This study wishes to assess publishing patterns in cotton research (Gossypium Spp.) with the methods of information science (bibliometrics, scientometrics, science mapping, visualization). Citation ...databases (information systems) Scopus, Web of Science (WOS) and Google Scholars are employed. Scopus Subject Areas and WOS Research Areas are summarized. Regarding countries, USA displays the highest counts of total records. In the last decade, the highest number of papers was published by authors from China. Visualizations (network and overlay) using program VOSviewer are conducted on WOS data in order to determine co-occurrence and clusters of connected publications, country input and author collaboration (co-authorship) as well as clusters of interrelated research topics (text data). Clustering of co-citing publications and text data (based on titles and abstracts) results in different well-defined clusters which show related research topics and average period of research. Visualizations conducted on large datasets (big data) offer exploratory information on the current state in a scientific field or discipline as well as indicate possible developments in the future.
A new information literacy test (ILT) for higher education was developed, tested, and validated. The ILT contains 40 multiple‐choice questions (available in Appendix) with four possible answers and ...follows the recommendations of information literacy (IL) standards for higher education. It assesses different levels of thinking skills and is intended to be freely available to educators, librarians, and higher education managers, as well as being applicable internationally for study programs in all scientific disciplines. Testing of the ILT was performed on a group of 536 university students. The overall test analysis confirmed the ILT reliability and discrimination power as appropriate (Cronbach's alpha 0.74; Ferguson's delta 0.97). The students' average overall achievement was 66%, and IL increased with the year of study. The students were less successful in advanced database search strategies, which require a combination of knowledge, comprehension, and logic, and in topics related to intellectual property and ethics. A group of 163 students who took a second ILT assessment after participating in an IL‐specific study course achieved an average posttest score of 78.6%, implying an average IL increase of 13.1%, with most significant improvements in advanced search strategies (23.7%), and in intellectual property and ethics (12.8%).
In research articles, cities usually occur as topics (e.g., subjects or actors) or places of studies (e.g., sites, destinations, locations, or spaces). Investigation of more general patterns is rare ...because research usually focuses on individual cities. We use science mapping, based on Scopus data and Vosviewer visualization software, to examine city-related research across journals and disciplines (subject areas), and to assess how multiple city functions are reflected in journals. Comparable European Union capital cities (Berlin, Madrid, Rome, and Warsaw) serve as models. The patterns are remarkably similar regardless of the city. National and regional journals are the most common publication venues. Research takes place within three major disciplinary clusters: 1) the social sciences, and arts and humanities, 2) medicine, and 3) natural/technical sciences (environmental, earth and planetary, agricultural, and biological sciences). Medicine shows an early prevalence, and recently the social sciences have been strongly represented in these studies. Although the relationships are based on different journals, they are comparable for all cities and can be used to assess cities of similar size. This study was conducted just before the Covid-19 pandemic, and it can serve as a reference to identify research patterns before and after because the outbreak may bring about changes in future city-related research.
V znanstvenih člankih se mesta običajno pojavljajo kot teme (predmeti ali akterji) ali kraji (območja, destinacije, lokacije in prostori) raziskav. Proučevanje splošnejših vzorcev je redkejše, saj se ...raziskave običajno osredotočajo na posamezna mesta. Avtorja z znanstvenim kartiranjem, ki temelji na podatkih bibliografske zbirke Scopus in programskem orodju za vizualizacijo Vosviewer, proučujeta objave, povezane z raziskavami mest, v znanstvenih revijah in na različnih tematskih področjih, da bi ugotovila, kako se različne funkcije mest odražajo v znanstvenih revijah. Za modele uporabita primerljiva glavna mesta držav članic Evropske unije (Berlin, Madrid, Rim in Varšavo). Izsledki kažejo zelo podobne vzorce pri vseh mestih, pri čemer so najpogostejše objave v nacionalnih in regionalnih revijah. Večina raziskav poteka na treh glavnih znanstvenih področjih: 1. v družboslovju in humanistiki, 2. v medicini in 3. v naravoslovju (okoljske vede, vede o Zemlji in drugih planetih ter biotehniške in biološke vede). Prvotno so prevladovale raziskave s področja medicine, v zadnjem času pa so najpogostejše družboslovne študije. Čeprav ugotovljena razmerja med znanstvenimi področji temeljijo na različnih revijah, so primerljiva za vsa mesta, na njihovi podlagi pa se lahko presojajo mesta podobne velikosti. Raziskava je bila opravljena tik pred izbruhom pandemije koronavirusne bolezni (covid-19), na podlagi njenih izsledkov pa bi lahko primerjali raziskovalne vzorce pred pandemijo in po njej, saj se bodo lahko raziskave, povezane z mesti, zaradi pandemije v prihodnosti spremenile.
Digital competences, computer skills, information literacy and related abilities represent a crucial element in ICT education (Information and Communication Technologies). They are less frequently ...investigated in the frame of secondary education than in higher education. We assess these contexts in secondary education through science mapping and visualizing techniques, examining publishing patterns and trends. Databases Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus are used. Publishing exhibits logarithmic inverse relationship between rank and frequency (power laws). Only a few chief publications among hundreds account for an important share of all published research. WOS-based visualizations (VOSviewer software) of concepts used in titles, abstracts and keywords show several clusters of research: computer-, information-, as well as digital-related. Further analysis reveals that the major terms which define these clusters predominate in different periods. Computer-related are earlier terms, followed by information-related, and now digital-related. As some concepts mature terminology embraces more trendy novel concepts. Clusters of co-citing and co-cited sources shows differences among publications. Proceedings play an important role as sources of co-citations but are cited more weakly. Both co-citing and co-cited sources exhibit well defined clusters with little convergence between Library and Information Science on one side and Education and Educational Research, and Computer Science on the other even though the respective publications employ similar terminological concepts. The lack of exchange between these research domains calls for more co-operation in order to boost synergy in these critical twenty-first century skills.
In research literature, the terms "small-scale-agriculture" and "smallholder-agriculture" (farming) cannot be clearly distinguished and are frequently used synonymously. Taking terminology of both ...versions, we examine relationships between textual and bibliographic elements, identify clusters of studies and research accents, as well as developments in time. Using information science methods (big data, bibliometrics/scientometrics, visualization program Vosviewer) in the citation database Scopus, we design Boolean search statement/query (emphasis on proximity operators), analyse terms in titles and abstracts of articles, evaluate author networks (countries, co-authorship), keywords, and links between journals. Authors from developed and developing countries collaborate widely, with the US having the most co-authored articles, Germany having the most diverse current network, and Kenya being the strongest contributor among developing countries. Most articles are published by authors from Africa. There are also two smaller clusters representing Asia and the Americas. Three clusters of research priorities are evident: 1) crop production (current focus: crop yield), 2) livestock production (current focus: diseases), and 3) environmental issues, vulnerability to climate change, sustainability, and socio-economic themes. Future trends (hot topics and research fronts) will increasingly focus on adaptation strategies, food security, gender (women), or human health (at the time of submission, there were already dozens of papers on Covid 19 and smallholder farmers). Many topics that used to be most covered by Agricultural and Biological Sciences (Scopus Subject Area) are now increasingly covered in Social Sciences journals, becoming a complex research field on its own, which should translate into support and funding for such studies.
Digital natives are assumed to possess knowledge and skills that allow them to handle information and communication technologies (ICT) tools in a “natural” way. Accordingly, this calls for the ...application of different teaching/learning strategies in education. The purpose of the study was to test the predictive strength of some attributes of digital nativeness (ICT ownership, ICT experiences, internet confidence and number of ICT‐rich university courses) on the information literacy (IL) of 299 Slovenian university students. Correlation and regression analysis based on survey data revealed that the attributes of digital natives are poor predictors of IL. The principal findings are: ICT experiences expressed as the sum of the use of different applications do not necessarily contribute to IL; some applications have a positive and some a negative effect; personal ownership of smartphones, portable computers and desktop computers has no direct effect on IL, while ownership of a tablet computer is actually a negative predictor; personal ownership of ICT devices has an impact on ICT experiences and Internet confidence, and, therefore, an indirect impact on IL; and ICT‐rich university courses (if not designed to cultivate IL) have only a marginal impact on IL, although they may have some impact on ICT experiences and Internet confidence. The overall conclusion is that digital natives are not necessarily information literate, and that IL should be promoted with hands‐on and minds‐on courses based on IL standards.
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