Combination of research questions and methods: A new measurement of scientific novelty

As critical building blocks of scientific research, research questions and research methods are put forward to reveal the nature of a publication's scientific novelty. Although existing studies have examined scientific novelty from multiple combination-based views, the temporal and semantic complexity of research questions and methods remains to be fully addressed. To remedy this, we introduce a new approach to measuring the novelty of papers from the perspective of question-method combination. Specifically, we demonstrated a life-index novelty measurement based on the frequency and age of question terms and method terms. Furthermore, by using deep learning and representation learning techniques, we proposed a semantic novelty measurement algorithm based on the semantic similarity of terms. By using the dataset of papers collected from ACM Digital Library for evaluation, the effectiveness of our methods was evaluated by case studies and statistical analysis. Our work innovatively integrates the age, frequency, and semantics of research methods and research questions that characterizes novelty in scientific publications.     

Biological databases: A new scientific literature

Biology is entering a new era in which data are being generated that cannot be published in the traditional literature. Databases are taking the role of scientific literature in distributing this information to the community. The success of some major biological undertakings, such as the Human Genome Project, will depend upon the development of a system for electronic data publishing. Many biological databases began as secondary literature—reviews in which certain kinds of data were collected from the primary literature. Now these databases are becoming a new kind of primary literature with findings being submitted directly to the database and never being published in print form. Some databases are offering publishing on demand services, where users can identify subsets of the data that are of interest, then subscribe to periodic distributions of the requested data. New systems, such as fordable while offering a powerful search tool to the scientific community. Although many questions remain regarding the ultimate interactions between electronic and traditional data publishing and about their respective roles in the scientific process, electronic data publishing is here now, changing the way biology is done. The technical problems associated with mounting cost-effective electronic data publishing are either solved, or solutions seem in reach. What is needed now, to take us all the way into electronic data publishing as a new, formal literature, is the development of more high-quality, professionally operated EDP sites. The key to transforming these into a new scientific literature is the establishment of appropriate editorial and review policies for electronic data publishing sites. Editors have the opportunity and the responsibility to work in the vanguard of a revolution in scientific publishing.     

Research databases: a new direction in collection development

A need for centralized access to biomedical databanks was identified at the Medical University of South Carolina. The library has taken a leadership role in administering selection, acquisition, storage, and dissemination of access to these databases. A discussion of established policies and procedures is included. The appendix describes the biomedical databanks and search software selected.     

Digital chat reference in health science libraries: challenges in initiating a new service

Digital reference service adds a valuable new dimension to health science reference services, but the road to implementation can present questions that require carefully considered decisions. This article incorporates suggestions from the published literature, provides tips from interviews with practicing academic health science librarians, and reports on data from students' exploration of academic health science library Web sites' digital reference services. The goal of this study is to provide guidelines to plan new services, assess user needs, and select software, and to showcase potential benefits of collaboration and proactive and user-friendly marketing. In addition, tips for successful operation and evaluation of services are discussed.     

Fundraising in academic libraries: Looking back and defining new questions

This is the first study since the 1990's that solicits information about fundraising activity from a broad representation of academic libraries in the United States. Survey questions were adapted from previous studies to identify how this practice has evolved over the last twenty-five years. Results provide insight into prevalent conditions including the investment made in fundraising, common giving opportunities, the level of involvement of academic partners and leaders and the most common constituency groups who give and volunteer. This high-level view of fundraising activity in academic libraries establishes a foundation that can guide further research on this topic and points to an urgent need to revise academic library fundraising strategies and investment.     

Resources for research and learning: The databases of the Research Libraries Group

The Research Libraries Group, Inc., is a not-for-profit membership corporation dedicated to improving access to information for research and learning. To this end, RLG provides the Research Libraries Information Network database of bibliographic records, files of article citations and abstracts, and other specialized research data-bases, all of which are accessible worldwide via the Internet.     

Creating local bibliographic databases: new tools for evidence-based health care

The Internet has created new opportunities for librarians to present literature search results to clinicians. In order to take full advantage of these opportunities, libraries need to create locally maintained bibliographic databases. A simple method of creating a local bibliographic database and publishing it on the Web is described. The method uses off-the-shelf software and requires minimal programming. A hedge search strategy for outcome studies of clinical process interventions is created, and Ovid is used to search MEDLINE. The search results are saved and imported into EndNote libraries. The citations are modified, exported to a Microsoft Access database, and published on the Web. Clinicians can use a Web browser to search the database. The bibliographic database contains 13,803 MEDLINE citations of outcome studies. Most searches take between four and ten seconds and retrieve between ten and 100 citations. The entire cost of the software is under $900. Locally maintained bibliographic databases can be created easily and inexpensively. They significantly extend the evidence-based health care services that libraries can offer to clinicians.     

Data credit distribution: A new method to estimate databases impact

It is widely accepted that data is fundamental for research and should therefore be cited as textual scientific publications. However, issues like data citation, handling and counting the credit generated by such citations, remain open research questions.Data credit is a new measure of value built on top of data citation, which enables us to annotate data with a value, representing its importance. Data credit can be considered as a new tool that, together with traditional citations, helps to recognize the value of data and its creators in a world that is ever more depending on data.In this paper we define data credit distribution (DCD) as a process by which credit generated by citations is given to the single elements of a database. We focus on a scenario where a paper cites data from a database obtained by issuing a query. The citation generates credit which is then divided among the database entities responsible for generating the query output. One key aspect of our work is to credit not only the explicitly cited entities, but even those that contribute to their existence, but which are not accounted in the query output.We propose a data credit distribution strategy (CDS) based on data provenance and implement a system that uses the information provided by data citations to distribute the credit in a relational database accordingly.As use case and for evaluation purposes, we adopt the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to Pharmacology (GtoPdb), a curated relational database. We show how credit can be used to highlight areas of the database that are frequently used. Moreover, we also underline how credit rewards data and authors based on their research impact, and not merely on the number of citations. This can lead to designing new bibliometrics for data citations.     

Data driven social partnerships: Exploring an emergent trend in search of research challenges and questions

The volume of data collected by multiple devices, such as mobile phones, sensors, satellites, is growing at an exponential rate. Accessing and aggregating different sources of data, including data outside the public domain, has the potential to provide insights for many societal challenges. This catalyzes new forms of partnerships between public, private, and nongovernmental actors aimed at leveraging different sources of data for positive societal impact and the public good. In practice there are different terms in use to label these partnerships but research has been lagging behind in systematically examining this trend. In this paper, we deconstruct the conceptualization and examine the characteristics of this emerging phenomenon by systematically reviewing academic and practitioner literature. To do so, we use the grounded theory literature review method. We identify several concepts which are used to describe this phenomenon and propose an integrative definition of “data driven social partnerships” based on them. We also identify a list of challenges which data driven social partnerships face and explore the most urgent and most cited ones, thereby proposing a research agenda. Finally, we discuss the main contributions of this emerging research field, in relation to the challenges, and systematize the knowledge base about this phenomenon for the research community.     

Online databases as research support and the role of librarians in their promotion: The case of Croatia

The main aim of this study was to determine the extent to which Croatian university teachers use online databases as a research support tool, and what role librarians have in their promotion. Although the results show that within Croatian higher education online databases are widely acknowledged as important, they are used less frequently than in many other countries, especially more developed ones. The differences in online database perception between certain user groups were also tested. The study has revealed the problems in database usage and indicated the ways in which librarians can respond to users' needs more efficiently and effectively.     

我国四大引文数据库及其期刊引证报告的比较研究

文章对我国四大引文数据库及其期刊引证报告的发展和现状做了简要总结。对这四大引文数据库极其引证报告的特色进行了比较,指出了四大引文数据库及其引证报告的不足,并提出了改进的建议与措施。     

90年代以来我国书目数据库研究综述

文章统计分析了20世纪90年代以来我国书目数据库研究论文的时间分布、主题分布;总结了近十年来我国书目数据库研究的现状和发展趋势.     

Periodicals and proceedings in referral databases: Quantitative and qualitative estimations

Using data from Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory, and the extent of coverage by abstract information resources and indices, the worldwide output of periodicals and proceedings (including those represented in electronic form) is studied. A quantitative characterization of the entire output of worldwide editions, as well as its abstracted portion is given. To provide complete reception of needed subject information and cover a maximum number of periodicals using an information system, a method for selecting several databases, which makes it possible to get a maximum coverage of primary sources with a certain amount of duplication, is proposed. Data on abstracting are obtained as the result of analyzing the input stream of approximately 700 databases and indices. Basic statistics for the abstracted stream are given for a number of companies: VINITI (All-Russia Institute for Scientific and Technical Information, Russian Academy of Sciences), CSA (Chemical Abstracts Service), Thomson Corporation, Elsevier, CABI Publishing, CAS (Cambridge Scientific Abstracts), and several others. A list of 25 of the largest abstract journals and referral databases, with respect to the number of periodicals represented in them, is given.     

Statistics ofHistorical Abstracts andAmerica: History and Life databases

Historical Abstracts (HA) andAmerica: History and Life (AHL) are bibliography serials that cite the appearance of scholarly literature in history and also related fields such as political science, sociology, anthropology, and folklore, as they relate to history. Both titles first appeared as print publications,HA in 1955 andAHL in 1964. After the use of computers was incorporated into the production process, electronic files of the print volumes were made available as online databases,HA from volume 19, andAHL from volume 1. Both publications are now available on CD-ROM, along with other ABC-Clio reference titles:ARTBibliographies Modern, ABC-Pol Sci, theExegy current events database, andBibliography of North American Indians.     

图书招标中的不完全信息动态博弈及有效控制

用微观经济学的不完全信息动态博弈理论,分析图书馆文献资源采购招标中存在的图书馆和图书供应商间的博弈,指出存在于标书需求、价格及商务服务需求中的不完全信息影响着双方的决策,提出要从标书的撰写、评标和履标过程中准确地传递信息,建立完善的信号传递模型,消除信息的不平等,加强招标的全程控制进而提高招标质量。     

新世纪应当解决的三个问题

档案事业的发展进入了新的世纪,一些在上个世纪有可能解决,却没能解决的问题,在新世纪之初应当解决了.