Adam Worrall

Composition of scientific teams and publication productivity at a national science lab

The production of scientific knowledge has evolved from a process of inquiry largely based on the activities of individual scientists to one grounded in the collaborative efforts of specialized research teams. This shift brings to light a new question: how the composition of scientific teams affects their production of knowledge. This study employs data from 1,415 experiments conducted at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL) between 2005 and 2008 to identify and select a sample of 89 teams and examine whether team diversity and network characteristics affect productivity. The study examines how the diversity of science teams along several variables affects overall team productivity. Results indicate several diversity measures associated with network position and team productivity. Teams with mixed institutional associations were more central to the overall network compared with teams that primarily comprised NHMFLs own scientists. Team cohesion was positively related to productivity. The study indicates that high productivity in teams is associated with high disciplinary diversity and low seniority diversity of team membership. Finally, an increase in the share of senior members negatively affects productivity, and teams with members in central structural positions perform better than other teams.

Research project tasks, data, and perceptions of data quality in a condensed matter physics community

To be effective and at the same time sustainable, a community data curation model needs to be aligned with the communitys current data practices, including research project activities, data types, and perceptions of data quality. Based on a survey of members of the condensed matter physics (CMP) community gathered around the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, a large national laboratory, this article defines a model of CMP research project tasks consisting of 10 task constructs. In addition, the study develops a model of data quality perceptions by CMP scientists consisting of four data quality constructs. The paper also discusses relationships among the data quality perceptions, project roles, and demographic characteristics of CMP scientists. The findings of the study can inform the design of a CMP data curation model that is aligned and harmonized with the communitys research work structure and data practices.

Quality of health answers in social Q&A

The purpose of the current study is to investigate perceptions regarding the quality of online health answers in social Q&A. The current study differs from previous studies by focusing on the topic of health, comparing the evaluations of users against experts. Three groups of participants -- librarians, nurses, and users of Yahoo! Answers -- were invited to assess the quality of health answers posted in Yahoo! Answers. Forty participants from each group reviewed a total of 400 health answers, rating them with a 5-points Likert scale according to 10 evaluation criteria: accuracy, completeness, relevance, objectivity, source credibility, readability, politeness, confidence, knowledge, and efforts. Findings indicated that there was no significant difference of the quality ratings between librarians and nurses. There was, however, significant difference between those two expert groups (librarians and nurses) and users. Librarians and nurses rated the quality of answers lower on most of the evaluation criteria than users. This research will help librarians and nurses better understand how laypeople, such as their patrons and patients, evaluate online health information in social contexts, leading to the offering of better health information services to these audiences.

Quality evaluation of health answers in Yahoo! Answers: A comparison between experts and users

This work-in-progress study investigates perceptions regarding the quality of online health answers that people share in social contexts. The current study differs from previous research by focusing on the topic of health and comparing the evaluations of users against experts. Three groups of evaluators—questioners, health reference librarians, and nurses—are invited to assess the quality of health answers posted in Yahoo! Answers. Forty evaluators from each group review a total of 400 health answers, rating them 1 to 5 according to 10 evaluation criteria. Preliminary results from the quality ratings of 10 answers evaluated by librarians and questioners indicate that librarians rated the quality of answers lower on most of the evaluation criteria than questioners. Further results and analysis will be provided at the poster presentation at the 2011 ASIST conference. This research will help librarians and nurses better understand how lay people such as their patrons and patients evaluate online health information in social contexts, leading to the offering of better health information services to these audiences.

Data curation in scientific teams: an exploratory study of condensed matter physics at a national science lab

The advent of big science has brought a dramatic increase in the amount of data generated as part of scientific investigation. The ability to capture and prepare such data for reuse has brought about an increased interest in data curation practices within scientific fields and venues such as national laboratories. This study employs semi-structured interviews with key scientists at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory to explore data management, curation, and sharing practices within a condensed matter physics community. Findings indicate that condensed matter physics is a highly varied field. The fields work practices and reward structures may impede the development and implementation of highly formalized curation policies focused on sharing data within the broader community. This study is an extension of a larger mixed-methods study to examine the life-cycles of virtual teams and will serve as a foundation for a larger survey of the labs user community.

Boundary objects in information science

Boundary objects (BOs) are abstract or physical artifacts that exist in the liminal spaces between adjacent communities of people. The theory of BOs was originally introduced by Star and Griesemer in a study on information practices at the Berkeley Museum of Vertebrate Zoology but has since been adapted in a broad range of research contexts in a large number of disciplines including the various branches of information science. The aim of this review article is to present an overview of the state‐of‐the‐art of information science research informed by the theory of BOs, critically discuss the notion, and propose a structured overview of how the notion has been applied in the study of information.

Studying the data practices of a scientific community

To be effective and at the same time sustainable, a community data curation model has to be aligned with the communitys current work organization: practices and activities; divisions of labor; data and collaborative relationships; and the communitys value structure, norms, and conventions for data, quality assessment, and data sharing. This poster discusses a framework for developing a community data curation model, using a case of the scientific community gathered around the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, a large national lab. The poster also reports findings of preliminary research based on semi-structured interviews with a sample of the main stakeholder groups of the community.

Quality evaluation of health answers in social Q&A: Socio‐emotional support and evaluation criteria

The quality of health information shared in the context of social and emotional support is of critical concern, but little is known about the quality of health information in community contexts and about socio-emotional factors that impact evaluation of the quality of health information. This poster reports on a study of the quality of health answers in social Q&A sites, focusing on the socio-emotional reactions of and evaluation criteria discussed by three groups of evaluators: librarians, nurses, and site users. Forty participants from each group evaluated 10 answers each drawn from the Health categories of Yahoo! Answers. Results from qualitative analysis of responses to open-ended questions identified five common expressed emotions: fear or concern, confidence (or lack thereof), surprise, trust, and empathy. Five evaluation criteria and indicators were also identified: sources, subjectivity, style, completeness, and accuracy. Our results illuminate key differences in social and emotional factors across the three groups and the need for appropriate balance in educational efforts for evaluation of and the provision of health information.

Exploring data practices of the earthquake engineering community

There is a need to compare and contrast data practices of different disciplines and groups. This study explores data practices in earthquake engineering (EE), an interdisciplinary field with a variety of research activities and dynamic data types and forms. Findings identify the activities of typical EE research projects, the types and forms of data produced and used in those activities, the project roles played by EE researchers in connection with data practices, the tools used to manage data in those activities, the types and sources of data quality problems in EE, and the perceptions of data quality in EE. A strong relation exists among these factors, with a stronger role for test specimens and high quality documentation and more blurring of project roles than in other fields. Suggestions are provided for resolving contradictions impeding EE researchers’ curation and archiving activities and for future research on data practices.

The role of digital libraries as boundary objects within and across communities

Despite increased study of social contexts within information science, it is still unclear if and how digital libraries support and facilitate collaboration, communities, and other social contexts. This poster presents a study that will examine the role of the LibraryThing and Goodreads digital libraries, as social phenomena and boundary objects, in information behaviors and activities taking place within, between, and across multiple existing and emergent communities. The study will focus on the two key phenomena of communities and collaboration, under a theoretical framework drawing from Star’s boundary object theory, Strauss’s social worlds perspective, and Burnett and Jaeger’s theory of information worlds. Data will be collected from the two cases using a sequential, multi-phased mixed methods design employing content analysis, a survey, and interviews. The study should have significant implications for digital library research and practice and for related research on social networking, social media, and social Web services.