Information science: Toward the development of a true scientific discipline

1969 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 369-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. C. Yovits
Keyword(s):  
Information Science ◽  
Scientific Discipline

Establishing a New Information Paradigm

2011 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 18-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dail DeWitt Doucette
Keyword(s):  
Information Science ◽  
Evolutionary Process ◽  
Scientific Discipline ◽  
Arts And Humanities ◽  
New Information ◽  
Chinese Association ◽  
Academic Information ◽  
Complex Forms ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Beijing China

This paper suggests a new information paradigm and recommends the establishment of a new academic and scientific discipline, or a metaphysics of information, to be built on the premise that information is also a part of all the universes, elements, systems, and conditions. Therefore, it is also an integral part of all the other individual disciplines and sciences. It is essential to look beyond the limitations of how humans use and perceive information, or even how other living organisms use information. It is proposed that information is in a continuous and dynamic evolutionary process that ranges from simple to complex forms, at every level, across all scientific and academic domains, as well as being a significant element in everything that exists. Information is a trigger mechanism, an emphasis and a nutrient, not only for information activities, but also all physical, and biological elements, systems and activities. Each existing discipline has within it a significant core informational element, which helps formulate and define that discipline. The science of information will bring together core science and academic information elements to correlate, compare and assemble a combined theoretical base. This new discipline should coexist equally with traditional scientific and academic categories such as physical, social science, arts, and humanities. It should not compete with or replace other disciplines but should stand alongside them and assist them to build comparisons and consolidations amongst multiple disciplines regarding information theories, methodologies, practices—by adding new perspectives, resources, and developments. This paper is adapted from a presentation to the Fourth International Conference on the Foundation of Information Science, held in conjunction with the Chinese Association for Artificial Intelligence at the Huazhiong University of Science and Technology in August 2010 in Beijing, China.

scholarly journals Domestic Dissertations in the area of Library and Information Science, Bibliography and Bibliology [Ending]

2015 ◽  
pp. 42-46
Author(s):  
Tat’yana V. Eremenko
Keyword(s):  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Scientific Discipline ◽  
Scientific Activity ◽  
Mathematical Statistics ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Academic Degree ◽  
Analytical Review ◽  
Bibliometric Studies

The author presents the comparative analytical review of bibliometric studies of the domestic dissertations, defended in disciplines 05.25.03 - Library and Information science, Bibliography and Bibliology. There are revealed discrepancies in quantitative data and some contradictions in the findings of different authors on the periods of scientific activities. For the purpose of refining and updating information there was studied collection of dissertations on these disciplines for the period of 1986-2013, using such criteria of bibliometric analysis as a year of defending the thesis, academic degree for which dissertation was defended, content of dissertation (by the field of science specified in the passport of scientific discipline). There are determined periods of scientific activity in the formation of the collection of dissertations. On the basis of methods of mathematical statistics there is studied the uniformity of depositing thesis collection by annual flows.

What counts as a science and discipline in library and information science?

2014 ◽  
Vol 63 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 138-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fredrick Kiwuwa Lugya
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Scientific Discipline ◽  
Library Science ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Field Of Study ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Experiment ◽  
Special Case ◽  
Careful Thought

Purpose – The convergence of librarianship and information science to form library and information science (LIS) is seen as a recent phenomenon, with the term “information science” originally focused on the application of computers to library operations and services. LIS as a science and multidisciplinary field applies the practice and perspective of information with the aim of answering important questions related to the activities of a target group. As a science, LIS is more than a collection of facts to be memorised or techniques to be mastered but is instead an inquiry carried out by people who raise questions for which answers are unknown and who have gained confidence in their ability to reach conclusions, albeit tentative ones, through research, experiment and careful thought sharpened by the open criticism of others. What is described here is a dynamic and changing field of study called LIS which differs from Cronin ' s (2004) conclusion that library science or LIS is neither a science nor a discipline. Like any other science, LIS continues to emerge, evolve, transform and dissipate in the ongoing conversation of disciplines. Design/methodology/approach – To understand LIS, this paper thoroughly reviewed the literature by paying attention to the genesis of the terms “information”, “documentation”, “science” and “librarianship”, and then the interdisciplinary nature of library science and information science. Findings – The differences between librarianship and information science are an indication that there are two different fields in a strong interdisciplinary relation, rather than one being a special case of the other. LIS has grown to be a scientific discipline, knowledge and a process that allows abandoning or modifying previously accepted conclusions when confronted with more complete or reliable experimental or observational evidence. Therefore, like any other science, LIS is a science and discipline in its own right that continues to emerge, evolve, transform and dissipate in the ongoing conversation of disciplines. Originality/value – What is described here is a dynamic and changing field of study and a science called LIS that differs from Cronin ' s (2004) assessment that library science or LIS is neither a science nor a discipline. The originality of the paper is rooted in a growing discussion to understand the relevance and appreciate the continued existence of LIS as a science and a field of study.

scholarly journals The Usefulness of Data from Web of Science and Scopus Databases for Analyzing the State of a Scientific Discipline. The Case of Library and Information Science

2018 ◽  
Vol 57 (2a) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zbigniew Osiński
Keyword(s):  
Information Science ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Scientific Discipline ◽  
The State ◽  
Bibliographic Databases ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Quality Of Data ◽  
Existing Problems ◽  
Scientific Disciplines

Purpose/Thesis: Many countries increasingly use bibliographic databases while devising new scientific policies to analyze and diagnose the state of a scientific discipline. Previous studies on the suitability of data from Web of Science and Scopus databases for this purpose gave ambiguous results. Their authors did not always account for an important issue – the quality of data from these databases. The aim of the article is to analyze the quality of data downloaded in an automated manner from the resources of the mentioned databases.Approach/Methods: The author used a qualitative method of data verification which consisted of automatic acquisition of data about journals from the Web of Science and Scopus databases, and then in their qualitative analysis. The analysis consisted of a comparison of data on journals repre­senting of library and information science (LIS) retrieved from both databases and of the comparison between the qualitative data taken from the studied databases and the data from other, domain focused bibliographic databases; of comparing the acquired data with the information available on the websites of indexed journals and of the comparison of the method used by the producers of the abovementioned databases used to classify the journals as related of LIS, with the thematic scope of the discipline, as agreed upon by scholars.Results and conclusions: It was found that in the case of the examined discipline, automated data acquiring poses a risk of obtaining a low credibility set of data. Most problems are caused by the incompleteness of data and errors in disciplinary classifying journals, articles and authors.Originality/Value: It was shown that, contrary to the claims of the decision-makers of Polish science, in its present form, the studied bibliographic databases have only negligible usefulness for monitoring the state and development tendencies of LIS. Methodological problems created by both databases, presented in this article, may also have an impact on generating a reliable and objective picture of other scientific disciplines. The changes in the sphere of the functioning of WoS and Scopus, apparent for several years, have not dealt with the already existing problems and inconveniences.

Research methods used in library and information science during the 1970-2010

2016 ◽  
Vol 117 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 74-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica Gauchi Risso
Keyword(s):  
Research Methods ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Scientific Discipline ◽  
Scientific Activity ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Anglo Saxon ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Publication Patterns

Purpose – This paper aims to explore research methods used in Library and Information Science (LIS) during the past four decades. The goal is to compile a annotated bibliography of seminal works of the discipline used in different countries and social contexts. Design/methodology/approach – When comparing areas and types of research, different publication patterns are taken into account. As we can see, data indicators and types of studies carried out on scientific activity contribute very little when evaluating the real response potential to identified problems. Therefore, among other things, LIS needs new methodological developments, which should combine qualitative and quantitative approaches and allow a better understanding of the nature and characteristics of science in different countries. Findings – The conclusion is that LIS emerges strictly linked to descriptive methodologies, channeled to meet the challenges of professional practice through empirical strategies of a professional nature, which manifests itself the preponderance of a professional paradigm that turns out to be an indicator of poor scientific discipline development. Research limitations/implications – This, undoubtedly, reflects the reality of Anglo-Saxon countries, reproduced in most of the recognized journals of the field; this issue plus the chosen instruments for data collection certainly slant the results. Originality/value – The development of taxonomies in the discipline cannot be left aside from the accepted by the rest of the scientific community, at least if LIS desires to be integrated and recognized as a scientific discipline.

scholarly journals Global Ambitions, Local Contexts: Alternative Ways of Knowing the World

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 516 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin Pfeffer ◽  
Yola Georgiadou
Keyword(s):  
Information Science ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Policy Science ◽  
Scientific Discipline ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Global Policy ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
The World ◽  
Development Trajectory ◽  
The Individual

In this Special Issue, we bring together contributions from authors in the scientific discipline Geo-Information Science who engaged with the question: How does Geo-Information Science contribute to the development of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicators? The editorial to the Special Issue situates the individual contributions in a broader social science debate, which critically examines the quantification of global policy goals and its effects on how we know and govern the world. We put forward concepts of ‘measuring the world’ and a brief history of the Geo-Information Science discipline, including its dominant positivist paradigm as well as scholarly debates that reflected on and shifted that paradigm. Given the global policy focus of the SDGs, we also briefly discuss policy science paradigms. We analyze the individual articles with regard to their contribution to the SDG indicator development trajectory. We also show how alternative ways of knowing and governing the world complement the dominant positivist paradigm.

scholarly journals Domestic Dissertations in the area of Library and Information Science, Bibliography and Bibliology

2015 ◽  
pp. 30-36
Author(s):  
T. V. Eremenko
Keyword(s):  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Scientific Discipline ◽  
Scientific Activity ◽  
Mathematical Statistics ◽  
Library And Information Science ◽  
Academic Degree ◽  
Analytical Review ◽  
Bibliometric Studies

The author presents the comparative analytical review of bibliometric studies of the domestic dissertations, defended in disciplines 05.25.03 - library and information science, bibliography and bibliology. There are revealed discrepancies in quantitative data and some contradictions in the findings of different authors on the periods of scientific activities. For the purpose of refining and updating information there was studied collection of dissertations on these disciplines for the period of 1986-2013, using such criteria of bibliometric analysis as a year of defending the thesis, academic degree for which dissertation was defended, content of dissertation (by the field of science specified in the passport of scientific discipline). There are determined periods of scientific activity in the formation of the collection of dissertations. On the basis of methods of mathematical statistics there is studied the uniformity of depositing thesis collection by annual flows.

Health and Medical Informatics Education

1994 ◽  
Vol 33 (03) ◽  
pp. 246-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Haux ◽  
F. J. Leven ◽  
J. R. Moehr ◽  
D. J. Protti
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Medical Informatics ◽  
Health Informatics ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Management Program ◽  
Science Program ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Academic Degree ◽  
The University

Abstract:Health and medical informatics education has meanwhile gained considerable importance for medicine and for health care. Specialized programs in health/medical informatics have therefore been established within the last decades.This special issue of Methods of Information in Medicine contains papers on health and medical informatics education. It is mainly based on selected papers from the 5th Working Conference on Health/Medical Informatics Education of the International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA), which was held in September 1992 at the University of Heidelberg/Technical School Heilbronn, Germany, as part of the 20 years’ celebration of medical informatics education at Heidelberg/Heilbronn. Some papers were presented on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the health information science program of the School of Health Information Science at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Within this issue, programs in health/medical informatics are presented and analyzed: the medical informatics program at the University of Utah, the medical informatics program of the University of Heidelberg/School of Technology Heilbronn, the health information science program at the University of Victoria, the health informatics program at the University of Minnesota, the health informatics management program at the University of Manchester, and the health information management program at the University of Alabama. They all have in common that they are dedicated curricula in health/medical informatics which are university-based, leading to an academic degree in this field. In addition, views and recommendations for health/medical informatics education are presented. Finally, the question is discussed, whether health and medical informatics can be regarded as a separate discipline with the necessity for specialized curricula in this field.In accordance with the aims of IMIA, the intention of this special issue is to promote the further development of health and medical informatics education in order to contribute to high quality health care and medical research.

Medical Diagnosis from a Clinician’s Point of View

1978 ◽  
Vol 17 (01) ◽  
pp. 28-35
Author(s):  
F. T. De Dombal
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Medical Diagnosis ◽  
Information Science ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Joint Research ◽  
The World

This paper discusses medical diagnosis from the clinicians point of view. The aim of the paper is to identify areas where computer science and information science may be of help to the practising clinician. Collection of data, analysis, and decision-making are discussed in turn. Finally, some specific recommendations are made for further joint research on the basis of experience around the world to date.

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