Information Domain Analysis

• Domain analysis indicates that information specialists' skills should include knowledge of information infrastructures and retrieval, subject, and Library and Information Science (LIS) qualifications.

Introduction

• Information and knowledge differ across contexts, posing a theoretical and practical problem for information sciences.
• The chapter explores information contexts or domains, their characteristics, and the importance of terminology.
• Domain analysis involves analyzing domains with examples and their real-world effects, and focuses on information work within those domains.

Information domains

• Information communication can be broken down by geographic area, institution type, or user demographics
• When trying to understand information resources and practices, the information domain is very helpful
• Information domains often correspond to academic disciplines, professional activities, leisure interests, or loosely defined areas.
• A domain can be a scientific discipline, a scholarly field, or a community related to politics, religion, or trade.
• Defined by three dimensions: ontological (main object of interest), epistemological (type of knowledge), and sociological (people and groups involved).
• Differences exist in how information is viewed and used across domains, influencing information literacy and sharing, indicating the need for domain awareness and analysis.

Domain Analysis Framework

• Frameworks showing how domains differ help understand their information aspects and identify similarities.
• Domain analysis is used with Pierre Bourdieu's social theories, with other domain understandings noted and analyzed under 'disciplinarity'.
• Paul Hirst suggests disciplines are linked to their knowledge base and there are seven main knowledge domains.
• The knowledge domains are defined by fundamental knowledge, with disciplines aligning to these forms being 'pure' academic subjects.
• 'Practical disciplines' are oriented towards problem-solving, based on the forms, while 'fields of study' may use any form to address a topic.
• Tony Becher analyzed academic disciplines on pure/applied and hard/soft dimensions, which has implications for information practices.
• Richard Whitley analyzed sciences as knowledge production systems, identifying seven scientific disciplines based on internal structure.
• Whitley's model distinguishes disciplines by researcher dependence and task uncertainty, used to contrast information practices.

Domain terminologies

• Terminology, which is structured naming of things and concepts, helps with organizing information with accuracy
• Scientific, medical, and technical domains have their own specialized terminologies to define and communicate information
• Every domain uses specific terminology, it's own diction, standard dictionary of language and even slang
• Domain terminology is needed to have effective information provision
• Terminology resources encompass general, multilingual, special-purpose, biographical, and geographical dictionaries, thesauri, and classifications.
• Sciences have specific terminologies for chemical structures, living things, biomedicine, healthcare, mathematics, chemistry, music, and dance.

Domain Analysis

• Domain analysis serves as a theoretical foundation for the study of information domains as developed by Birger Hjørland.
• Domain analysis is within the cognitive paradigm of the information sciences which refutes the notion of universal information
• Analysis focuses on information patterns within social worlds to strategically understand its history, culture and institutional dynamics
• A "realist" approach to information science focuses on factors external to the individual and locates them in the expertise of subject specialists
• Domain analysis is central to the work of the information scientist and has distinct approaches

Domain Analysis Approaches

• Production of literature guides and subject gateways.
• Production of special classifications and thesauri.
• Researching indexing and retrieval in specialist subjects.
• Empirical user studies.
• Bibliometric studies.
• Historical studies.
• Studies of documents and 'genres'.
• Epistemological and critical studies.
• Studies of terminology and special languages, and discourse analysis.
• Studies of structures and organizations in the communication of information.
• Studies in cognition, computing, and artificial intelligence.
• Domain analysis bridges research and practice, requiring awareness of studies like healthcare terminology and law librarian knowledge.

Examples of domains

Chemistry

• The study of substances, properties, and reactions is an academic discipline connected to physical science that underlies many practical disciplines
• Chemistry has three branches: organic (carbon compounds), inorganic (other elements), and physical (physics to chemistry). This affects info resources
• Chemistry is important to life sciences, engineering, and industries, leading to extensive 'chemistry for' resources.
• Major resources include: journals, textbooks, monographs, bibliographic databases and property databanks
• Chemical Abstract Services founded in 1907 along with Beilstein data compilations from 1881
• Chemical info systems help w/ information retrieval, design and correlation of structures/ properties
• Unique resources in this field which is structured by reaction can define it as a domain .
• Periodic table is vital for info organization and showing relation of elements.

Chemical Substances

• Substances are represented by names, registry numbers, notations, diagrams, computer representations with structure diagrams to represent info
• Reactions are similarly represented by names or structural changes. Chemistry is known as information-intensive, requiring information-conscious users.

History

• History is a long-established discipline that caters an academic audience spanning from small groups of academics to the general public .
• The subject is divided into social, economic, and political sub-disciplines
• Structured by country and time period, giving natural organization discipline's information resources
• Almost every subject possess a historical dimension that forms interdisciplinary subjects by overlapping information sources.
• Differs from general journals, articles, and reports are secondary while archival materials are the primary resources
• Digitization of materials has increased availability as journals, scholarly monographs and textbooks remain popular
• The discipline uses books, magazines, and TV programs in addition to historically-focused digital libraries

Historical Information and Resources

• Wide range of historical material coupled with documentation needs.
• Examples include thesauri for maritime names, building materials, aircraft types and objects.
• The dissemination of historic info involves learned societies, broadcastors along with academic, public and special libraries
• Archives along with museum libraries and records which are the main resources
• Studies indicate traditional behaviors associate with social and science scholars involving browsing through documents and enthusiasm for digital system sources
• Historical researchers often incorporate sophisticated info from genealogists and family historical sciences

Serious Leisure

• Serious leisure is an area worthy of information, its practices and resources, and its emphasis on play, pleasure and enjoyment.
• Robert Stebbins developed this idea that involves people developing knowledge base, creating content, creating and using information
• There are multiple categories such as hobbyist, volunteer, amateur, and fandom
• All of these aspects have been studied with ethnographic study methods and applying info behavior models
• Research has been done to organize, share archival practices which helps libraries assist serious leisure protagonists

Other Domains

• Mathematics, Law, Art, Design, Fashion and Pharmaceuticals
• The information practices of those using mathematical information lie between scientific research and applied science and engineering because math is needed everywhere
• The legal domain has diverse geographical/informational needs with a plethora of resources in countries like US and UK
• The most widely used document forms are the domains of Art, Design and Fashion, their primary focus is on information creativity
• Pharmaceuticals domain integrates intense industries with equally intense use of information with resources ranging from chemistry to general public

Domain-specialist information work

• Domain-specific information work is a main origin of Library Science, especially in special libraries, information services, and documentation
• As users do searches online, many library roles have been eliminated which leaves specialist roles in medicine and law
• The topic of types of subject knowledge needed in the roles is brought up on the regular, its generally agreed that info isnt necessary
• The professional does not have the same degree of specialized knowledge as users
• What is mandatory, there are areas of insight with a focus on knowledge of sources, backgrounds as well as interpreting info
• How such understanding is made, are the key questions in the role of science and health librarians, as subject expertise can be acquired in a variety of ways. Activities for the subject information worker include:
  • Creating guidelines/ taxonomies and leading systematic reviews
  • Evaluating resources, suggesting new aid collections

Summary

• Most of information science can be understood in a disciplinary context
• Including: documents and resources, terminology and organization practices and roles
• Domain analysis helps understand/ address the differences of practices and roles that inform information science
• Specialist roles are important such as work in businesses, healthcare and the sciences
• Domain analysis focuses on information communication in subject and user areas to help provide information services
• It takes the form of a socio-cognitive approach which analyzes the nature of knowledge within small groups of people
• Which allows for better information provision from practices in science for different social roles

Explore how information, knowledge, and services differ across domains. Understand domain definition, specialist competencies, and the role of terminology. Review Hjørland and Whitley's models for analyzing information resources and practices.