Discusses information visualization and cocitation analysis and demonstrates the use of an integrative approach to visualizing and tracking the development of competing scientific paradigms. Assumes that a cluster of highly cited and cocited scientific publications in a cocitation network represents the core of a predominant scientific paradigm.…

Provides an overview of the development and use of numeric databases, and of the evolution of user charging methods for all online information retrieval systems. The need to provide database users with advance estimates of charges is discussed, and a methodology for charge estimation is presented. (87 references) (CLB)

Discusses the growth in use and acceptance of Web-based genomic and proteomic databases (GPD) in scholarly communication. Confirms the role of GPD in the scientific literature cycle, suggests GPD are a storage and retrieval mechanism for molecular biology information, and recommends that existing models of scientific communication be updated to…

Reviews the growth of public access to computers and the Web; identifies individuals from a national sample of adults who have sought specific information from the Web; identifies individuals who have searched for science or health information; and constructs two models to predict Web use for science and health information. (Author/LRW)

Examines the role of interactivity in the presentation of science news on the World Wide Web. Proposes and tests a model of interactive information processing that suggests that characteristics of users and Web sites influence interactivity, which influences knowledge acquisition. Describes use of a think-aloud method to study participants' mental…

Describes a study that empirically tested the citation behavior model of Moravcsik and Murugesan and examined the hypothesized relationships between three variables: reported citation type, reported utility level, and citation location. It is concluded that studies focusing on elements of information cited are needed to develop models reflecting…

This paper outlines Explanation Construction Theory, a psychological theory of how people come to comprehend scientific explanations. Explanation Construction Theory has three components: (1) a theory of how scientific knowledge is represented in memory; (2) a taxonomy of different representations that can be formed in response to an encounter…

The views of 40 primary students on ozone and its depletion were recorded through individual, semi-structured interviews. The data analysis resulted in the formation of a limited number of models concerning the distribution and role of ozone in the atmosphere, the depletion process, and the consequences of ozone depletion. Identifies five target…

Discussion of information retrieval focuses on a study of graduate students where the inferential communication model, which implies that the meaning of a document is inferred in the context of the user's situation to result in different meanings for different users, is used to study an inferential science document representation method.…

Examines the literature on the myth of "hard science-soft science" as a means of defining scientific specialties and classifying science literature, and discusses some shortcomings of scholarship in library and information science. Use of Toulmin's categorization of sciences to organize the literature and provide access for scientists is…

Describes the use of brain models to connect the microscopic level accessible by molecular and cellular techniques with the systems level accessible by the study of behavior. Discusses classes of brain models, and specific examples of such models. Evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of using brain modelling to understand human brain function.…

Claims that the development process for computer software can be greatly aided by the writers of specifications if they employ basic iteration and prototyping techniques. Asserts that computer software configuration management practices provide ready models for iteration and prototyping. (HB)

The transition to a transnational model in which the English-language and Anglo-Saxon publishers dominate scientific publications and communication is examined for 1981-92. This study analyzed the Science Citation Index database and found that numbers of publications and citations followed the expected trend, while changes in impact have been…

This study investigated online searching behavior manifested by 39 experienced professional searchers performing their regular, job-related searches in order to uncover the rules they use for the selection of search keys, and to represent these rules in a formal model that could be used in the construction of intermediary expert systems. The case…

Discusses grassroots AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) groups and their creation, dissemination, and interpretation of knowledge; and considers whether their knowledge production model applies to other public policy issues, using toxic exposure and women's health research as examples. Theoretical implications are considered, and the…