Introduction to Information Science

Citation

du Preez, M. (2013), "Introduction to Information Science", Online Information Review, Vol. 37 No. 2, pp. 345-346. https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-04-2013-0076

Information science is a “multidisciplinary field of study, involving several forms of knowledge, given coherence by a focus on the central concept of human recorded information”. This makes it both an exciting and a complex field of study. With this in mind Bawden and Robinson have aimed to describe all the important topics within the information science discipline in their new book.

In the introductory chapter they ask what information science is. In order to adequately describe and explain the concept, they first seek to determine the nature and the kind of discipline information science is. They have reflected on the topics and subjects that make up information science. The chapter structure of the book reflects their desire to be as comprehensive as possible in terms of the topics that are important to information science. In conclusion, the first chapter also looks at how information science overlaps with other information disciplines and professions, the uniqueness of information science and the history of information science.

In Chapter 2 the authors address the history of information by telling the story of documents. The philosophies and paradigms of information then receive attention before the basic concepts of information science are clarified. Chapter 5 focuses on domain analysis as a “metatheoretical framework” for library and information science. This chapter shows how a domain analysis can link several other important aspects such as resources and retrieval systems, terminologies and classifications, user behaviour, the quantitative aspects of literature as assessed by informetrics, the nature of knowledge in a subject area and the way information sources and services have developed over time. This analysis of the information science domain then provides the structure for the discussions in Chapters 6‐13.

Chapter 14 considers the nature and purpose of information research and the methods that are used to conduct this research. The chapter includes an overview, with examples, of various research methodologies but does not go into the detail of any particular aspects. In conclusion the final chapter shares some ideas about the discipline and profession of information science as well as the future thereof.

The authors’ approach to the book is rooted in the literature. The many references to literature where the reader can find more information on concepts that require much more in‐depth discussion bears proof of this approach. Furthermore, the authors are well aware that books can date rapidly. Although they have sought to give up‐to‐date information, they have principally focused on basic principles. Furthermore, they also emphasise concepts and theories that are useful for an understanding of the subject field and place them in an historical context. Each chapter concludes with a list of key readings and references that pertain to the specific chapter. The book is well written and easy to read. A very useful index concludes the volume. Scholars and academics who are serious about information science as a discipline should not be without this book.