References to e-texts in academic publications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore roles of electronic texts (e-texts) in research enquiry in literary and historical studies, and to deepen the understanding of the nature of scholars’ engagement with e-texts as primary materials. The study includes an investigation of references to e-texts and discussions about researchers’ citation practices in interviews. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative methodology was used to explore scholars’ interactions with e-texts in 30 research projects. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was used to examine citations and any other acknowledgments of e-texts in participants' prepublications and published works. In-depth semi-structured interviews provided data for findings about researchers’ citation practices. Findings – Formal acknowledgments of e-texts do not represent the depth and breadth of researchers’ interactions with e-texts. Assessments of the relevance and trustworthiness of e-texts, as well as considerations of disciplinary cultures, had some impact on researchers’ citation practices. Research limitations/implications – The study was based on in-depth data-gathering from a small group of participants. It does not have any statistical significance and the findings cannot be generalized, but comparisons with other scholars in literary and historical studies are possible. The study indicated a need for further investigation of changing academic practices in general and citation practices in particular. Practical implications – The findings have implications for the development of standards and institutional support for research in the humanities. Originality/value – The study provides new insights into the phenomenon of a very small number of citations of electronic sources in publications in the humanities, and considers issues related to citations from the perspective of changing academic cultures. Keywords - User studies, Information studies, Researchers, Humanities, Research Paper type - Research pape

Suggestions to Improve the Comprehensibility of Current Definitions of Scientific Authorship for International Authors

Much has been said about the need for improving the current definitions of scientific authorship, but an aspect that is often overlooked is how to formulate and communicate these definitions to ensure that they are comprehensible and useful for researchers, notably researchers active in international research consortia. In light of a rapid increase in international collaborations within natural sciences, this article uses authorship of this branch of sciences as an example and provides suggestions to improve the comprehensibility of the definitions of authorship in natural sciences. It assesses whether the definition of authorship provided by the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity can deal with current issues and problems of scientific authorship. Notably, problems that are experienced in project groups with researchers coming from multiple countries. Using theories developed by Jürgen Habermas and Robert Merton, a normative framework is developed to articulate ethical authorship in natural sciences. Accordingly, enriching the current definition of authorship with normative elements and using discipline-specific metaphors to communicate them are introduced as possible ways of improving the comprehensibility of the definition of authorship in international environments. Finally, this article provides a proposal to be considered in the future revisions of the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity

Suggestions to Improve the Comprehensibility of Current Definitions of Scientific Authorship for International Authors

Much has been said about the need for improving the current definitions of scientific authorship, but an aspect that is often overlooked is how to formulate and communicate these definitions to ensure that they are comprehensible and useful for researchers, notably researchers active in international research consortia. In light of a rapid increase in international collaborations within natural sciences, this article uses authorship of this branch of sciences as an example and provides suggestions to improve the comprehensibility of the definitions of authorship in natural sciences. It assesses whether the definition of authorship provided by the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity can deal with current issues and problems of scientific authorship. Notably, problems that are experienced in project groups with researchers coming from multiple countries. Using theories developed by Jürgen Habermas and Robert Merton, a normative framework is developed to articulate ethical authorship in natural sciences. Accordingly, enriching the current definition of authorship with normative elements and using discipline-specific metaphors to communicate them are introduced as possible ways of improving the comprehensibility of the definition of authorship in international environments. Finally, this article provides a proposal to be considered in the future revisions of the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity

Bibliometria e scienze del libro: internazionalizzazione e vitalità degli studi italiani

La vitalità di un settore scientifico è normalmente attestata dalla ricaduta che le ricerche e le pubblicazioni hanno sulla comunità degli studiosi che la praticano e, quindi, sullo sviluppo della disciplina stessa e delle sue metodologie. Il grado di ‘salute’ di un campo di studio, nonché la sua capacità di uscire fuori dalla propria nicchia di studiosi e di vedere riconosciuta la propria validità, si valuta, infatti, analizzando se e in quale misura i lavori vengano letti, commentati, citati da studiosi di altri contesti geografici e/o di altri rami scientifici. Nel volume viene descritta una ricerca incentrata sull’analisi del livello di internazionalizzazione e di vitalità degli studi italiani nelle discipline del libro e del documento, condotta attraverso una serie di indagini parallele di tipo bibliometrico (interrogazione dei database citazionali, ricerche in Google scholar, applicazione di metriche alternative, library catalog analysis)

Bibliometria e scienze del libro: internazionalizzazione e vitalità degli studi italiani

The vitality of a scientific field is usually attested by the fallout that research and publications have on the community of scholars who practice it and, therefore, on the development of the discipline itself and of its methodologies. The degree of “health” of a field of study, as well as its ability to get out of its niche of scholars and to see its validity recognised, is assessed by analysing whether and to what extent the works are read, commented on, cited by scholars from other geographical contexts and / or other scientific branches. The volume presents a research focused on the analysis of the level of internationalisation and vitality of Italian studies in the disciplines related to the study of books and documents, conducted through a series of parallel bibliometric investigations (query of citation databases, searches in Google scholar, application alternative metrics, library catalog analysis)

Bibliometria e scienze del libro: internazionalizzazione e vitalità degli studi italiani

The vitality of a scientific field is usually attested by the fallout that research and publications have on the community of scholars who practice it and, therefore, on the development of the discipline itself and of its methodologies. The degree of “health” of a field of study, as well as its ability to get out of its niche of scholars and to see its validity recognised, is assessed by analysing whether and to what extent the works are read, commented on, cited by scholars from other geographical contexts and / or other scientific branches. The volume presents a research focused on the analysis of the level of internationalisation and vitality of Italian studies in the disciplines related to the study of books and documents, conducted through a series of parallel bibliometric investigations (query of citation databases, searches in Google scholar, application alternative metrics, library catalog analysis)

Internazionalizzazione e vitalità degli studi italiani nelle discipline del libro e del documento: analisi critica e sperimentazione di strumenti bibliometrici

La ricerca si propone di analizzare il livello di internazionalizzazione e di vitalità degli studi italiani nelle discipline del libro e del documento. La vitalità di un settore scientifico è normalmente attestata dalla ricaduta che le ricerche e le pubblicazioni hanno sulla comunità degli studiosi che la praticano e, quindi, sullo sviluppo della disciplina stessa e delle sue metodologie. Il grado di ‘salute’ di un campo di studio, nonché la sua capacita di uscire fuori dalla propria nicchia di studiosi e di vedere riconosciuta la propria validità, si misura, infatti, analizzando se e in quale misura i lavori vengano letti, commentati, citati da studiosi di altri contesti geografici e/o di altri rami scientifici. Come noto, esistono settori forti e altamente vitali, i cui risultati influenzano altri campi del sapere ed è di grande interesse individuare le modalità con cui questo fenomeno si produce e tentare di misurarne l’estensione. Nel caso di materie con un elevato contenuto normativo e metodologico – le cosiddette “discipline ombrello” – come la Library and information science (LIS), l’individuazione e l’eventuale misurazione della sua influenza su studiosi e aree esterne al proprio campo specifico sono ancora più interessanti, in quanto segnali di rilevanza e di riconoscimento del terreno di studio. Il focus di questa ricerca consiste nell'esaminare, innanzitutto, in quale misura il settore biblioteconomico italiano sia rappresentato nelle fonti deputate e presente a livello internazionale nei lavori di ambito LIS stranieri. Lo strumento con cui è stata portata avanti questa indagine è offerto da un’area del nostro campo rilevante per gli studiosi di tutte le discipline scientifiche, ossia la bibliometria