Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
early collection of citation data' and that this would be a viable
replacement for commercial systems. Any implementation of this
technology could create a sea change over five to ten years.
Primary material
So far this chapter has concentrated largely on secondary sources of
information. Previously, primary sources of information, such as diaries,
speeches, documents and raw data have been more difficult to trace;
however, in a digital environment this information is becoming more
retrievable.
The work of the JISC Digitisation Programme 6 has created an
extensive source of primary material in the UK since 2004, with 22
projects already funded 7 and a further 25 projects nearing completion
as part of the Enriching Digital Resources strand. 8
In addition, the UK Research Data Service Feasibility Study final
report (UKRDS, 2008) highlights that over the past ten years research
data has remained a 'substantially untapped resource' and that it is
'often unstructured and inaccessible to others'. The report goes on to
note that similar views have been expressed internationally, in the USA
and Australia.
The challenge over the next five to ten years is for universities to
collate and audit this data 9 and make it available either through a
centralized facility or through university repositories.
Persistent identifier systems
'Error 404 - page not found'
The main frustration is not with the research discovery services
themselves but with the problem of subsequently accessing identified
sources and materials. The last mile of the process which actually
delivers the document or other source that has been searched for is the
focus of concern, with lack of access to journal articles because of a
subscription barrier being the most frequently-expressed difficulty
experienced. Librarians agree with researchers that the key problem is
accessing online journals rather than problems with the discovery tools
themselves.
(RIN, 2006)
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search