Güleda Doğan

A Multinational Study on Copyright Literacy Competencies of LIS Professionals

This paper presents findings from a multinational study on copyright literacy competencies of LIS (Library and Information Science) professionals. An online survey instrument was developed by the authors in order to collect data from professionals who work in cultural institutions such as libraries, archives and museums regarding their familiarity, knowledge, awareness, and opinions on copyright related issues. The survey garnered a total of 622 complete responses (148 from Bulgaria, 82 from Croatia, 311 from France and 81 from Turkey). Copyright competencies are getting more crucial for information professionals because managing and meeting copyright related challenges and trends will play a key role in shaping the future of the profession. The findings and conclusions are expected to help the LIS education community, experts of professional associations, managers and other specialists from cultural heritage institutions to discover gaps in copyright competencies of information professionals and take measures to fill those gaps.

Research Data Management in Turkey: Perceptions and Practices

Purpose The massive increase in research data being produced nowadays has highlighted the importance of research data management (RDM) to science. Research data not only have to be cost effective but also reliable, discoverable, accessible, and reusable. In this regard, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the perceptions and practices of Turkish researchers on the subject of RDM. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was distributed to the academicians in 25 universities in Turkey, and 532 responses were gathered. Findings Results indicate that although Turkish researchers are aware of the benefits of data management, are willing to share their research data with certain groups, and have decent preservation habits, they express that they lack the technical skills and knowledge needed for RDM. In addition, no institutionalized support (staff, training, software, and hardware) is provided to researchers. Research limitations/implications A well-structured data strategy or policy that includes resource allocation (awareness, training, software/hardware) and is supported by Turkish research agencies is required for better data management practices among researchers in Turkey. Originality/value This is the first study that investigates the data practices of Turkish academics who produce around 30,000 scientific articles annually that are indexed by Web of Science. It contributes to the growing literature on RDM.

Does dirty data affect google scholar citations?: Does Dirty Data Affect Google Scholar Citations?

Google Scholar (GS) is a database that enables researchers to create their scholarly profiles and keeps track of, among others, their citation counts, and h‐ and i10‐index values. GS is now increasingly being used for research evaluation purposes. Although rich in bibliometric data, GS indexes some duplicate publications and citations, and therefore tends to inflate the citation counts to some extent. Based on a small sample of GS profiles of researchers, this paper aims to study the extent by which duplicates change the citation counts and metrics based thereupon. Findings show that duplicates in GS database somewhat inflates the citation metrics. The scale of the problem as well as the effect of dirty data on performance evaluations based on GS citations data need to be studied further using larger samples.

Information Professionals and Copyright Literacy: A Multinational Study

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present findings from a multinational survey on copyright literacy of specialists from libraries and other cultural institutions. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on a multinational survey of copyright literacy competencies of Library and Information Science (LIS) professionals and those who work in the cultural heritage sector (archives and museums), conducted in 13 countries, namely Bulgaria (BG), Croatia (CR), Finland (FI), France (FR), Hungary (HU), Lithuania (LT), Mexico (MX), Norway (NO), Portugal (PT), Romania (RO), Turkey (TR), UK and USA in the period July 2013-March 2015. An online survey instrument was developed in order to collect data from professionals regarding their familiarity with, knowledge and awareness of, and opinions on copyright-related issues. Findings Findings of this study highlight gaps in existing knowledge of copyright, and information about the level of copyright literacy of LIS and cultural sector professionals. Also attitudes toward copyright learning content in academic education and continuing professional development training programs are investigated. Originality/value This study aimed to address a gap in the literature by encompassing specialists from the cultural institutions in an international comparative context. The paper offers guidance for further understanding of copyright in a wider framework of digital and information literacy; and for the implementation of copyright policy, and the establishment of copyright advisor positions in cultural institutions. The recommendations support a revision of academic and continuing education programs learning curriculum and methods.

Analyzing the Intellectual Structure of World Information Literacy Literature through Citations and Co-citations

Information literacy is one of the emerging topics for many fields in recent years. This paper aims to evaluate the field of information literacy by using bibliometrics and scientific visualization techniques. To achieve this aim, a total of 1.218 papers related to information literacy on Web of Science (Science Citation Index, Social Science Citation Index and Arts & Humanities Citation Index) were identified. Searches were carried out using the term “information literacy” and all data were unified and standardized to be able to make reliable evaluations. Publication and citation counts, their distribution to journals, authors, document types etc. and co-citation networks were used for evaluations. Findings of this study are important to reveal the pioneers and interdisciplinarity of the field of information literacy.

The Academic Reading Format International Study (ARFIS): Investigating Students Around the World

This paper presents results from the Academic Reading Format International Study (ARFIS), the largest investigation of university students’ behaviors and attitudes towards reading their academic texts on electronic screens and print. These questions are examined: ‘When engaging with their academic material, do students’ format preferences and behaviors vary across cultures?; How do their behaviors and attitudes compare among an international sample?; And how does the language of the reading impact format preferences?’ Amalgamated results from nearly 10,000 students in 19 countries show a consistently strong preference for print format, and most respondents do not feel the language of the text impacts their format preference, but an examination of country responses helps illustrate the subtle differences between them. This topic has special relevance to librarians and educators as we search for the correct balance of print and electronic resources in our collections and syllabi.

Evaluation of Scientific Disciplines in Turkey: A Citation Analysis Study

This study focuses on Turkish scholars’ information use. Using citation analysis, it investigates a total of 197,687 publications in our main scientific disciplines (pure sciences, engineering, social sciences and arts & humanities) extracted from Web of Science (1928-2009). Authors (at least one of them) of these publications were all affiliated with Turkish institutions. Differences between these disciplines and between their sub-disciplines in terms of average author number, multiple authorship, half-life, publication types, journals characteristics were determined. Findings of this study can be helpful for national-level policy making on scientific productivity that will help Turkish scholarship to reach international level.