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Life scientists’ information use
– one size does not fit all
Report of research patterns in life
sciences reveals that researcher practices diverge from policies promoted by
funders and information service providers
A
report by the British Library and the Research Information Network (RIN)
launched today provides unique insight into how information is used by
researchers across life sciences. Undertaken by the University of
Edinburgh’s Institute for the Study of Science, Technology and
Innovation, and the UK Digital Curation Centre and the University of
Edinburgh’s Information Services, the report concludes that ‘one-size-fits-all’
information and data sharing policies are not achieving scientifically
productive and cost-efficient information use in life sciences.
The report, Patterns of Information Use and Exchange: Case Studies of Researchers in Life Sciences was
developed using an innovative approach to capture the day-to-day patterns of
information use in seven research teams from a wide range of disciplines, from
botany to clinical neuroscience. The study undertaken over 11 months and
involving 56 participants found that there is a significant gap between how
researchers behave and the policies and strategies of funders and service
providers. This suggests that the attempts to implement such strategies have
had only a limited impact. Key findings from the report include:
·
Researchers use
informal and trusted sources of advice from colleagues, rather than
institutional service teams, to help identify information sources and resources
·
The use of social
networking tools for scientific research purposes is far more limited than
expected
·
Data and
information sharing activities are mainly driven by needs and benefits
perceived as most important by life scientists rather than
‘top-down’ policies and strategies
·
There are marked
differences in the patterns of information use and exchange between research
groups active in different areas of the life sciences, reinforcing the need to
avoid standardised policy approaches
The study used
ground-breaking research methods to map information use in research teams from
across the life sciences. This included specially designed ‘information
lab books’ to chart and monitor individual researcher’s day-to-day
information practices.
The report sets out
a number of recommendations to funders, universities and information service
providers on how policy and services can be more aligned with research practice
and help
Commenting on the
report, Professor Sir Kenneth Calman, Chair of the National Cancer Research
Institute & Chancellor,
Dr Eric Fevre, a
Wellcome Trust Research Career Development Fellow who participated in the
study, commented: "It is fascinating to
see mapped out how we, as life-scientists, use information resources within our
academic networks, but the report also highlights potentially valuable tools
and technologies that we under-use or ignore completely. It encourages
scientists to think formally about their use of information in research and
thereby increase their efficiency in so doing."
Patterns of Information Use and
Exchange: Case Studies in Life Sciences
will be launched at a reception at the British Library on 17th
November at 6.30pm.
The report can be
downloaded from www.rin.ac.uk/case-studies
Sarah Gentleman
Communications Officer
Research Information Network
telephone: 020 7412 7241
Follow me on Twitter http://twitter.com/research_inform
RIN Facebook group http://en-gb.facebook.com/pages/City-of-London-United-Kingdom/Research-Information-Network/29441497954
email: [log in to unmask]
website: www.rin.ac.uk