The social organisation of research RDMRose: Research Data Management for LIS Session 2 The Nature of Research and the Need for RDM Session 2.1 The social organisation of research The social organisation of research Session 2.1 Nov-18 Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

Learning outcomes At the end of this session you will be able to: Explain the place of research in universities Apply theories of academic discipline and speciality to the issues of RDM Nov-18 Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

Session overview Research in HEIs Types of academic disciplines Academic tribes Disciplinary differences Specialisation, fragmentation, hybridisation, fluidity Nov-18 Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

Research in HEIs Research is important to universities! There are many stakeholders Senior researchers/research groups Early career researchers Postgraduate Research Students Departmental administrators Data specialists Research funding is often project based Nov-18 Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

Types of academic discipline (Biglan, 1973) Academic disciplines are different; one classic taxonomy is based on the following factors: Hard (paradigmatic) – soft (non-paradigmatic) Pure – applied Living – non-living Nov-18 Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

Academic tribes (Becher &Trowler, 2001) Academic disciplines could be seen as “global tribes” They share: A sense of identity and personal commitment Myths A sense of what is a “contribution” Social networks, with gatekeepers Formal communication channels: journals and conferences Peer review An “invisible college” and informal networks Nov-18 Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

Disciplinary differences “Disciplines differ in the ways they structure themselves, establish identities, maintain boundaries, regulate and reward practitioners, manage consensus and dissent, and communicate internally and externally.” (Klein, 1996, p. 55) Nov-18 Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

“Blurring, cracking and crossing” (Klein, 1993) Disciplines change Disciplines overlap Most disciplines are a mix of hard/soft; pure/applied Proliferation of specialities 1000 maths journals with 4500 subtopics (Becher & Trowler, p. 14) “Research tracks and specialties grow, split, join, adapt and die” (Klein, 1996, p. 55) Theories and methods may be greater common ground than subject Interdisciplinarity as a major creative strategy Nov-18 Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

Example: Geography Has fundamental internal divisions: Physical and human Are diverse internationally: different origins: in Germany, earth science, in France history Has seen many new specialties: “human, cultural, economic, political, urban, and regional geography as well as biogeography, geomorphology, climatology, environmental science and cartography” (Klein, 1996, p. 41) Nov-18 Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

Specialisation, fragmentation, hybridisation, fluidity Have material impact on LIS collection The way that journals change titles, are superceded “Scatter” (Palmer, 2010) creates much of the work for LIS in facilitating access to the vastly complex body of academic knowledge Nov-18 Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

Activity 2.1 Analysing an academic department Nov-18 Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

Activity 2.1 Analysing an academic department How would you characterise the subject as a whole? Can you identify some specialities? Do you know of any very new specialities? Identify some examples of interdisciplinarity or links between this Department and others. Share your thoughts with a colleague who works to support a different discipline Nov-18 Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

References Nov-18 Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

References Becher, T., & Trowler, P.R. (2001). Academic Tribes and Territories: Intellectual Enquiry and the Culture of Disciplines (2nd ed.). Philadelphia; Buckingham: Society for Research into Higher Education; Open University Press. Biglan, A. (1973). The characteristics of subject matter in different academic areas. Journal of Applied Psychology, 57(3), 195-203. Klein, J. T. (1993). Blurring, cracking, and crossing: permeation and the fracturing of discipline. In E. Messer-Davidow, D. R. Shumway, & D. Sylvan (Eds.), Knowledges: Historical and Critical Studies in Disciplinarity (pp. 185-211). Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia. Nov-18 Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose

References Klein, J. T. (1996). Crossing Boundaries: Knowledge, Disciplinarities, and Interdisciplinarities. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia. Palmer, C. L. (2010). Information research on interdisciplinarity. In R. Frodeman, J. T. Klein, & C. Mitcham (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Interdisciplinarity. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. Palmer, C. L., & Cragin, M. H. (2009). Scholarship and disciplinary practices. Annual Review of Information Science and Technology, 42(1), 163-212.  Nov-18 Learning material produced by RDMRose http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/is/research/projects/rdmrose