005

The Informatics of Science Establishment. Subject Matter, and Methods.
At present there exists no fully developed theoretical basis for a science which takes as its subjet the transmission of information in the sciences. For the individual scientist, the present 'information explosion' has led to a gulf between the huge increase in the amount of literature published on his subject and his limited ability to absorb and digest all this information. The increasing isolation of the scientist within his own specialist field means that he can no longer keep up with relevant developments in other fields. And these are just a few representative examples of the problems encountered by the scientist in his everday work. A scientific investigation of the phenomena underlying these problems appears to be essential. A scientific discipline capable of investigating the transmission of scientific information - we shall give it the name 'the informatics of science' - must examine and describe the problems and phenomena forming its subject matter by applying new research and methos which have first to be devised. It must identify certain regularities and then explain them. It must, however, also be capable of changing scientific practice in such a way that, ideally, every scientist is supplied with precisely the right amount of information he needs in his research work. The purpose of this article is to outline the scope of this new science by analysing its relationship to exiting disciplines, its subject and the methods it employs.

PDF

Adresse:
Wolfgang G. Stock
Institut für Sprache und Information
Abt. Informationswissenschaft
Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf
Universitätsstr. 1


E-Mail Adresse:
Wolfgang G. Stock: