Why is there so much? 

 

Part of the explanation is the size and continued growth of the international research community. However, it has been argued that existing structures for research funding and career progression have made the problem worse. Scholars have, in some cases, been encouraged to publish larger numbers of increasingly specialised journal articles to show their impact in a subject. The result has been an overload of ever more fragmented information which is difficult for scholars to digest. It is harder to identify trends and find what is relevant. 

 

As proof of this, research on researcher behaviour shows the increasing number of articles researchers feel the need to read to keep up with their subject, shifts towards shorter reading times and the number of times this kind of information gathering fails to produce a useful result. One study suggested as many as a third of researchers felt the process of information gathering had not produced the right outcome. The consequences of this failure include poorer targeting and planning of research as well as duplication of effort between research groups. Given that there is little prospect of any decline in the number of articles being published, what can be done to help researchers? This will be the subject of my next blog. 

 

A version of this blog with supporting references can be found here 

Although there are many types of research, and many ways of carrying it out, there is general agreement on the key steps which are: 

 

- Identifying a potential research topic 

- Reviewing existing knowledge to identify where new information is needed 

- Drafting a research proposal and obtaining funding 

- Carrying out the research and compiling results 

- Dissemination and peer review of research findings (e.g. through publication in academic journals) 

 

Information usage is highest initially at the literature review stage and next at the stage of compiling findings for publication. For understandable reasons, individual researchers tend to use a relatively small number of tried and tested resources and services in locating the information they need. However, there is increasing evidence that information gathering using established methods is becoming more challenging for researchers. These challenges in locating the right information and their implications for research are discussed in my next blog. 

 

A version of this blog with supporting references can be found here.