Case studies in the life sciences: how researchers use and manage information resources
Launch of research report commissioned by the Research Information Network and the British Library
This event on 17 November 2009 officially launched the report on seven case studies across a range of life-sciences; senior representatives from all sections of the community contributed to a debate on the issues raised by this study.
The research project examined researchers’ needs and use of information resources from a wide range of disciplines and perspectives in the life sciences. The report provides an evidence base to help contribute to a better understanding of the information practices of researchers and breaks new ground in understanding the practices and needs of researchers from a wide range of disciplines and perspectives in the life sciences. It shows that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ information policy cannot be effective. The report is freely available to download from the RIN projects page and the press release is available here.
The project aims to help ensure that UK’s life scientists enjoy the kinds of information services and support that enable them to sustain their position at the forefront of world class research. The speakers below outlined the key issues.
- Professor Sir Kenneth Calman, Chair of the National Cancer Research Institute and Chancellor, University of Glasgow
- Dr Michael Jubb, Director, Research Information Network
- Graham Pryor, Deputy Director & e-Science Liaison, Digital Curation Centre and Professor Robin Williams, Director of Research Centre for Social Sciences, Institute for the Study of Science and Technology and Innovation
- Dr Allan Sudlow, Relationships Manager, Science, Technology & Medicine, British Library
The project was undertaken on the RIN’s behalf, in partnership with the British Library, by the Institute for the Study of Science, Technology and Innovation at the University of Edinburgh, in association with the Digital Curation Centre and the University of Edinburgh’s Information Services.
The project investigated and analysed how researchers:
- make use of the information sources and services provided by publishers, libraries and other service providers to discover and gain access to information sources relevant to their research
- analyse, evaluate and manage the information they acquire through such services;
- create, gather, manage and communicate new data and information in the course of their research,
- produce, present and disseminate new information as a result of their research,
- to provide comparisons between the behaviours and needs of researchers in different subjects, disciplines and institutional contexts, and to identify barriers to information exchange across disciplines, and
- to identify barriers to more effective performance in using, creating and managing information resources, and suggest how they might be overcome.
