All that knowledge, and so what? Scholarship in the digital university

Abstract

Purpose

To ascertain how scholarship will be impacted by digital media.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper breaks down the vocation of scholarship into subsidiary tasks. It examines how their relative importance has changed in the modern era. Finally, it looks at which tasks will be facilitated or complicated by digital media, particularly by the internet.

Findings

The tasks of collecting and storing information have been made far faster and easier by digital media. Other tasks such as sorting, evaluating and assessing the implications of information have, however, become more difficult. In consequence, theory has become far more important.

Research limitations/implications

The extrapolations in this paper are about broad trends, which may manifest themselves in a variety of ways.

Practical implications

In the future, one can expect scholarship to deal less with uncovering new information. Instead, scholars will have to devote more time and effort to ascertaining why information is important. Scholars will be expected to articulate not only their methods but also their purposes.

Originality/value

This paper provides useful information on how scholarship will be impacted by digital media.

Citation

Sax, B. (2005), "All that knowledge, and so what? Scholarship in the digital university", On the Horizon, Vol. 13 No. 4, pp. 216-219. https://doi.org/10.1108/10748120510627330