You may have seen my name in connection with the Community System Lab,
source of the Worm Community System. I was user coordinator, until my
funding period came to an end at the first of the year. In real life, I
am an information scientist -- studying how people use/get/seek
information. I am preparing a chapter on the worm community and I need
some information from you. If you would, read through the following
questions and offer your response. You can either post here to the group,
or send them to me directly, shoman at alexia.lis.uiuc.edu. You need not
answer all of the questions, although that would be most helpful. Thanks.
How long have you been a member of the worm community? What is your
current status? (grad student, post-doc, labtech, PI)
What do you use computers for? (specific applications; games; e-mail;
internet access to -- ??)
How do you develop your research ideas? (e.g., talking with colleagues in
your lab, talking with colleagues via meetings or telephone, e-mail, usenet,
reading articles, etc.) Which vehicles of communication do you use most
often when _developing_ research? (from initial thought to first
experiment(s)).
How do you locate/get information relevant to your area(s) of interest?
What scientific journals do you read on a regular basis?
How do you disseminate your research results (preliminary or otherwise)?
(e.g. photocopies, e-mail, usenet/mailing list, WBG, other publications,
regional meetings, etc.) Which vehicles do you use most often when
disseminating initial results?
If you have been a member of the community for more than a decade: has
the introduction and presence of computers changed the way you
communicate with colleagues? If so, how?
As a member of the community, how do you feel about "Big Science" and the
commercialization of genetic research (biotech industry)? Have those
phenomena had any impact on your research, or on the way you share your
research with others? If so, how?
Do you think the worm community, more than other scientific communities,
is "closer" and is more likely to share research and information among
members?
Thank you for your time.
/laura
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Laura Shoman, M.L.S.
shoman at alexia.lis.uiuc.edu
