Conceptions of information science

Abstract

The field of information science is constantly changing. Therefore, information scientists are required to regularly review-and if necessary-redefine its fundamental building blocks. This article is one of four articles that documents the results of the Critical Delphi study conducted in [2003][2004][2005]. The study, "Knowledge Map of Information Science," was aimed at exploring the foundations of information science. The international panel was composed of 57 leading scholars from 16 countries who represent nearly all the major subfields and important aspects of the field. In this study, the author documents 50 definitions of information science, maps the major theoretical issues relevant to the formulation of a systematic conception, formulates six different conceptions of the field, and discusses their implications. IntroductionThe field of information science (IS) is constantly changing. Therefore, information scientists are required to regularly review-and if necessary-redefine its fundamental building blocks. This article is one of four articles that documents the results of the Critical Delphi study conducted in [2003][2004][2005]. The study, "Knowledge Map of Information Science," explores the theoretical foundations of information science. It maps the conceptual approaches for defining data, information, and knowledge (Zins, in press-a), maps the major conceptions of information science, which are presented here, portrays the profile of contemporary information science by documenting 28 classification schemes compiled by leading scholars during the study (Zins, in press-b), and culminates in developing a systematic, scientifically grounded and theoretical map of the field (Zins, in press-c).The concept of information science, which is the focus of this article, is a constitutive concept. It shapes the boundaries of the information science knowledge domain and its focal perspectives. For this very reason, formulating a systematic conception of information science is crucial for the formulation of a systematic and comprehensive knowledge map of the field. Information ScienceWhat is the essence of information science? The quest for identity is explicit in numerous studies and position articles (e.g., Debons, Horne, & Cronenworth, 1988;Hawkins, 2001; Hjørland, 1998), overviews of the history and the foundations of the field (e.g., Buckland, 1999; Buckland & Liu, 1995;Ingwersen, 1995), and in various studies that are aimed at clarifying the conception of information or establishing a theory of information for the field (e.g., Buckland, 1991, Capurro & Hjørland, 2003, and the overviews of Boyce & Kraft, 1985).Apparently, there is not a uniform conception of information science. The field seems to follow different approaches and traditions; for example, objective approaches versus cognitive approaches, and the library tradition versus the documentation tradition versus the computation tradition. The concept has different meanings, which imply different knowledge domains. Different knowledge domains imply diff...

Investigación sobre Bibliotecología, Ciencia de la Información, e Inteligencia Empresarial, a través de las presentaciones a los congresos INFO e IntEmpres: un análisis bibliométrico (2002-2012)

“…Esa estructuración temática es similar a los hallazgos de Aharony (2011), quien describió 10 publicaciones de BCI durante los años [2007][2008]. Tras categorizar los contenidos a partir del esquema de clasificación aportado por Zins (2007), presenció que la investigación núcleo era sobre tecnología de la información, evaluación de la ciencia, y los estudios sociales de la información. También se destacó la investigación sobre recuperación y organización, la enseñanza de la información, y la economía y gerencia de la información.…”

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