Interdisciplinary Science and its Impact on Information Professionals

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Interdisciplinary Science and its Impact on
Information Professionals

• Carol Tenopir
• University of Tennessee
• ctenopir_at_utk.edu
• web.utk.edu/tenopir/

Special Libraries Association June 2009
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Branching of science is a natural process
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Disciplines are grafted
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Then blended into a new discipline
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From research..

• Growth in journal publishing and range of
  readings sources
• Reading patterns of Interdisciplinary readers and
  interdisciplinary readings
• DataONE (an NSF DataNet project)

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Growth of Peer-Reviewed Science Journals Based in
the USA, 1965 1995
Tenopir and King, 2009. The Future of the
Academic Journal.
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All scholarly/academic journals (from ulrichs)
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More sources, more interdisciplinary reading?

• In 1977 researchers read on average at least one
  article from 13 journals
• In 1995 that number had increased to 18
• By 2003 that number was 23
• By 2005 it increased again to 33

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Average number of article readings per year per
university science faculty member in the US
Average number of article readings per scientist
311 with outliers, 2005,n932 2000-03, n397
1993, n70 1984, n865 1977, n2350
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Average Minutes per Reading by University
Faculty Member
Average Minutes Per Article
Year of Studies
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Ave. readings yearly by faculty in US and
Australian Universities by academic
discipline (n1674)
Subject Discipline
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Ave. Minutes per reading per faculty by academic
discipline in U.S. and Australian Universities
(n1674)
Average minutes per reading
Subject Discipline
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• interdisciplinary readings and readers are
  different in some ways.

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Interdiscipline readings (U.S. and Australia)
more likely to be Electronic
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Format of Last Reading(U.S. and Australia)
Inter-discipline
Intra-discipline
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Interdiscipline Readings (U.S. and
Australia)More likely to be from the library or
other
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When reading outside their discipline, faculty
areless likely to get information if original
not available (U.S. and Australia)
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Interdisciplinary readers (Finnish Universities,
n1882)

• Are slightly more likely to find e-articles by
  following citation links
• Value scientific monographs and conference
  proceedings more, textbooks less
• Are more likely to be older than 36

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Comments from university faculty (worldwide)
2008-2009

• I am able to look up secondary references that I
  might have over-looked when not available on
  linehas greatly affected my ability to be more
  knowledgeable and inclusive. (U.S. university)
• I read and cite a wider range of material,
  especially material outside my discipline, and I
  feel more confident that I am engaging with the
  relevant literature. (Canadian university)

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• This access has made collecting research
  resources infinitely more efficient it has also
  facilitated interdisciplinary research. (U.S.
  university)
• The system allows me to save a lot of time and
  to update knowledge especially from areas of
  research that otherwise remain practically
  ignored. (Western European Research Institute)

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• Having access to a much, much wider range of
  English-language resources than before isa huge
  change for the better, as an English-speaking
  researcher in Japan. I have always crossed
  disciplinary boundaries in my own research, but
  this is much easier to do with access to
  electronic resources. (Japanese university)

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Information Professionals leading
interdisciplinary science...DataONE (Data
Observation Network for Earth) P.I., Bill
Michener, University Libraries, Univ. New Mexico

• Presenter Name

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Sustainable Digital Data Preservation and Access
Network Partners (DataNet)

• NSF Division of Cyberinfrastucture
• Will create exemplar partners to address one of
  the major challenges of this scientific
  generation how to develop the new methods,
  management structures and technologies to manage
  the diversity, size, and complexity of current
  and future data sets and data streams.

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DataNet will build new types of organizations
that will

• integrate library and archival sciences,
  cyberinfrastructure, computer information
  sciences, and domain science expertise to
• provide reliable digital preservation, access,
  integration, and analysis capabilities for
  science and/or engineering data over a
  decades-long timeline

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engaging diverse partners.

• Libraries digital libraries
• Academic institutions
• Research networks
• NSF- and government-funded synthesis
  supercomputer centers/networks
• Governmental organizations
• International organizations
• Data and metadata archives
• Professional societies
• NGOs
• Commercial sector

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Interdisciplinary challenges

• Environmental science challenges
• Cyberinfrastructure challenges
• DataONE A solution
• Building on existing CI
• Creating new CI
• Changing science culture and institutions

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(No Transcript)
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Data loss

• Natural disaster
• Facilities infrastructure failure
• Storage failure
• Server hardware/software failure
• Application software failure
• External dependencies
• Format obsolescence
• Legal encumbrance
• Human error
• Malicious attack by human or automated agents
• Loss of staffing competencies
• Loss of institutional commitment
• Loss of financial stability
• Changes in user expectations and requirements

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Scattered data sourcesfinding the needle in the
haystack

• Data are massively dispersed
• Ecological field stations and research centers
  (100s)
• Natural history museums and biocollection
  facilities (100s)
• Agency data collections (100s to 1000s)
• Individual scientists (1000s to 10,000s to
  100,000s)

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Distributed framework
Flexible, scalable, sustainable network

• Member Nodes
• diverse institutions
• serve local community
• provide resources for managing their data

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Organizational participation
Libraries, research networks, agencies can

• Become a Member Node in DataONE
• receive data-life-cycle software and updates
• get access to training materials, curricula, and
  best practices
• join in establishing data preservation and
  related standards
• Join the DataONE International Users Group as an
  institutional member
• set future directions for cyberinfrastructure
  support and education
• join the software development community
• contribute curricula and training materials

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Information professionals

• Provide collections and access that facilitate
  interdisciplinary work
• Can also take a leadership role

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We can assist and lead in moving science from

• Unidisciplinary - researchers from a single
  discipline work together to address a common
  problem
• Multidisciplinary - researchers from different
  disciplines work independently or sequentially,
  each from his or her own disciplinary-specific
  perspective, to address a common problem
• Interdisciplinary - researchers from different
  disciplines work jointly to address a common
  problem and although some integration of their
  diverse perspectives occurs, participants remain
  anchored in their own fields
• Transdisciplinary - researchers from different
  disciplines work jointly to create a shared
  conceptual framework that integrates and moves
  beyond discipline-specific theories, concepts,
  and approaches, to address a common problem

(Rosenfield, 1992)
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Reaching across the aisle and helping others to
do so.
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• Thank you!
• Continue the discussion.
• ctenopir_at_utk.edu

Carol Tenopir