Area Of Information Science Research Articles

AI- and LLM-driven search tools: A paradigm shift in information access for education and research

The article reports on an exploratory study that assesses the results produced by emerging artificial intelligence (AI)- and large language model-driven search tools in response to a series of queries and prompts based on four scenarios of information-intensive tasks of university students and researchers. Sixteen questions and prompts were created based on four scenarios of information-intensive tasks of university students. Each of these questions and prompts was presented to six AI-driven search tools, and the results were manually checked to assess their suitability for specific user needs and contexts. Based on the findings, it was argued that while the AI-driven tools bring a paradigm shift in information access for education and research, outputs generated by these tools vary quite significantly. Choice of the right tool, framing the question and further prompting play a key role. Also, users need to scrutinise each output to check their quality and reliability in the context of the specific search tasks. It was concluded that further research is needed involving different user groups, scenarios and search tasks and different AI-driven search tools. Implications of the use of AI-driven search tools for libraries and scholarly databases, as well as for research and scholarship in different areas of information science, are discussed.

Exploring the use of Smart Mobile Devices and their applications for infocommunication and PKM in the personal lives of teachers

This article is part of a PhD research and investigates the impact of rapid technological evolution, focusing on the adoption of smart mobile devices (SMD), such as smartphones, tablets and laptops, and applications (app) in the personal lives of higher education professors in the area of Information Science. In addition, gaps are identified in existing research, emphasizing the need to understand how SMD is used in personal activities for personal knowledge management (PKM) practices and infocommunication. Specific objectives include identifying the most commonly used SMDs and apps, the frequency of such use, and how they are used for those practices. The methodology is qualitative, triangulating the integrative review with a questionnaire (N-10). The results point to interest in device ecologies for PKM and Info-communication, with communication apps (text and voice) and e-mail being the most important for teachers. It is hoped that the results of this study can contribute to the advancement of knowledge about the use of SMD by teachers and to the development of a generic descriptive model of infocommunicational behaviour and PKM that can be applied in other contexts.

Forms and Functions of Author Keywords in Theses and Dissertations at the UNESP Institutional Repository (Brazil)

This research aimed to prepare guidelines for authors by investigating forms and functions of keywords assigned by authors in theses and dissertations defended in 2023 in the Graduate Program in Information Science at Unesp. The exploratory and descriptive study utilized a sample collected in the Unesp Institutional Repository. A corpus of 31 theses and 14 dissertations submitted to the Unesp Institutional Repository comprised a total of 183 keywords in Portuguese without duplicates and an average of 4.7 keywords, considering 213 keywords with duplicates. The analysis results initially identified that the Repository has a tutorial on using the Unesp Thesaurus to control vocabulary and that the authors use natural language to assign keywords. The findings reveal that, out of the 183 keywords, 89 (48\%) are exclusive, singular and specific to the area of Information Science, candidates for descriptors in the Unesp Thesaurus. The other 94 keywords (51.3\%) have 40 (21.3\%) exact descriptors, and the other 54 (29.5\%) present forms and functions that serve as examples for inclusion in the tutorial instructions. Based on the results obtained, it is concluded that the percentage of 21\% overlap between keywords and descriptors reveals that the Unesp Thesaurus was consulted by the authors when filling out keyword metadata and that the low number of exact descriptors and exclusive keywords indicate that they need to be included as new terms. It is recommended, therefore, to define an Indexing Policy that considers the need for hybrid coexistence between natural language and vocabulary control.

Influence of Substituents on the Vectorial Difference Static Dipole Upon Excitation in Synthetic Bacteriochlorins.

Organic dye aggregates have been shown to exhibit exciton delocalization in natural and synthetic systems. Such dye aggregates show promise in the emerging area of quantum information science (QIS). We believe that the difference in static dipole (Δd) is an essential dye parameter in the development of molecular QIS systems. However, a foundational understanding of the structural factors influencing Δd remains elusive. Bacteriochlorins play a vital role in photosynthesis due to their exceptional photophysical properties. Therefore, bacteriochlorins are particularly suitable dyes for the construction of aggregate systems for QIS. Synthetic bacteriochlorins further offer stability and tunability via chemical modifications. Here, the influence of substituents on the Δd of monomeric (nonaggregated) dyes was investigated via density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent (TD)DFT in a set of 5-methoxybacteriochlorins progressively substituted with ethynyl, phenyl, and phenylethynyl substituents at the 3,13 and 3,13,15 positions of the macrocycle. Symmetrically substituted 5-methoxybacteriochlorins were shown to have the largest Δd. The increase in Δd in the series of dyes was largely due to changes in the orientation of the static dipole upon excitation rather than large changes in magnitude. In addition, the transition dipole (μ) and the angle between Δd and μ (ζ) were calculated. Three 5-methoxybacteriochlorins with large predicted Δd and μ values were synthesized and characterized spectroscopically. The trend in Δd values empirically determined using the solvatochromic Stokes shift method was comparable to the DFT calculations.

A indexação da informação jurídica: mapeamento sistemático na área de Ciência da Informação

This paper addresses the information processing, more precisely, the theme of the indexing of legal information. Its objective is to analyze the scientific production on the theme in the area of Information Science, aiming at the elaboration of a systematic mapping of literature and identification of an overview of these publications. This is a theoretical, exploratory and descriptive research, with a qualitative and quantitative approach. The bibliographic databases searched were BRAPCI, LISTA, Redalyc, SciELO, Scopus and CAPES Periodicals Portal. The works analyzed point to the librarian’s need for specialized knowledge about the indexing of legal information. All articles dealt with the scarcity of works and discussions about the theme, and the need for further research in order to minimize noise at the time of searching. The conclusion is that the production of scientific knowledge disseminated by scientific journals on the theme, in the period from 2002 to 2022, includes ten articles by Brazilian authors associated mainly with universities. The articles bring important contributions to the research and practice of indexing legal information, but the problem of scarcity of works persists.

Interdisciplinary relations between Information Science and Law

The present work aims to analyze themes, addressed in the area of ​​Information Science, which are correlated with the area of ​​Law. It is characterized, in terms of its approach, in qualitative and quantitative research. As for its objectives, it is characterized as exploratory field research, using an exploratory-descriptive procedure. To read and characterize the data, Social Network Analysis (ARS) is used. The results indicate that the works in the area of ​​Information Science that maintain a thematic relationship with the area of ​​Law, in the sample analyzed in this article, have more frequently addressed aspects related to "Copyright", "Ethics", "Internet", “Intellectual Property” and “Open Access”. Finally, there is evidence of the potential of Information Science, as a field of knowledge, in maintaining interdisciplinary relationships with Law.

Relações interdisciplinares entre a Ciência da Informação e o Direito

The present work aims to analyze themes, addressed in the area of ​​Information Science, which are correlated with the area of ​​Law. It is characterized, in terms of its approach, in qualitative and quantitative research. As for its objectives, it is characterized as exploratory field research, using an exploratory-descriptive procedure. To read and characterize the data, Social Network Analysis (ARS) is used. The results indicate that the works in the area of ​​Information Science that maintain a thematic relationship with the area of ​​Law, in the sample analyzed in this article, have more frequently addressed aspects related to "Copyright", "Ethics", "Internet", “Intellectual Property” and “Open Access”. Finally, there is evidence of the potential of Information Science, as a field of knowledge, in maintaining interdisciplinary relationships with Law.

Research visualization on cloud computing services in the field of information science and library science

PurposeThis bibliometric study is steered to compute the impact of literature published on cloud computing within the fields of information science and library science. The research has been conducted on concentrating the term “Cloud Computing” to search the literature published in both fields, i.e. information science and library science from the time span 2007 to August 2023. This study aims to investigate the top productive country, organizations and highly cited publications.Design/methodology/approachThe period of the exploration was from 2007 to August 2023 for bibliometric analysis and data was collected from the ISI Web of Science. Total 401 documents were retrieved and analyzed to highlight the year-wise distribution of documents type, year-wise most cited articles, prominent journals of the subjects, productivity of organizations, impact of countries and cooccurrences of keywords. The results are grounded on the basis of documents types (articles, early access articles, proceeding papers, book review, editorial material, news items and reviews).FindingsThe findings reveal that the most productive year of publication on cloud computing services was 2013. The top productive source is “International Journal of Information Management.” The articles entitled “Assessing the determinants of cloud computing adoption: An analysis of the manufacturing and services sectors” found as the most cited article and the significant increase in citations is also noteworthy. The most productive organizations on the topic include “Islamic Azad University of Iran,” “University Cologne of Germany” and “University Nova Lisboa of Portugal.” The results confirmed that the USA dominates in the production of research on “Cloud Computing Services” and the most repeated keyword in the literature is cloud computing. The research articles are the most cited sources of research.Originality/valueThis bibliometric research is an original piece of work that has been conducted to measure the research production in the field of information science and library science during 2007−2023. This piece of work is valuable for those who want to study the literature on cloud computing in the area of information science and library science.

A competência em informação no enfrentamento ao plágio no ambiente acadêmico

This article discusses information literacy in the face of plagiarism in academia. It reflects on the causes of plagiarism, such as the little incentive for students to produce authorial content and the absence of institutional policies that guide such productions. As a response to this context, the article suggests an education for authorship based on information literacy. Information literacy, among others, promotes a healthy relationship between people and the information universe. Thus, the objective is to discuss how promoting information literacy contributes to combating academic plagiarism and establishing authorship. The method involves bibliographical research in databases in the area of Information Science and argumentative construction in which the concepts of plagiarism and information literacy are related. The results include a demonstrative guide on how information literacy can be used in the production of academic work and guidelines for teachers to recognize and avoid plagiarism. The work concludes that the skills generated within the relationship between individuals and information can benefit the construction of authorship and be an effective element in combating plagiarism.

Organization of Knowledge in Light of Egan and Shera’s Social Epistemology and Elias’ Symbol Theory

Knowledge organization or information organization, in a narrower sense, is an area of Library and Information Science (LIS) concerned with activities such as document description, indexing, and classification performed in bibliographic and cybergraphic repositories for their rapid and economic retrieval for use by society. Knowledge organization is an essential second level knowledge product; while a first level knowledge production studies the scientific phenomenon via general social epistemology, especially in the guise commanded by Steve William Fuller’s program. In this second level, knowledge organization studies the problem of mechanisms and existing bibliographic systems and the extent to which they are congruent with the realities of the communication process and the findings of epistemological research via special social epistemology, an academic discipline created by Jesse Shera and Margaret Egan. Additionally, the definition of “symbol” as the essential object of information science is examined, following the theoretical foundation of information developed by Norbert Elias’ “The Symbol Theory”.

The need to develop tailored tools for improving the quality of thematic bibliometric analyses: Evidence from papers published in Sustainability and Scientometrics

Abstract Purpose 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. Design/methodology/approach 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. Findings 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. Research limitations 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. Practical implications 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. Originality/value 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.

A LEI GERAL DE PROTEÇÃO DE DADOS PESSOAIS À LUZ DA CIÊNCIA DA INFORMAÇÃO

The objective of the research was to present the bibliometric panorama of the scientific productions in the field of Information Science, indexed in the Reference Database of Articles from Periodicals in Information Science that deal with the General Personal Data Protection Law. This is an exploratory research with a quanti-qualitative approach that used the bibliometric method to analyze the data. The results point to a low number of productions (22) and researchers (55), in Information Science, engaged in discussions about the General Personal Data Protection Law, since only four authors published more than one paper on the subject. The themes discussed in the texts point to the concern of the authors with current and sensitive issues discussed both in the area of Information Science and in society. Finally, it is understood that, although discussions about the General Personal Data Protection Law are still incipient in the area of Information Science, justified by the short time that this law has been in force, it is possible to infer an increase in production and research interest based on the increase of papers published per year and by the discussions that have been occurring in society on issues related to the theme of this research.

Terminology applied in the study of user information when aimed at visually impaired people

Society comprises unique individuals; this is a human condition. Individuals think differently, act differently, and feel with varying intensities; and all this is because human beings live and make sense of the world in their own unique ways. Despite these differences, some terminologies help in expression and communication. From this perspective, this article aims to present the terminology for visually impaired people in the study of information users, based on the literature of information science and related areas. This is a qualitative study that uses a bibliographic method, associating conceptual aspects relevant to the topic. The study shows that terms and concepts should be defined for users with disabilities, and that user studies should be focused on people's individuality and consider their experiences, needs, and expectations, thus paving the way for a holistic perspective.

Analogy between Boltzmann Machines and Feynman Path Integrals.

Machine learning has had a significant impact on multiple areas of science, technology, health, and computer and information sciences. Through the advent of quantum computing, quantum machine learning has developed as a new and important avenue for the study of complex learning problems. Yet there is substantial debate and uncertainty in regard to the foundations of machine learning. Here, we provide a detailed exposition of the mathematical connections between a general machine learning approach called Boltzmann machines and Feynman's description of quantum and statistical mechanics. In Feynman's description, quantum phenomena arise from an elegant, weighted sum over (or superposition of) paths. Our analysis shows that Boltzmann machines and neural networks have a similar mathematical structure. This allows the interpretation that the hidden layers in Boltzmann machines and neural networks are discrete versions of path elements and allows a path integral interpretation of machine learning similar to that in quantum and statistical mechanics. Since Feynman paths are a natural and elegant depiction of interference phenomena and the superposition principle germane to quantum mechanics, this analysis allows us to interpret the goal in machine learning as finding an appropriate combination of paths, and accumulated path-weights, through a network, that cumulatively captures the correct properties of an x-to-y map for a given mathematical problem. We are forced to conclude that neural networks are naturally related to Feynman path-integrals and hence may present one avenue to be considered as quantum problems. Consequently, we provide general quantum circuit models applicable to both Boltzmann machines and Feynman path integrals.

What are you reading? From core journals to trendy journals in the Library and Information Science (LIS) field

In this study, we present an objective, replicable methodology to identify trendy journals in any consolidated discipline. Trendy journals are those most read by authors who are currently publishing within the scope of the discipline. Trendy journal lists differ from consolidated lists of top core journals; the latter are very stable over time, mainly reflecting reputational factors, whereas the former reveal current influences not yet captured by studies based on bibliometric indicators or expert surveys. We apply our methodology to identify trendy journals among 167 titles indexed in the Web of Science category of the Information Science & Library Science (LIS) research area. Our list of trendy journals represents the most influential journals nowadays in the LIS discipline, challenging to some extent the core LIS journal list and journal category lists ordered by citations (e.g., by the Journal Impact Factor). Our results show that Scientometrics is the journal that bears the most influence on current production when not corrected for journal size and that Quantitative Science Studies—a small, relatively new journal not yet assigned a Journal Impact Factor nor present on any list of core LIS journals—is the journal that has shown the most significant recent influence when controlling for size.

Mapping the use of Google Scholar in evaluative bibliometric or scientometric studies: A bibliometric review

Abstract Google Scholar (GS) has aroused a good deal of interest among the bibliometric and scientometric community, owing to its capacity for gathering publication data, tracking citations, and creating metrics. This has led to reflections on its potential value as a means of enhancing evaluative procedures. However, despite being a useful tool because of its wide coverage, it has been monitored by specialists. For this reason, we aimed to map out the publications in the areas of Information Science & Library Science and/or Computer Science that make use of GS through a bibliometric review. Comprising data retrieved from the WoS and Dimensions, the results drew the attention of the bibliometric and scientometric community to the range of research problems in studies using GS. They also made it possible to identify the most prolific countries and authors and their preferred sources for publication. The presence of non-Anglophone countries and those from Latin America highlights the importance of alternative information sources to bibliometric and scientometric studies.

Research progress of quantum coherence performance and applications of micro/nano scale rare-earth doped crystals

Rare-earth ion doped crystals possess stable solid state physicochemical properties and long optical coherence time and spin coherence time, thus showing important development prospect in quantum information science and technology area. Investigations on macroscopic bulk rare-earth single crystals have obtained many promising results, especially in the field of optical quantum memory. With the rapid development of quantum information science, a variety of new functions or multifunctional integrations are found in rare earth crystal systems, such as on chip quantum storage, microwave to optical frequency conversion, scalable quantum single photon sources, and quantum logic gates. As a result, beyond the macroscopic bulk rare-earth single crystals, micro/nano-scale rare-earth crystals have received much attention in recent years and they are regarded as promising candidates in highly integrated hybrid quantum systems and miniaturized quantum devices. Moreover, wet chemical method synthesized micro/nano-scale rare-earth crystals have lower growth difficulty and more flexible manipulation in volume, shape and composition. Therefore, exploring high-performance micro/nano-scale rare-earth crystals and precisely manipulating their quantum states have become one of the important directions in today’s quantum information science and technology research. In this review, we first briefly introduce the basic concepts and high resolution spectroscopic techniques that are commonly used in rare earth ion doped crystals for quantum information science and technologies, such as hole burning technique and photon echo technique. Then we summarize comprehensively recent research status and development trends of rare earth ion doped polycrystalline nanoparticles, thin films, single crystal based micro systems, and some other micro/nano-scale rare earth platforms in terms of material fabrication, quantum coherence property, dephasing mechanisms, and also quantum device explorations. The latest research advances in quantum information applications such as quantum storage, quantum frequency conversion, quantum single photon sources and quantum logic gates are given. Finally, we discuss the possible optimization directions and strategies to improve the component design, material synthesis and quantum performance of micro/nano-scale rare earth crystals and their related quantum devices. This review highlights that the micro/nano-scale rare earth crystals may offer many new possibilities for designing quantum light-matter interfaces, thus are promising quantum systems to develop scalable and integrated quantum devices in the future.

A usabilidade de ferramentas de inteligência artificial como estratégia de divulgação de coleções particulares em bibliotecas públicas

The article intends to identify ways of disseminating information contained in private collections existing in public libraries. Our goal is to raise tools that use Artificial Intelligence (AI)for the automation of Comics, in order to enable and disseminate the history and contents related to these collections that are present in public libraries, so that the users of these information units know the origin and the construction of these collections through the practice of collecting and storytelling tactics. The methodused in this research consists of a literature review from 2000 to 2022, in the Google Scholar search engine;of the 66,030 documents found, 14 were included. We found that the automation of comics is a very rich topic, with valuable contributions to the area of Information Science.

The Brazilian and Chinese scientific publication indexed on the Web of Science: analysis of the Information Science area

Resumo Este estudo compara o perfil da publicação científica brasileira e o da chinesa na área de Ciência da Informação indexada na Web of Science. Os objetivos específicos são: (a) levantar o número de artigos publicado por cada país; (b) identificar as características dos periódicos nos quais os artigos são publicados; e (c) identificar a nacionalidade e a tipologia dos publishers que editam os periódicos. A busca na Web of Science resultou em 6.417 artigos de autores vinculados às instituições brasileiras e chinesas, respectivamente, 2005 e 4.412, sendo 29,5% da publicação brasileira em inglês, e a maioria da chinesa (99,9%). Do total de 221 títulos, a produção brasileira é publicada em 99, e a chinesa em 122, majoritariamente via subscrição diferente do modelo de acesso identificado nos artigos: 91% dos chineses via subscrição e 76% dos brasileiros em acesso aberto. A maior concentração dos títulos ocorre na Inglaterra, nos Estados Unidos e na Holanda, com Fator de Impacto inferior a 1. Editoras comerciais publicam a maioria dos artigos chineses (92,3%), enquanto os artigos brasileiros concentram-se em editoras universitárias de acesso aberto (72,3%). Conclui-se que a produção científica em Ciência da Informação brasileira e chinesa na Web of Science apresenta estratégias diversificadas: a brasileira se destaca pela indexação dos periódicos nacionais, publicando artigos em português e em Acesso Aberto, enquanto a chinesa pela publicação em inglês, em periódicos indexados na base e majoritariamente editado por editoras comerciais. Na China, há uma produção mais internacionalizada que a brasileira, porém com maior dependência do sistema por parte da comunidade científica.

Social Network Analysis of COVID-19 Research and the Changing International Collaboration Structure.

Research in Information Science and interdisciplinary areas suggested the formation of a growing network of international research collaboration. The massive transmission of COVID-19 worldwide especially after the identification of the Omicron variant could fundamentally alter the factors shaping the network's development. This study employs network analysis methods to analyze the structure of the COVID-19 research collaboration from 2020 to 2022, using two major academic publication databases and the VOSviewer software. A novel temporal view is added by examining the dynamic changes of the network, and a fractional counting method is adopted as methodological improvements to previous research. Analysis reveals that the COVID-19 research network structure has undergone substantial changes over time, as collaborating countries and regions form and re-form new clusters. Transformations in the network can be partly explained by key developments in the pandemic and other social-political events. China as one of the largest pivots in the network formed a relatively distinct cluster, with potential to develop a larger Asia-Pacific collaboration cluster based on its research impact.