measuring the global research environment: information science challenges for the 21 st century...

Measuring the Global Research Environment: Information Science Challenges

for the 21st Century

Caryn AndersonGraduate School of Library

and Information ScienceSimmons College

Gabriele BammerNational Centre for Epidemiology

and Public HealthAustralian National University

Hauser Center for Nonprofit OrganizationsHarvard University

Our Question:

What does the global research environment look like?

Particularly global research production?

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 AnnanSecretary-GeneralUnited NationsScience, 2004


Annan calls for global cooperation in developing “a large collective reservoir of knowledge and expertise.”

• 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

Why global research production?


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


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.

Global Research Environment as Case Study


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


The Investigation

• UNESCO Research & Development Data (1996-2002)

• Institute of Scientific Information publications listings (Jan 98 – Mar 03)

• World of Learning 2002 Reference Volume


UNESCO Research & Development Data (1996-2002)


R&D Expenditures Per Capita

$0

$200

$400

$600

$800

$1,000

$1,200

Low-Income Lower-Middle-Income

Upper-Middle-Income

Upper-Income

Economies

PP

P$

High

Low

Median0.1 (Zambia) – 19.7 (India)

2 (Honduras) – 86.8 (South Africa)

1 (Trinidad & Tobago) – 193

(Czech Republic)

18.9 (Austria) – 1,083 (Sweden)

Institute of Scientific Information publications listings


Country Affiliations of Authors of Papers Listed in Web of Science (Jan. 1998 - Mar. 2003)

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000


Upper-Middle-Income

Upper-Income

Economies

Au

tho

rs (

Me

dia

n)

High: 104,865 (India)

Median: 236

High: 153,753 (Russian

Federation)Median: 737

High: 60,207 (Poland)Median: 1,375

High: 2,060,522 (USA)Median: 19,169

World of Learning 2002 Reference Volume


02468

1012141618


Upper-Middle-Income

Upper-Income

Economies

Med

ian

Nu

mb

er o

f O

rgan

izat

ion

s p

er C

ou

ntr

y

Learned Societies

Research Institutes

Universities & Higher Ed

Institutes/Organizations of Higher Learning

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


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


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.)


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


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


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.

Measuring the Global Research Environment: Information Science Challenges

for the 21st Century

Global Research Environment Discussion

http://www.ils.unc.edu/asist2005/wiki/

Caryn [email protected]

Gabriele [email protected]

Integration & Implementation Sciences

http://www.anu.edu.au/iisn/

Global Research Datahttp://vidlib.simmons.edu/projects/iis/globalresearch/

http://www.ils.unc.edu/asist2005/wiki/

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.anu.edu.au/iisn/

http://vidlib.simmons.edu/projects/iis/globalresearch/

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