challenges for the 21st
Century
Research Capacity Boundary Issues

• Beyond the scope of information scientists
• lack of infrastructure
• lack of local resources
• political issues restricting/prohibiting
  investment in research
• Where information science can contribute
• improved information retrieval systems,
  technologies and policies
• cultural and domain-specific knowledge sharing
  processes

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Measuring the Global Research Environment
Information Science Challenges for the 21st
Century
Information Science Strategies

• Taxonomies and Ontologies
• development of semantic structures for
  cross-disciplinary and cross-language retrieval
• Information Needs, Seeking Behavior and Use
• position information needs and dissemination
  strategies for specific populations into larger
  global framework
• Information Visualization
• non-text-based communication methods aid
  cross-language and cross-disciplinary information
  sharing

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Measuring the Global Research Environment
Information Science Challenges for the 21st
Century
Conclusion

• Global Research Environment as Framework
• Assessment of the the global research environment
  highlights the contributions that information
  scientists can make to strengthening local
  research capacity in developing nations.
• Theory, Methods, and Best Practices Exist
• Many information scientists are already working
  on relevant strategies in the areas discussed.
• Conversation Action
• We hope our investigation will fuel conversation
  and action in coordinating existing and future
  information science activity around this global
  research sharing framework.

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Measuring the Global Research Environment
Information Science Challenges for the 21st
Century
Caryn Anderson Caryn.Anderson_at_simmons.edu
Gabriele Bammer Gabriele.Bammer_at_anu.edu.au
Global Research Environment Discussion http//www.
ils.unc.edu/asist2005/wiki/
Integration Implementation Sciences http//www.
anu.edu.au/iisn/
Global Research Data http//vidlib.simmons.edu/pro
jects/iis/globalresearch/