Sandy De Groote
Email Address: sgroote@uic.eduCollege: University Library Department: University Library
Title: Scholarly Communications Librarian
Phone: 312-413-9494
Webpage: http://library.uic.edu/
Participating in the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Research Awards program: Yes
Research Interest:
My current research relates to the impact of online health sciences resources on the use of print and online publications. Studying the use of publications over time from the period prior to the introduction of online end-user databases and online journals to their proliferation inform about differences between disciplines, scholarly publishing patterns, and trends useful to health sciences libraries. I have examined the impact of online journals on the use of the print journal collection, the impact of online journals on the citation patterns of health sciences faculty, and investigated users awareness of databases and online journals and the frequency of their use.
I will now begin to study the cross-disciplinary nature of research. Specifically, I will study the impact of online journals on the cross-disciplinary citation patterns of health sciences faculty (nursing, pharmacy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, medicine and dentistry). My questions is: now that we have multiple online databases and online journals, are faculty more likely to cite journals outside of their specific disciplines, more than they did prior to the introduction of online journals and databases? Students with an interest and/or background in the health sciences are welcome to contact me at sgroote@uic.edu about a research experience on this topic. Minimum time commitment in hours per week: 3 Qualifications of a Student:
The topic is likely to fit best juniors and seniors and with an interest in the health sciences, although any student who can demonstrate interest is welcome. Ability to use Excel, to search websites, search library catalogs, and search online databases proficiently are required. Brief Summary of what is expected from the student:
The research entails searching the Web of Science to identifying articles written by faculty in the health sciences at UIC. The study will focus on examining the references found in the retrieved articles. The online status of the cited journals and their primary disciplines will be noted. References cited in articles written prior to the proliferation of online databases and online journals will be compared to the cited references of later articles where literature searching primarily relies on online databases and journals to determine if there has been an increase in articles cited beyond one discipline.
The learning outcomes from this research experience are:
1. Students will be able to identify and collect data relevant to citation analysis
2. Students will be able to summarize and explain findings from the data analysis.
Observation and review of the student's data identification and collection will assess success at the first outcome. A written report and presentation at a research event on campus will be the basis for assessment of success at the second and third outcomes.
Return to list
Return to Departments list