Content originally published on data180.com. Learn more about Interfolio’s acquisition of Data180 here.

blog-defining-discovery-academic-publishing

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “discovery” as :

: the act of finding or learning something for the first time : the act of discovering something

: something seen or learned for the first time : something discovered

As the field of academic publishing transitions from print to electronic formats, and to having more outlets for research and publication (in part due to the Internet and other technology), the use of the term ‘discovery’ is changing and is becoming more difficult to define.

In a recent article entitled “Scholarly searching,” published on the Research Information web site, seven industry leaders provide their thoughts on what the term ‘discovery’ means to them in the context of supporting scholarship, research, and the creation of new knowledge.

The following are some takeaways:

  • Discoverability of content is essential to research outcomes, and is critically important to an academic and research library being successful. Libraries serve as gateways to scholarly content and therefore require a discovery service that provides the best possible access to content, along with the best possible experience for researchers. Neil Block, vice president of discovery innovation, academic libraries for EBSCO Information Services
  • Content providers in the academic world, such as librarians and publishers, want to be certain that users are finding the most applicable information, not just a large quantity of results. These days, discovery also includes finding information through social media, e-mail message table of contents, and alerts that notify users when new articles are published based on their interests. John Sack, founding director, HighWire Press
  • Discoverability of scholarly journal articles online can help drive usage, which in turn help to drive citations. However, the challenge for publishers with online discovery is to ensure that online articles are being discovered, and keeping up with this as new channels for discovery emerge. Laird Barrett, senior digital product manager for Taylor & Francis

See the full article at http://www.researchinformation.info/features/feature.php

 

Content originally published on data180.com. Learn more about Interfolio’s acquisition of Data180 here.