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This paper presents an analysis of a hundred and one handwritten essays by master students in Informatics. The students reflected on their experiences of working with pen and paper for reading and writing as a mandatory assignment for the duration of a five-week intensive course. Taking an inductive approach, reflexive thematic analysis was used to identify patterns of meaning across the full dataset. The essays elicited insightful student reflections on learning, knowing, and being. One overarching theme, New connections, and four sub-theses were identified: Handwriting as note making, Being present for learning, Freedom to think, and Materiality of reading and writing. This study contributes to an improved understanding of the affordances of paper and laptops in the lecture room, based on a student-centred approach, and reflects on how student perspectives can be implemented during lectures.

Subject to various restrictive requirements on project application and completion, funded projects are often affected by funding policies for the selection of research objects. This study explored the impact of scientific research funding policies on the funding and research by comparing the topic distribution of awards and papers. A total of 1,870 awards and 16,491 papers of the National Social Science Foundation of China (NSSFC) in library and information science (LIS) were collected from a Chinese research project database. According to the results, the growth rate of awards on most topics is higher than that of papers, while the growth rate of papers on the relevant topics to users, technology, and metrology is higher than that of awards. It was found out in the study that the topics funded by NSSFC were imbalanced. NSSFC provides much more funding to traditional topics rather than emerging topics. As indicated by the funding provided to the projects on traditional topics for research on a large number of papers on emerging topics, however, the innovation and diversity of academic research have yet to be restricted. This study demonstrated that the effect of funding policies on the research topics in LIS is significant. Topic suggestions and funding structure of NSSFC have more impacts on award topics than on paper topics. The influence of NSSFC-recommended topics on paper topics is declining year by year. Additionally, awards with high funding intensity are more susceptible to topic suggestions.

Purpose: Predicting highly cited papers can enable an evaluation of the potential of papers and the early detection and determination of academic achievement value. However, most highly cited paper prediction studies consider early citation information, so predicting highly cited papers by publication is challenging. Therefore, the authors propose a method for predicting early highly cited papers based on their own features. Design/methodology/approach: This research analyzed academic papers published in the Journal of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) from 2000 to 2013. Five types of features were extracted: paper features, journal features, author features, reference features and semantic features. Subsequently, the authors applied a deep neural network (DNN), support vector machine (SVM), decision tree (DT) and logistic regression (LGR), and they predicted highly cited papers 1–3 years after publication. Findings: Experimental results showed that early highly cited academic papers are predictable when they are first published. The authors' prediction models showed considerable performance. This study further confirmed that the features of references and authors play an important role in predicting early highly cited papers. In addition, the proportion of high-quality journal references has a more significant impact on prediction. Originality/value: Based on the available information at the time of publication, this study proposed an effective early highly cited paper prediction model. This study facilitates the early discovery and realization of the value of scientific and technological achievements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author was assigned the task to comment on the broad topic: "New sciences, technologies, and media--impact on education for librarianship (or libraries)." The author choose to emphasize "information science." Narrowing the subject down even further, in this article the author emphasizes some of the aspects of the "interface" between librarianship and information science, where he believes the action is going to develop in the coming years. [For the commentary on this article, "Broad and Visionary. Commentary on Allen Kent (1977) Information Science," see EJ1073522. This article was originally published in the "Journal of Education for Librarianship" (1977).]

This article provides a scoping review of 25 years of research on the notion of cognitive authority (CA), examining its conceptualization and empirical examination. The review follows the PRISMA statement and its extension for scoping reviews. Peer‐reviewed journal articles on CA were identified through database searching with the specific search term “cognitive authorit*” in the title or abstract and covering work published in 2022 or earlier. In total, 235 unique references were identified, and their abstracts and then selected full texts were screened according to predetermined exclusion criteria. In total, 40 articles were included in the review, extracted, and analyzed with qualitative content analysis focusing on the conceptualization of CA, the methodological approach taken to examine it, and the different spheres of knowledge and levels of activity the research addressed. Based on this analysis, four parallel lines of research were identified including studies conceptualizing CA: (1) as an indicator of information source quality, (2) as discursively constructed, (3) as situated in social mechanisms and settings, and (4) as institutional legitimacy of science and professions. This body of research has extended Wilson's (1983; Second‐hand knowledge: An inquiry into cognitive authority. Greenwood Press) original work contributing to our understanding of CA at individual, communal, and societal levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on how people look for and interact with information has a long history in the information field. The current literature has been repeatedly reviewed in earlier volumes of Annual Review of Information Science and Technology. In this review, we offer an overview of the research published in this area in the years 2016–2022 with a focus on the trends that have emerged in this period. We use the term “information behavior” as an umbrella for the research area interested in how people become informed and engage with information in diverse manners acknowledging that different researchers and subfields prefer other terms and frameworks, including information practices, information experience, and health information seeking, to name a few. We reviewed 1270 articles in the field published in the years 2016–2022 and identified seven emerging trends: The CoVID‐19 Pandemic, Diversity and Inclusion, Embodiment, Misinformation and Trust, Social Q&A Websites, Collaboration, and Information Creation. The reviewed literature and trends are discussed in relation to their significance for information, earlier review of information behavior research, and the long‐debated issue of theory‐driven versus atheoretical research in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Journal of Geographical Systems (JGS) has announced two initiatives to recognize outstanding research published in the journal. The first initiative is the JGS Best Paper Award, which aims to encourage and acknowledge excellent scholarship in the field of GIScience and spatial planning. The second initiative is the Editors' Choice, where the editors select their favorite paper from each issue. The winners of these awards are listed on the journal's website and their papers are made freely accessible for a certain period of time. The 2023 JGS Best Paper Award was given to Luyu Liu, Adam Porr, and Harvey J. Miller for their research on evaluating the reliability of public transit accessibility using real-time data. The paper demonstrates how even small levels of unreliability in transit services can significantly impact accessibility levels, particularly for lower income populations. The paper also promotes open and reproducible research practices. The Editors' Choice for Volume 26(1) is a paper by Chris Jacobs-Crisioni, Ana I. Moreno-Monroy, Mert Kompil, and Lewis Dijkstra, which proposes a sequential approach to estimate school provision, cost, and access using open databases of student counts. The paper provides valuable insights into the balance between cost, access, and residential values in school provision. Both papers are recognized for their significant contributions to the field. [Extracted from the article]

Identifying factors that associate with more cited or higher quality research may be useful to improve science or to support research evaluation. This article reviews evidence for the existence of such factors in article text and metadata. It also reviews studies attempting to estimate article quality or predict long‐term citation counts using statistical regression or machine learning for journal articles or conference papers. Although the primary focus is on document‐level evidence, the related task of estimating the average quality scores of entire departments from bibliometric information is also considered. The review lists a huge range of factors that associate with higher quality or more cited research in some contexts (fields, years, journals) but the strength and direction of association often depends on the set of papers examined, with little systematic pattern and rarely any cause‐and‐effect evidence. The strongest patterns found include the near universal usefulness of journal citation rates, author numbers, reference properties, and international collaboration in predicting (or associating with) higher citation counts, and the greater usefulness of citation‐related information for predicting article quality in the medical, health and physical sciences than in engineering, social sciences, arts, and humanities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Value co‐creation as a research topic has been a critical proposition of interest to a wide range of disciplines. In recent years, the field of cultural heritage has also developed a range of information practices to promote different forms of value co‐creation. While the body of literature has begun to accumulate, we still lack a comprehensive understanding of conceptual foundations and how value co‐creation is implemented in cultural heritage information practices. This paper conducted a hermeneutic literature review to understand and conceptualize the core aspects of value co‐creation in various cultural heritage information works. In particular, this paper provides a research mapping of the genres of co‐creation in cultural heritage information practices, the actors, and the roles played by the stakeholders. Further, this review provides an overview of the dominant value co‐creation models in the cultural heritage field. It distills the drivers of value co‐creation and the core value consequences that arise from a process perspective. Finally, this paper puts forward a thematic, theoretical, and methodological agenda for future work based on these findings. The review contributes to the literature by proposing an integrated conceptual framework that summarizes the core elements of value co‐creation in cultural heritage information practices. The framework also serves as a call for action, providing a general understanding of the conceptual foundation for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discussion of the growth of scientific literature and the role of conference papers in scholarly communication focuses on information science literature. Highlights include the relationship of conference papers and journal articles; conferences as self-improvement, as group contributions, and as final products; and a new model for scientific communication. (LRW)

Background: Peer evaluation is the cornerstone of science evaluation. In this paper, we analyze whether or not a form of peer evaluation, the pre-publication selection of the best papers in Computer Science (CS) conferences, is better than random, when considering future citations received by the papers., Methods: Considering 12 conferences (for several years), we collected the citation counts from Scopus for both the best papers and the non-best papers. For a different set of 17 conferences, we collected the data from Google Scholar. For each data set, we computed the proportion of cases whereby the best paper has more citations. We also compare this proportion for years before 2010 and after to evaluate if there is a propaganda effect. Finally, we count the proportion of best papers that are in the top 10% and 20% most cited for each conference instance., Results: The probability that a best paper will receive more citations than a non best paper is 0.72 (95% CI = 0.66, 0.77) for the Scopus data, and 0.78 (95% CI = 0.74, 0.81) for the Scholar data. There are no significant changes in the probabilities for different years. Also, 51% of the best papers are among the top 10% most cited papers in each conference/year, and 64% of them are among the top 20% most cited., Discussion: There is strong evidence that the selection of best papers in Computer Science conferences is better than a random selection, and that a significant number of the best papers are among the top cited papers in the conference.

While bibliographic classifications are traditionally based on disciplines, the logical alternative is phenomenon‐based classification. Although not prevalent, this approach has been explored in the 20th century by J.D. Brown, the Classification Research Group, and others. Its principles have been stated in the León Manifesto (2007) and are currently represented by such general schemes as the Basic Concepts Classification and the Integrative Levels Classification. A phenomenon‐based classification lists classes of phenomena, including things and processes irrespective of the discipline studying them (which can optionally be specified as an additional facet). Facets can work in a phenomenon‐based system much as in a disciplinary one. This kind of system will promote the identification of potential relationships between research in different disciplines, and will especially benefit interdisciplinary work. The paper reviews the theory, history, structure, advantages, applications, and evaluation of phenomenon‐based classification systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gig economy and gig work have grown quickly in recent years and have drawn much attention from researchers in different fields. Because the platform mediated gig economy is a relatively new phenomenon, studies have produced a range of interesting findings; of interest here are the socio‐technical issues that this work has surfaced. This systematic literature review (SLR) provides a snapshot of a range of socio‐technical issues raised in the last 12 years of literature focused on the platform mediated gig economy. Based on a sample of 515 papers gathered from nine databases in multiple disciplines, 132 were coded that specifically studied the gig economy, gig work, and gig workers. Three main socio‐technical themes were identified: (1) the digital workplace, which includes information infrastructure and digital labor that are related to the nature of gig work and the user agency; (2) algorithmic management, which includes platform governance, performance management, information asymmetry, power asymmetry, and system manipulation, relying on a diverse set of technological tools including algorithms and big data analytics; (3) ethical design, as a relevant value set that gig workers expect from the platform, which includes trust, fairness, equality, privacy, and transparency. A social informatics perspective is used to rethink the relationship between gig workers and platforms, extract the socio‐technical issues noted in prior research, and discuss the underexplored aspects of the platform mediated gig economy. The results draw attention to understudied yet critically important socio‐technical issues in the gig economy that suggest short‐ and long‐term opportunities for future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We classified the field normalization methods into linear and nonlinear methods. • Nonlinear field normalization citation counts should not be added or averaged. • We analyzed why the nonlinear normalized citations should not be added or averaged. • We provided mathematical proofs for the crucial steps of the above analysis. • Our mathematical proof is applicable to all nonlinear data in real number domain. Nonlinear field normalization citation counts at the paper level obtained using nonlinear field normalization methods should not be added or averaged. Unfortunately, there are many cases adding or averaging the nonlinear normalized citation counts of individual papers that can be found in the academic literature, indicating that nonlinear field normalization methods have long been misused in academia. In this paper, we performed the following three research works. First, we analyzed why the nonlinear normalized citation counts of individual papers should not be added or averaged from the perspective of theoretical analysis in mathematics: we provided mathematical proofs for the crucial steps of the analysis. Second, we systematically classified the existing main field normalization methods into linear and nonlinear field normalization methods. Third, we used real citation data to explore the error effects caused by adding or averaging the nonlinear normalized citation counts on practical research evaluation results. The above three research works provide a theoretical basis for the proper use of field normalization methods in the future. Furthermore, because our mathematical proof is applicable to all nonlinear data in the entire real number domain, our research works are also meaningful for the whole field of data and information science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to explore up to seven parameters related to the methodological quality and reproducibility of thematic bibliometric research published in the two most productive journals in bibliometrics, Sustainability (a journal outside the discipline) and Scientometrics, the flagship journal in the field. The study identifies the need for developing tailored tools for improving the quality of thematic bibliometric analyses, and presents a framework that can guide the development of such tools. A total of 508 papers are analysed, 77% of Sustainability, and 23% published in Scientometrics, for the 2019-2021 period. An average of 2.6 shortcomings per paper was found for the whole sample, with an almost identical number of flaws in both journals. Sustainability has more flaws than Scientometrics in four of the seven parameters studied, while Scientometrics has more shortcomings in the remaining three variables. The first limitation of this work is that it is a study of two scientific journals, so the results cannot be directly extrapolated to the set of thematic bibliometric analyses published in journals from all fields. We propose the adoption of protocols, guidelines, and other similar tools, adapted to bibliometric practice, which could increase the thoroughness, transparency, and reproducibility of this type of research. These results show considerable room for improvement in terms of the adequate use and breakdown of methodological procedures in thematic bibliometric research, both in journals in the Information Science area and journals outside the discipline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data culture/s as a research topic has begun to attract attention from a wide range of disciplines, albeit with inconsistent application of definitions, dimensions, and applications. This work builds on a call to investigate data culture/s within the information studies domain as a topic related to, but distinct from, information culture. The purpose of this study is to explore what is known about data culture/s in greater depth. We apply a retroductive approach to select and consider likely dimensions, inputs, and aspects of data culture/s in order to further map this construct to the literature, and thereby highlight gaps and opportunities to add to this body of knowledge. The initial candidate dimensions explored below include data‐related skills and attitudes, data sharing, data use/reuse, data ethics and governance, and a specific focus on Indigenous perspectives to provide insights on why and how a group may contest the emergent dominant discourse of data culture/s. Our conclusion highlights areas needing further research to fully define and examine the dimensions, inputs, and aspects of data culture/s, and calls for greater understanding and engagement with data culture/s from the information studies community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Death is an inevitable part of life and highly relevant to information management: its approach often requires preparation, and its occurrence often demands a response. Many works in information science have acknowledged so much, and yet death is rarely a focused topic, appearing instead sporadically and disconnected across research. As a result there is no introduction to, overview of, or synthesis across studies on death and information. We therefore conducted an extensive literature search and reviewed nearly 300 scholarly publications at the intersection of death and information (and data) management. Covering seven topics in total, we review two groups of work directly engaging information management in relation to death (digital possessions, inheritance, and legacy; information behavior, needs, and practices around death), three engaging death and technology that require information and its management (death and the Internet, thanatosensitive design and technology‐augmented death practices, and the digital afterlife and digital immortality), and two reflecting the ethical and legal dimensions unique to death and information. We then integrate the collective findings to summarize the landscape of death‐related information research, outline remaining challenges for individuals, families, institutions, and society, and identify promising directions for future information science research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reviews have long been recognized as among the most important forms of scientific communication. The rapid growth of the primary literature has further increased the need for reviews to distill and interpret the literature. This review on Reviews and Reviewing: Approaches to Research Synthesis encompasses the evolution of the review literature, taxonomy of review literature, uses and users of reviews, the process of preparing reviews, assessment of review quality and impact, the impact of information technology on the preparation of reviews, and research opportunities for information science related to reviews and reviewing. In addition to providing a synthesis of prior research, this review seeks to identify gaps in the published research and to suggest possible future research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subject to various restrictive requirements on project application and completion, funded projects are often affected by funding policies for the selection of research objects. This study explored the impact of scientific research funding policies on the funding and research by comparing the topic distribution of awards and papers. A total of 1,870 awards and 16,491 papers of the National Social Science Foundation of China (NSSFC) in library and information science (LIS) were collected from a Chinese research project database. According to the results, the growth rate of awards on most topics is higher than that of papers, while the growth rate of papers on the relevant topics to users, technology, and metrology is higher than that of awards. It was found out in the study that the topics funded by NSSFC were imbalanced. NSSFC provides much more funding to traditional topics rather than emerging topics. As indicated by the funding provided to the projects on traditional topics for research on a large number of papers on emerging topics, however, the innovation and diversity of academic research have yet to be restricted. This study demonstrated that the effect of funding policies on the research topics in LIS is significant. Topic suggestions and funding structure of NSSFC have more impacts on award topics than on paper topics. The influence of NSSFC-recommended topics on paper topics is declining year by year. Additionally, awards with high funding intensity are more susceptible to topic suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the characteristics of rejected manuscripts submitted to the "African Journal of Library, Archives and Information Science." Most of the papers were rejected because they contributed nothing new to knowledge (65.5%), used unreliable data (13.1%) and lacked focus (13.1%). There were no remarkable differences with regard to status and affiliations between authors of rejected and accepted papers. (Author/AEF)

The paper analysed 699 papers published in Library & Information Science Research (LISR) during the period of 1994-2020. Google Scholar was used to obtain the number of citations received by these papers until April 30, 2021. The study examined the geographical distribution of published articles and also identified prolific institutions and authors. The study examined the impact of output of countries, institutions and authors using citation per paper (CPP) and i-10 index as indicators of impact. The study also examined the pattern of growth and identified the highly cited papers. Based on the analysis of data it is observed that maximum articles were published during the three years block of 2015-2017. The geographical distribution of output indicates that 51 countries contributed the 699 papers. Highest number of papers was contributed by authors from the USA though it had a low value of CPP in comparison to Norway and Finland. Among the institutions, Florida State University (USA) topped the list. However, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA had the highest value of CPP. During the period of study, 1,389 papers received 74,061 citations, of which only 41 (3 %) articles remained uncited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]