Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, Volume 44

Citation

Mason, D. (2010), "Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, Volume 44", Online Information Review, Vol. 34 No. 4, pp. 658-659. https://doi.org/10.1108/14684521011073043

ARIST is the annual publication of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. It has developed a reputation for presenting outstanding scholarship in the various disciplines making up information science. This year's publication reaffirms that tradition by presenting a collection of 12 eclectic articles covering interesting and important developments in information science.

The first section covers the latest applications in information metrics. Bibliometrics has undergone a resurgence in recent years, and the three articles in this section provide an overview of how and why that change is happening. The first shows how the traces routinely captured by libraries and internet logs can be utilised for usage bibliometrics, ways of understanding information behaviour by creating innovative ways of tracking the way researchers use electronic information sources. The next chapter provides a thorough review of the research to date into h‐indexes and their extension to journal ranking and institution rankings. The third chapter is a fascinating insight into leading edge metrics, how to mine the mass of data surrounding a sports performance, in this case basketball. The chapter describes how visualisation software can be used to mine information for competitive advantage and underlines the practical value of information metrics research.

Section 2 includes chapters on philosophical aspects of information studies, including a review of artificial intelligence, and modern applications of facet analysis. One notable chapter considers philosophy and the nature of information science, and asks what all that research has given to philosophy. His disheartening conclusion is that the influence of information science on the field of philosophy is roughly equal to the influence of studies of pasta.

Section 3 looks at how information is communicated. One chapter reports on how online availability is changing the reading behaviour of scientists: in the 1990s 99 per cent of journals were read in library print collections, today 87 per cent is online. Another examines the fast‐changing world of e‐government and how citizens exchange information with their legislators.

The fourth section extends the public information needs concept: one chapter gives a theoretical analysis of the role of information in promoting innovation in national economies, and another highly theoretical chapter applying economic theory to public sector information. The final section also follows that theme: there is a chapter examining the information needs of the millions of people who move to a new country each year.

The final chapter is a rigorous critique of three qualitative research techniques: critical incident, focus groups, and micro moment time line interviewing. The chapter shows that these commonly used “everyday life information seeking” techniques are not delivering the results expected from human information behaviour research, and suggests that methodological and theoretical confusion are the underlying reasons for this.

The contributions chosen for this issue are all outstanding examples of scholarship in their respective fields and reflect the highest academic standards. Overall, this is another landmark review of developments in the field, and every information science library should have a copy.