NSF Award
0002041
This project will review the literature about the impacts of information technologies on scientific publishing. The project report will present an overview of (1) what existing data and research say about these effects and (2) what are the gaps in coverage. Four major themes will be explored: (1) the information technologies being applied in scientific publishing, (2) the effects of information technologies in scientific publishing on the ways that scholars seek, use, collaborate, and create new information, (3) the evolution of intellectual property and legal frameworks in response to the information technologies being applied in scientific publishing, and (4) the evolution of economic and organizational frameworks. For each theme, the project will locate relevant studies, characterize them (e.g., descriptive, case study, theoretical/conceptual, statistical, historical), summarize their content, and identify gaps in coverage. Statistical analyses will also be evaluated in terms of their sampling strategy, methodology, and whether there is evidence of standard error of estimate or discussion of the confidence margins. The project approach will be to locate relevant studies, characterize them (e.g., descriptive, case study, theoretical/conceptual, statistical, historical), summrize their content, and identify gaps in coverage. Statistical analyses will also be evaluated in terms of their sampling strategy, methodology, and whether there is evidence of standard error of estimate or discussion of the confidence margins.
