Faculty Peer Reviewed Papers

Permanent link for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/2022/68

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A Case Study of Students' Frustrations with a Web-Based Distance Education
(University of Illinois at Chicago Library, 1999) Hara, Noriko; Kling, Rob
Many advocates of computer-mediated distance education emphasize its positive aspects and understate the kind of work that it requires for students and faculty. This article presents a qualitative case study of a Web-based distance education course at a major U.S. university. The case data reveal a taboo topic: students' persistent frustrations in Web-based distance education. First, this paper will analyze why these negative phenomena are not found in the literature. Second, this article will discuss whether students' frustrations inhibit their educational opportunities. In this study, students' frustrations were found in three interrelated sources: lack of prompt feedback, ambiguous instructions on the Web, and technical problems. It is concluded that these frustrations inhibited educational opportunities. This case study illustrates some student perspectives and calls attention to some fundamental issues that could make distance education a more satisfying learning experience.
A cast of thousands: Co-authorship and sub-authorship collaboration in the twentieth century as manifested in the scholarly journal literature of psychology and philosophy.
(John Wiley and Sons, 2003) Cronin, Blaise; Shaw, Debora; La Barre, Kathryn
We chronicle the use of acknowledgements in twentieth century scholarship by analyzing and classifying more than 4,500 specimens covering a 100-year period. Our results show that the intensity of acknowledgment varies by discipline, reflecting differences in prevailing socio-cognitive structures and work practices. We demonstrate that the acknowledgment has gradually established itself as a constitutive element of academic writing, one that provides a revealing insight into the nature and extent of sub-authorship collaboration. Complementary data on rates of co-authorship are also presented to highlight the growing importance of collaboration and the increasing division of labor in contemporary research and scholarship.
A Comparative Analysis of Libraries' Approaches to Copyright: Israel, Russia, and the U.S.
(Elsevier, 2007-01) Shachaf, Pnina; Rubenstein, Ellen
While librarians are concerned about copyright and intellectual property, the extent of their compliance with ethical guidelines and copyright laws is unclear. This study examines, through content analysis, libraries' approaches toward copyright concerns in three countries (Israel, Russia, and the United States), and suggests a model of library response to social responsibility issues.
A global perspective on library association codes of ethics
(Elsevier, 2005) Shachaf, Pnina
This study of 28 countries involves comparative content analysis of the English versions of codes of ethics proposed by professional associations. It yielded an empirically grounded typology of principles arranged in twenty categories. The most frequently identified principles were professional development, integrity, confidentiality or privacy, and free and equal access to information. While confidentiality and privacy, and equal access to information, appear in all existing typologies of library and information science ethics, other principles, such as copyright and intellectual property, democracy, and responsibility toward society, which appear in almost all other typologies, were evident in fewer than half of the codes. This empirical study provides a global perspective on library association code of ethics.
A new look at evidence of scholarly citation in citation indexes and from web sources
(Springer Verlag, 2008) Shaw, Debora; Vaughan, Lewin
A sample of 1,483 publications, representative of the scholarly production of LIS faculty, was searched in Web of Science (WoS), Google, and Google Scholar. The median number of citations found through WoS was zero for all types of publications except book chapters; the median for Google Scholar ranged from 1 for print/subscription journal articles to 3 for books and book chapters. For Google the median number of citations ranged from 9 for conference papers to 41 for books. A sample of the web citations was examined and classified as representing intellectual or non-intellectual impact. Almost 92% of the citations identified through Google Scholar represented intellectual impact—primarily citations from journal articles. Bibliographic services (non-intellectual impact) were the largest single contributor of citations identified through Google. Open access journal articles attracted more web citations but the citations to print/subscription journal articles more often represented intellectual impact. In spite of problems with Google Scholar, it has the potential to provide useful data for research evaluation, especially in a field where rapid and fine-grained analysis is desirable.
Analysis of Computer-Mediated Communication: Using Formal Concept Analysis as a Visualizing Methodology
(Baywood Publishing Company, 2002) Hara, Noriko
Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) is used in different contexts such as business, non-profit organizations, and education and uses different tools such as computer conferencing, e-mail, and groupware. However, it is apparent that the field of CMC lacks established methodologies to analyze the phenomena. This article introduces the use of Formal Concept Analysis (FCA) as a methodology to visualize the data in CMC. FCA is based on a mathematical lattice theory and offers visual maps (graphs) with conceptual hierarchies. Combined with content analysis, FCA is proposed to be a potential method for the analysis of CMC. In this study, three categories (social, cognitive, and metacognitive) from Henri's (1992) model for CMC content analysis were applied to FCA after a previous study used a content-analysis method based on Henri's model to convert the data from a computer conference. The purpose of this article is to provide an example of the application of FCA to CMC and to argue for its potential use for analyzing on-line discourse. Although this article specifically addresses issues related to analyzing data in CMC for education, the methodology is applicable to the analysis of CMC for different purposes.
Analysis of Roles in Engaging Contentious Online Discussions in Science
(Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, 2017) Hara, Noriko; Sanfilippo, Madelyn Rose
The prevalence of sites in which users can contribute content increases ordinary citizens’ participation in emerging forms of knowledge sharing. This paper investigates the practices associated with the roles of participants who actively contribute to the co-production of knowledge in three online communities and how these roles differ in controversial and non-controversial threads. The Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine was selected as a contentious scientific topic because of persistent belief about an alleged link between the vaccine and autism. Contributions to three online communities that engage mothers with young children were analyzed to identify participant roles. No consistent roles were evident in non-controversial threads, but the role of mediator consistently appeared in controversial threads in all three communities. This study helps to articulate the roles played in online communities that engage in knowledge collaboration. The variety of roles in online communities has implications for both the study for practice and the design of information technologies.
Applying weighted PageRank to author citation networks
(Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2011-02) Ding, Ying
This paper aims to identify whether different weighted PageRank algorithms can be applied to author citation networks to measure the popularity and prestige of a scholar from a citation perspective. Information Retrieval (IR) was selected as a test field and data from 1956-2008 were collected from Web of Science (WOS). Weighted PageRank with citation and publication as weighted vectors were calculated on author citation networks. The results indicate that both popularity rank and prestige rank were highly correlated with the weighted PageRank. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was conducted to detect relationships among these different measures. For capturing prize winners within the IR field, prestige rank outperformed all the other measures.
Approaches to Understanding and Measuring Interdisciplinary Scientific Research (IDR): A Review of the Literature
(Elsevier, 2011-01) Wagner, Caroline S.; Roessner, J. David; Bobb, Kamau; Klein, Julie Thompson; Boyack, Kevin W.; Keyton, Joann; Rafols, Ismael; Börner, Katy
Interdisciplinary scientific research (IDR) challenges the study of science from a number of fronts, including one of creating output science and engineering (S&E) indicators. This literature review began with a narrow focus on quantitative measures of the output of IDR, but expanded the scope as it became clear that differing definitions, assessment tools, evaluation processes, and measures all shed light on aspects of IDR. Key among the broader aspects are (a) characterizing the concept of knowledge integration, and (b) recognizing that it can occur within a single mind or as the result of team dynamics. Output measures alone cannot adequately capture this process. Among the quantitative measures considered, bibliometrics (co-authorships, collaborations, references, citations and co-citations) are the most developed, but leave considerable gaps in understanding. Emerging measures in diversity, entropy, and network dynamics are promising, but require sophisticated interpretations and thus would not serve well as S&E indicators. Combinations of quantitative and qualitative assessments coming from evaluation studies appear to reveal S&E processes but carry burdens of expense, intrusion, and lack of reproducibility. This review is a first step toward providing a more holistic view of measuring IDR; several avenues for future research highlight the need for metrics to reflect the actual practice of IDR.
Are virtual reference services color blind?
(Elsevier, 2006) Shachaf, Pnina; Horowitz, Sarah
This study reports an experiment that examines whether librarians provide equitable virtual reference services to diverse user groups. The relative absence of social cues in the virtual environment may mean greater equality of services though at the same time greater inequalities may arise as librarians can become less self-aware online. Findings indicate that the quality of service librarians provide to African Americans and Arabs is lower than the quality of service they provide to Caucasian, Hispanic, Asian, and Jewish students. This study adds to the knowledge of subjective bias in the virtual environment by specifying those that are discriminated against online, identifying the kinds of discriminatory actions of virtual reference librarians, and identifying the type of queries that more frequently result in unbiased service.
Banking (on) different forms of symbolic capital.
(John Wiley and Sons, 2002) Cronin, Blaise; Shaw, Debora
The accrual of symbolic capital is an important aspect of academic life. Successful capital formation is commonly signified by the trappings of scholarly distinction or acknowledged status as a public intellectual. We consider and compare three potential indices of symbolic capital: citation counts, web hits, and media mentions. Our findings, which are domain-specific, suggest that public intellectuals are notable by their absence within the information studies community.
Behavioural complexity theory of media selection: A proposed theory for global virtual teams
(Sage Publications, 2007-02) Shachaf, Pnina; Hara, Noriko
This study proposes a behavioural complexity theory for media selection in global virtual teams. This theory captures multiple contingencies into one holistic approach to media selection. Unlike existing linear and mechanistic theories of media selection, this heuristic theory moves away from the universal models that were previously proposed. The behavioural complexity theory assumes ambiguity and complexity of the media selection process in a nonlinear, organic, and holistic way. Behavioural complexity theory of media selection emphasizes the role of media repertoire, the ability of individuals to differentiate situations according to multiple contingencies, and their flexibility to effectively use multiple media in any particular situation. This theory is examined in a context of exploratory case study of global virtual teams’ media selection in one of the leading fortune 500 corporations.
Bibliographic and Web citations: What is the difference?
(John Wiley and Sons, 2003) Shaw, Debora; Vaughan, Lewin
Web citations have been proposed as comparable to, even replacements for, bibliographic citations, notably in assessing the academic impact of work in promotion and tenure decisions. We compared bibliographic and Web citations to articles in 46 journals in library and information science. For most journals (57%), Web citations correlated significantly with both bibliographic citations listed in the Social Sciences Citation Index and the ISI‘s Journal Impact Factor. Many of the Web citations represented intellectual impact, coming from other papers posted on the Web (30%) or from class readings lists (12%). Web citation counts were typically higher than bibliographic citation counts for the same article. Journals with more Web citations tended to have Web sites that provided tables of contents on the Web, while less cited journals did not have such publicity. The number of Web citations to journal articles increased from 1992 to 1997.
Bridging the Trust Gap: Integrating Models of Behavior and Perception
(New Security Paradigms Workshop, 2015) Hill, Raquel; Donaldson, Devan Ray
In this paper, we propose a process-oriented trust framework that integrates an integrity-based trust model with the requirements and perceptions of those who manage and administer computing infrastructure. This integration enables a feedback loop between the system administrator and established models of trust that have been proposed to harden and secure systems. The proposed study will engage administrators in the design and use of mechanisms for establishing and evaluating the trust of cyberinfrastructure. The proposed study addresses a gap in current security research, which often views users as managers of a single computer, and not as an administrator of large computing environments. This work seeks to capture system administrators’ perceptions of security and trust and incorporate real-world practices into the design of mechanisms for securing systems.
Calling on a Million Minds for Community Annotation in WikiProteins
(BioMed Central, 2008) Mons, Barend; Ashburner, Michael; Chichester, Christine; van Mulligen, Erik; Weeber, Marc; den Dunnen, Johan; van Ommen, Gert-Jan; Musen, Mark; Cockerill, Matthew; Hermjakob, Henning; Mons, Albert; Packer, Abel; Pacheco, Roberto; Lewis, Suzanna; Berkeley, Alfred; Melton, William; Barris, Nickolas; Wales, Jimmy; Meijssen, Gerard; Moeller, Erik; Roes, Peter J; Borner, Katy; Bairoch, Amos
WikiProteins enables community annotation in a Wiki-based system. Extracts of major data sources have been fused into an editable environment that links out to the original sources. Data from community edits create automatic copies of the original data. Semantic technology captures concepts co-occurring in one sentence and thus potential factual statements. In addition, indirect associations between concepts have been calculated. We call on a 'million minds' to annotate a 'million concepts' and to collect facts from the literature with the reward of collaborative knowledge discovery. The system is available for beta testing at http://www.wikiprofessional.org.
Chem2Bio2RDF: a semantic framework for linking and data mining chemogenomic and systems chemical biology data
(BMC Bioinformatics, 2010-05-17) Ding, Ying; Wild, David J; Zhu, Qian; Wang, Huijun; Jiao, Dazhi; Dong, Xiao; Chen, Bin
Background: Recently there has been an explosion of new data sources about genes, proteins, genetic variations, chemical compounds, diseases and drugs. Integration of these data sources and the identification of patterns that go across them is of critical interest. Initiatives such as Bio2RDF and LODD have tackled the problem of linking biological data and drug data respectively using RDF. Thus far, the inclusion of chemogenomic and systems chemical biology information that crosses the domains of chemistry and biology has been very limited. Results: We have created a single repository called Chem2Bio2RDF by aggregating data from multiple chemogenomics repositories that is cross-linked into Bio2RDF and LODD. We have also created a linked-path generation tool to facilitate SPARQL query generation, and have created extended SPARQL functions to address specific chemical/biological search needs. We demonstrate the utility of Chem2Bio2RDF in investigating polypharmacology, identification of potential multiple pathway inhibitors, and the association of pathways with adverse drug reactions. Conclusions: We have created a new semantic systems chemical biology resource, and have demonstrated its potential usefulness in specific examples of polypharmacology, multiple pathway inhibition and adverse drug reaction - pathway mapping. We have also demonstrated the usefulness of extending SPARQL with cheminformatics and bioinformatics functionality.
Citation Autobiography: An Investigation of ISI Database Coverage in Determining Author Citedness
(Association of College & Research Libraries, 2004-03) Nisonger, Thomas E.
This article presents a case study investigating the coverage complete- ness of the Institute for Scientific Information’s citation data for specific authors, based on analysis of this author’s lifetime citation record, which was compiled through the ISI database, searching the literature for nearly fifteen years, and through various Web search engines. It was found that (with self-citations disregarded) the ISI captured 28.8 percent of the total citations, 42.2 percent of print citations, 20.3 percent of citations from outside the United States, and 2.3 percent of non-English citations. The definition and classification of Web citations are discussed. It is suggested that librarians and faculty should not rely solely on ISI author citation counts, especially when demonstration of international impact is important.
Clustering More than Two Million Biomedical Publications: Comparing the Accuracies of Nine Text-Based Similarity Approaches
(Public Library of Science, 2011) Boyack, Kevin W.; Newman, David; Duhon, Russell J.; Klavans, Richard; Patek, Michael; Biberstine, Joseph R.; Schijvenaars, Bob; Skupin, André; Ma, Nianli; Börner, Katy
We investigate the accuracy of different similarity approaches for clustering over two million biomedical documents. Clustering large sets of text documents is important for a variety of information needs and applications such as collection management and navigation, summary and analysis. The few comparisons of clustering results from different similarity approaches have focused on small literature sets and have given conflicting results. Our study was designed to seek a robust answer to the question of which similarity approach would generate the most coherent clusters of a biomedical literature set of over two million documents.
Co-Constructing Controversy: Content Analysis of Collaborative Knowledge Negotiation in Online Communities
(Information, Communication & Society, 2016-02-08) Hara, Noriko; Sanfilippo, Madelyn R.
Knowledge sharing online has flourished within organizations as well as open online communities due to the pervasiveness of Web 2.0 platforms. This paper builds on previous studies of social construction of knowledge online and investigates how contributors in online communities collaboratively share and construct controversial scientific knowledge. As the general public participates in such knowledge collaboration, understanding the processes through which they contribute content and roles that they play is imperative. We conducted the content analysis of three online communities that engage in knowledge collaboration on the subject of MMR vaccination, which is perceived as contentious knowledge by the public due to the widespread myth among parents that the MMR vaccine is associated with autism. The study’s findings include that the content discussed is influenced by the purposes of the communities, nature of the tasks, and demographics of participants, although they discussed the same topic. We also found that the framework of knowledge reuse and knowledge co-construction sites is useful for investigating the content and roles that appeared in the three communities. The contribution of the paper includes the analytical framework of knowledge reuse and knowledge co-construction, articulation of the content and roles that appeared in online communities, and unboxing of discourses in three different online communities. Future research directions are also discussed.
Communities of Practice in Workplaces: Learning as a Naturally Occurring Event
(Wiley-Blackwell, 2006) Hara, Noriko; Schwen, Thomas M.
Since the 1990s we have seen an increase in consideration of social and cultural aspects of learning as a way to foster organizational learning and human performance. Despite strong interest among practitioners and scholars, the study of organizational learning is lacking in empirical research. The study described here calls attention to the importance of informal learning in designing effective learning environments for the training of professionals. The study examines how people share and construct their knowledge in a Public Defender's Office and conclude that there are six attributes of communities of practice (CoPs) that serve as scaffolding for organizational learning. The attributes are (1) a group of professionals, (2) development of a shared meaning, (3) informal network, (4) supportive culture-trust, (5) engagement in knowledge building, and (6) individuals' negotiation and development of professional identities. Implications for education and training in relation to the concept of CoPs are discussed.

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