Research Ideathon

Research data management (RDM) refers to the acquisition, organisation, storage and preservation of data created during a research project. RDM facilitates sharing of research data and, when shared, can lead to valuable discoveries by others beyond the original researcher or research team. Libraries normally play a key role in the acquisition, organisation, storage of the research outputs, but less on the data. Why? The area is thus wide open to research on the perceptions, preparedness, roles, benefits, challenges, and training needs for RDM.

Contributed by Dr. Diljit Singh

The digital environment has influenced the new behaviors of how people need, seek gather and use information.  Most research studies focus on the individual information behavior, however, the collaborative information behavior is different, in terms of  the complexity of information needs and the way people seek, gather, evaluate, share  and use information to satisfy information needs.  Such behaviors are nurtured and supported by digital technology.

Contributed by Prof. Pimrumpai Premsmit

In the near future, economic growth is expected to lead to a declining birthrate and increase of aging population. Older people are more likely to suffer from illness or injury than younger people. If the number of bedridden elderly people can be reduced by extending healthy life expectancy (the period during which they can maintain an independent life), it will lead to savings in medical expenses and, in turn, to the well-being of elderly people. Data collection and analysis will be conducted to consider how to create an environment in which elderly people can access scientifically-based health care information on their own to extend healthy life expectancy.

Contributed by Prof. Makiko Miwa

AI is the most important variable affecting all industries in the future. How to face the impact of AI, how to use AI technology, and how to carry out information services in the AI era is an important research direction for library and information sciences.

Contributed by Prof. Joyce Chen

Effective leadership is vital to organizational success.  It is about executing the organization’s vision and setting the tone and the culture for that the organization.  Can everyone be a good leader?  what are essential leadership skills and qualities and what are characteristics of effective leadership are frequently asked in the information service organization.

Contributed by Prof. Pimrumpai Premsmit

Cultural entities include not only cultural objects (physical or digital) but also non-objects which can be experienced (i.e., Experientials) such as performances, ceremonies, festivals, craftsmanship, natural and man-made disasters, etc.

Contributed by Prof. Shigeo Sugimoto

Citizen Science (CS) is part of the open science movement, which marks a radical change in the way research, education and innovation are undertaken. Beyond providing open access to data, publications, and other research outputs, citizen science encourages the active participation of citizens in the actual research process. Since libraries are key players in the open science movement, their support of citizen science can contribute towards more open knowledge. So what can libraries do to support citizen science practices? What are the strengths of libraries to be involved in citizen science? What are the challenges? How can libraries themselves utilize citizen science in the development of ‘next generation libraries and librarians’? These are some of the areas open to research.

Contributed by Dr. Diljit Singh

Semantic Web is an important development direction of Internet technology, and many fields of library and information sciences are actively moving towards semantic Web. We are studying whether it is the virtual world of the Internet or the real human society. How far will the distance between the two be and how big will the difference be. Where this information world will lead human society is a philosophical question that should be studied by LIS.

Contributed by Prof. Joyce Chen

Ontologies and knowledge graphs are being developed to represent knowledge in different fields, particularly scientific knowledge and digital heritage information. Specialized interfaces (e.g., graph visualization interfaces) are being developed to support knowledge graph applications and user interaction with the knowledge graph. Propose how user interaction behavior or information behavior with knowledge graph applications and interfaces can be studied. Alternatively, propose how knowledge graph applications/interfaces can be evaluated. An example of a knowledge graph visualization interface for a digital archive collection is at: https://zubirsaid.sg

Contributed by Assoc. Prof. Chris Khoo

The new ways of knowledge/information organisation and representation include ontology, linked data, and knowledge graphs, and personalized knowledge representation. They represent relationships between entity objects at the semantic level to express and organize knowledge in a richer and more expressive way, and to support new kinds of knowledge services. These methods can be applied to support intelligent applications in various domains, and also have an important impact on online library and information services.

Contributed by Prof Ma Feicheng