Scholarly Communications Theme

Scholarly Communications Theme

This theme takes a holistic approach to scholarly communication, with a particular focus on digital scholarship. Our aim is to develop an empirical foundation for informing policy development and contributing to the theoretical underpinnings of the field.
The scope of the theme includes:

• Formal (published) communication
• Informal (unpublished) communication
• Information behaviours and knowledge sharing practices
• Disciplinary cultures

Selected examples of related projects that are cross-cutting across these areas  include:

• Behavioural research: Authors and users vis‑à‑vis journals and repositories

A collaboration between the Department of Information Science and LISU. Aims  to investigate the role of publicly available repositories in scholarly communication, with a special focus on researchers' perceptions of repositories, and their attitudes towards using them. Part of the EU‑funded PEER project, the project started in April 2009 and ends in July 2011.

• Publication and dissemination behaviour of Researchers and the influence of research assessment 2009

A collaboration between the Department of Information Science, LISU and the Centre for Research in Library and Information Management (CERLIM) at Manchester Metropolitan University this project investigated the publication, dissemination and citation behaviour of research active staff in UK Higher Education. Funded by the RIN (Research Information Network) - December 2008 to July 2009. The results have informed the development of the Research Excellence Framework (REF).

• Pilot implementation of licence registry (RELI)

This project established the user requirements for a Licence Registry able to integrate with the JISC Information Environment. These requirements formed a basis for designing, building, deploying and testing a pilot. The main deliverable for the project was a pilot service that enables licences to be made available in both human and machine readable form. Thus enabling users to be provided with details of licence information at point of use, without additional human intervention. Funded by the JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) - April 2007 to March 2009.

• Access to Research Information Content

This project was conducted by LISU and explored how institutions manage the process of access to research information for researchers from outside their institution; the variation in the range of licensed e‑resources available to researchers at academic and non‑academic research institutions; and the barriers and drivers concerning the sharing of e‑resources in the academic library sector. Funded by the RIN (Research Information Network) - September 2008 to May 2009.