The Study of Interdisciplinary Information Seeking in Bio-acoustics

Abstract

The organization of scientific knowledge and the tools of information retrieval have traditionally been discipline-based, an approach which is effective for a homogenous user-base. However, profound changes in the presentation of scientific thought notably an increase in collaboration and a blurring of the literary boundaries between disciplines call for corresponding changes in the electronic information retrieval systems designed to serve the complex information needs of interdisciplinary scientists. This paper describes a syudy to address this challenge, through studying the current information-seeking behavior of the members of a representative interdisciplinary science organization, the International Bio-acousitics Council (IBAC), to identify the problems they encounter in using discipline-based information systems.