Foundations Of Information Science Research Articles

Domain analytic paradigm: a quarter century exploration of fundamental ideas in information science

PurposeThe conditions that domain analysis becomes an academic school of information science (IS) are mature. Domain analysis is one of the most important foundations of IS. The purpose of this paper is to analyze and discuss metatheoretical and theoretical issues in the domain analytic paradigm in IS.Design/methodology/approachThis paper conducts a systematic review of representative publications of domain analysis. The analysis considered degree theses, journal articles, book chapters, conference papers and other materials.FindingsDomain analysis maintains that community is the new focus of IS research. Although domain analysis centers on the domain and community, theoretical concerns on the social and individual dimensions of IS are inherent in it by its using sociology as its important approach and socio-cognitive viewpoint. For these reasons domain analysis can integrate social–community–individual levels of IS discipline as a whole. The role of subject knowledge in IS is discussed from the perspective of domain analysis. Realistic pragmatism that forms the philosophical foundation of domain analysis is argued and the implications of these theories to IS are presented.Originality/valueThe intellectual evolving landscape of domain analysis during a quarter century is comprehensively reviewed. Over the past twenty-five years, domain analysis has established its academic status in the international IS circle. Being an important metatheory, paradigm and methodology, domain analysis becomes the theoretical foundation of IS research. This paper assesses the current state of domain analysis and shows the contributions of domain analysis to IS. It also aims to inspire further exploration.

Welcome to Information Science Sponsored by SIG‐HFIS

AbstractThis panel engages conference attendees in the history and foundations of information science and provides an opportunity to reflect upon our field's current and future identity(s). It enacts the following scenario: At an orientation event for an information science program a spokesperson gives incoming students a brief address on the theme, “Welcome to information science.” Six imaginative but authentic versions of that talk are offered here. To showcase the variety of approaches to information science across the past century, each disquisition is inspired by the work of one luminary, namely: Paul Otlet, S. R. Ranganathan, Jesse H. Shera, Elfreda Chatman, and Marcia J. Bates. In an effort to encourage a more spacious information science, an indigenous perspective on ways of knowing is also included. Attendees to this session will time‐travel across almost 100 years of information science history and ultimately rest in the reality of a multi‐perspective discipline.

The foundation of information science: one world or three? A discussion of Gnoli (2018)

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to make a critical analysis of the views put forward by Claudio Gnoli (2018) in this paper concerning philosophical problems in library and information science (LIS).Design/methodology/approachThe paper presents the basic ideas in Gnoli (2018) and discusses the set of basic assumptions, concepts and conclusions put forward.FindingsIt is argued that the idea of the theory of levels is basically sound, but we do not need to consider the material world, the mental world (minds) and the world of mentefacts as three different worlds. They represent different levels with different kinds of emergent properties in the world. Further, although the concepts of artifacts and mentefacts are useful, there are other terms within LIS, such as document, work and object that have been influential and should be discussed in this context. It is also argued that subjective vs objective knowledge is often confused with private vs public knowledge, which is problematic. Finally, it is claimed that the cognitive view and the “sociological view” are not about two different levels of reality but are competing views about the same reality.Originality/valueThe paper clarifies some aspects of the analytical framework of domain analysis and adds to the developments of the philosophical dimensions of information within LIS.

Paradigms in information science

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is the conceptual expansion of the science-theoretical foundations of information science, i.e. to develop new thought schemes for information science.Design/methodology/approach– The design of the paper is as follows: first, the paper will discuss the foundation of the systemic paradigm (SP). Then the authors will consider the history of information science related to the philosophy of science. In the remaining part of the paper, the authors will investigate information science and its relation to the philosophy of science, focusing on SP.Findings– In conclusion, the authors will summarise the seven criteria for the application of SP in information science.Research limitations/implications– Paradigms in information science have rarely reflected upon the use of a SP in information science.Practical implications– The practical use of the seven criteria in information science Criterion 1: make your premises, suppositions, prerequisites and motives explicit. Criterion 2: make your moral/ethical results and consequences explicit. Criterion 3: research should be evaluated in relation to the transcendence of knowledge. Criterion 4: emphasise methodical pluralism, i.e. empirical generalisations and conceptual generalisations. Criterion 5: emphasise proximity and in-depth studies. Criterion 6: look for patterns and patterns which combine. Criterion 7: look for the power behind the patterns.Social implications– The opinion is that scientists to a great extent should seek knowledge on the basis of a belief, a specific way of thinking, and by means of specific methods. To make the authors belief explicit makes the way of thinking visible. What the authors achieve, and possibly the only thing the authors can achieve, is to reaffirm the conscious belief. This does not make reality more real, but it could put the authors in a better position to see through the authors way of thinking when faced with scientific problems. This indicates that a scientific study should emphasise all three entities: “The Context of Discovery”, “The Context of Justification” and “The Context of Solution”. These three entities, according to SP, make up the unity of the scientific process.Originality/value– The seven criteria entail that Kuhn’s argumentative chain (where he tries to find out why theory A is preferred to theory B on a rational pretext) does not concur with SP. This indicates that a scientific study should emphasise all three entities: “The Context of Discovery”, “The Context of Justification” and “The Context of Solution”. These three entities, according to SP, make up the unity of the scientific process.

Day, Ronald E. 2014 Indexing it All: The Subject in the Age of Documentation, Information, and Data. History and Foundations of Information Science

Day, Ronald E. 2014 Indexing it All: The Subject in the Age of Documentation, Information, and Data. History and Foundations of Information Science

Introduction: Composing Information

Introduction:Composing Information Ken Herold (bio) Librarians once were futurists. Our everyday activities hinged on a set of practices and theories directed toward known, although distant, outcomes. What was the term of our mandate to provide access to the cultural heritage in our trust? Essentially forever. We included new media formats as a matter of course, with necessary preservation, conservation, curation, and archiving. Many and multivaried constraints strained our knowledge industries, yet our vision embraced unprecedented growth in creation, acquisition, collection, indexing, digesting, abstracting, finding, delivery, and research. Our group intellectual capacity accommodated complexities of kind, scope, identity, and audience. We could budget, plan, and serve despite limitations on funding, cooperation, and support. Librarians understood one another globally, even as libraries became known as repositories of things rather than as organizations of people. Something happened along the way to the future: in sustaining our status of authority, we became ubiquitous, and in our passion to extol our mindset, we became universal. Perhaps everyone now speaks librarian as a lingua informatica. I am thinking here beyond the librarian role in every form and equivalence, or similarly that of the information specialist, in all our functions and services. I have described this vast librarianship as the last of all disciplines to traverse intellectual history and digest its contents—an awkward mixed metaphor that hints at what has changed, perhaps fundamentally. The traverse has become accelerated into a cycle of shared or common knowledge for which we are companions and guides throughout. The future has no longer a certain distance, where all participants are acting in concert, with every signal and message communicating in the online/augmented reality. Or so goes the ideal wherein the transparency is between minds and lives, and our information technologies serve us and our purposes. [End Page 315] Where the life-cycle model is tired and shopworn is in its over application to things. The collective memory in real time does not equate to instant agreement, nor to total uniformity. We mean to unify our informational lives through tolerance, equal access, and equal opportunity in line with existing library values. We require an interfacial literacy concomitant with what we perceive as new understandings of those values. The following essays speak to a thriving world community of interest in expounding the philosophical aspects of information from, for, and within library and information science. [End Page 316] Ken Herold Ken Herold is the director of Library Information Systems for Burke Library at Hamilton College in upstate New York. He has combined careers as a senior law librarian, systems practitioner, and editor and researcher in librarianship and information science. A member of ALA, he is the incoming chair for the Association for Information Science and Technology’s special interest group on the “History and Foundations of Information Science” for 2015–2016. He was the editor of an earlier issue of Library Trends (vol. 52, no. 3 [2004]) on “The Philosophy of Information.” Copyright © 2015 The Board of Trustees, University of Illinois

The ASIS&T oral history program: An interim report

EDITOR'S SUMMARY As part of the 75th anniversary celebration of ASIS&T, an oral history program was started to document the background, significant events and careers of outstanding individuals in information science and technology. The ongoing project takes a cue from oral histories of the Medical Library Association and the Chemical Heritage Foundation and captures individuals' experiences and decisions in their personal and professional lives, reflecting the development of the association itself. With seed funding from the ASIS&T SIG Special Projects Fund and help from graduate classes and Special Interest Group/History and the Foundations of Information Science, the initiative has relied on volunteers to identify and visit with interviewees and to record, transcribe and prepare materials for deposit in the ASIS&T archives at the University of Michigan Library. Interviews illustrate the leaps in telecommunications influencing personal careers and helping the Association in its early years, the expansion of centers for information retrieval science, bureaucratic challenges and the interplay of personalities. The ASIS&T oral history project is an important documentation of the growth of the field, capturing recordings, photos and biographies of key contributors.

An informational perspective of semantic cognition process

Information theory (IT) is the derivation and foundation of information science, and has become one of the most mature, complete and systematic components in information and communication fields within these years. This article extends classic IT from the traditional form aspect to the semantic aspect and gives an informational perspective of semantic cognition process (SCP), which is motivated by the stringent requirements of information predigestion and machine cognition in cognitive wireless networks. To begin with, we establish three key viewpoints on semantic, which are semantic objectivity, semantic conditional uniformity and semantic dependency, as the basis and premise of this article. Next, we establish a comprehensive theoretical framework of SCP in terms of the natural connotation, the three-layer framework and the mathematical model of SCP. Then we give a couple of primary theorems of SCP as well as their practical instructions. Furthermore, the research challenges ahead are presented in this article.

Spelunking in the archives: Or how I learned to love the art of the unexpected

AbstractEDITOR'S SUMMARYDrawing on her archival research skills, the author took the opportunity to dig into the American Society for Information Science records (1939–1990), a special collection housed at the University of Michigan. The exploration was prompted by ASIS&T's 75th anniversary and Special Interest Group/History and Foundations of Information Science (SIG/HFIS). The archives represent the evolution of the society, starting as the American Documentation Institute. The material retrieved on the author's first visit did not correspond to the online finding aid, but subsequent inquiry found a new finding aid, which was not online, describing the collection, including expanded holdings. The ASIS&T historical records collection is open for additional deposits, including documents, personal papers, presentations, oral histories and images, with the goal of placing all materials online. It is hoped this adventure will prompt ASIS&T to become an example for implementing best practices in organizational records preservation and management.

Introduction to the Special Issue on Information: Selected Papers from “FIS 2010 Beijing”

During the last two decades, a systematic re-examination of the whole information science field has taken place around the FIS—Foundations of Information Science—initiative. With the occasion of its Fourth Conference in Beijing 2010, a group of selected contributors and leading practitioners of those fields have been invited to contribute to this Special Issue. What is the status of information science today? What is the relationship between information and the laws of nature? Is information merely “physical”? What is the difference between information and computation? Has the genomic revolution changed the contemporary views on information and life? And what about the nature of social information? Cogent answers to these questions and to quite many others are attempted in the contributions that follow.

Establishing a New Information Paradigm

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.

Editorial to the Special Issue: Towards a New Science of Information – Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on the Foundations of Information Science, Beijing, August 21–24, 2010

Editorial to the Special Issue: Towards a New Science of Information – Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on the Foundations of Information Science, Beijing, August 21–24, 2010

Editorial to the Special Issue: Towards a New Science of Information – Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on the Foundations of Information Science, Beijing, August 21–24, 2010

Editorial to the Special Issue: Towards a New Science of Information – Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on the Foundations of Information Science, Beijing, August 21–24, 2010

On Representation in Information Theory

Semiotics is widely applied in theories of information. Following the original triadic characterization of reality by Peirce, the linguistic processes involved in information—production, transmission, reception, and understanding—would all appear to be interpretable in terms of signs and their relations to their objects. Perhaps the most important of these relations is that of the representation-one, entity, standing for or representing some other. For example, an index—one of the three major kinds of signs—is said to represent something by being directly related to its object. My position, however, is that the concept of symbolic representations having such roles in information, as intermediaries, is fraught with the same difficulties as in representational theories of mind. I have proposed an extension of logic to complex real phenomena, including mind and information (Logic in Reality; LIR), most recently at the 4th International Conference on the Foundations of Information Science (Beijing, August, 2010). LIR provides explanations for the evolution of complex processes, including information, that do not require any entities other than the processes themselves. In this paper, I discuss the limitations of the standard relation of representation. I argue that more realistic pictures of informational systems can be provided by reference to information as an energetic process, following the categorial ontology of LIR. This approach enables naïve, anti-realist conceptions of anti-representationalism to be avoided, and enables an approach to both information and meaning in the same novel logical framework.

The importance of theories of knowledge: Browsing as an example

AbstractThe study on information science (IS) by Bates (2007) is an important contribution to the literature on browsing in IS. It is explicitly based on “behavioural science.” I use this article as the point of departure for demonstrating how more social and interpretative understandings may provide fruitful improvements for research in information seeking, browsing, and related phenomena. It is part of my ongoing publication of articles about philosophical issues in IS and it is intended to be accompanied by analyses of other examples of contributions to core issues in IS. Although it is mainly formulated as a discussion based on a specific paper, it should be seen as part of a general discussion of the philosophical foundation of IS and as support for the emerging social paradigm in this field. The article argues that human browsing should not be conceptualized primarily in biological terms and should not be understood as random exploratory processes, but rather it should be seen as a kind of orienting strategy governed by people's metatheories or “paradigms.” Information professionals should know how different metatheories are distributed in the information ecology and, thus, be able to help people developing fruitful browsing strategies.

ASIS&T history fund research: Documenting education in the Los Angeles Chapter

This poster will review a topic studied within the history of information science and technology and present findings from the second annual award given by the ASIS&T History Fund. The 2010 Research Paper Award discusses the documentation of the Los Angeles Chapter of ASIS&T upon the occasion of its semicentennial year of activities. The Chapter's founding in 1961 reflected the aim of information scientists to share developments and research across the region for the purposes of continuing education. Mirroring trends across the professional landscape nationally, this Chapter's and others' programs have made unique contributions and fostered local understanding of both practical and strategic issues arising from advancements in information access and technology. These Awards are organized by the ASIS&T Special Interest Group on History & Foundations of Information Science (SIG HFIS).

The importance of theories of knowledge: Indexing and information retrieval as an example

A recent study in information science (IS), Lykke and Eslau (2010; hereafter L&E), raises important issues concerning the value of human indexing and basic theories of indexing and information retrieval, as well as the use of quantitative and qualitative approaches in IS and the underlying theories of knowledge informing the field. The present article uses L&E as the point of departure for demonstrating in what way more social and interpretative understandings may provide fruitful improvements for research in indexing, knowledge organization, and information retrieval. The artcle is motivated by the observation that philosophical contributions tend to be ignored in IS if they are not directly formed as criticisms or invitations to dialogs. It is part of the author's ongoing publication of articles about philosophical issues in IS and it is intended to be followed by analyzes of other examples of contributions to core issues in IS. Although it is formulated as a criticism of a specific paper, it should be seen as part of a general discussion of the philosophical foundation of IS and as a support to the emerging social paradigm in this field. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Linguagem e documento: fundamentos evolutivos e culturais da Ciência da Informação

São propostas bases antropológicas, evolutivas, culturais e sociais como fundamentos para a Ciência da Informação, a partir de uma discussão sobre o papel central desempenhado pela linguagem no desenvolvimento da cultura e na configuração das sociedades humanas. É discutido seu papel como mecanismo de cooperação e articulação social, que garante à espécie humana um diferencial evolutivo decisivo. Este papel da linguagem é mantido e ampliado através da invenção do documento, em sociedades humanas cada vez mais complexas. O documento é analisado em diferentes perspectivas e são discutidas suas possíveis relações com a Ciência da Informação.

Special section: Narratives, facts and events in the foundations of information science

Special section: Narratives, facts and events in the foundations of information science

Narratives, facts, and events in the foundations of information science

AbstractThis session explores three basic notions: events, facts, and narratives.Events play a large role in our lives. Our sense of identity is largely shaped by events we have experienced. Our understanding of history is a narrative of events in the past. The humanities and social sciences are concerned with the human experience, with actions and interactions. The sciences also deal with events: changes, processes, and experiments. Events may be described factually and themselves be regarded as facts. Facts, in turn, assume their full meaning only in relation to narratives, which provide the contextual frameworks for understanding them.In our daily lives we have little difficulty thinking and talking about events, facts, and narratives. However, information systems operate on objects (bits, data, documents). Events, facts, and narratives are not objects and difficulties arise when we try to analyze formally what they are.Three related papers address these issues. First, a direct examination of the nature of events; second, an account of two contrasting ways of contextualizing facts; and, third., an attempt to encode events in biographical narratives.