New media has changed the possibilities of research and the way in which we find valuable information in all aspects. Where previously, a requirement for research to become accessible was to have it published as a single piece in a collective research text which remained limited in its production and distribution, now with the widespread access to internet, researchers are able to spread their information through social collectives such as the blog medium or through online journals. This change has caused a shift in both the way in which these texts are created and the way in which they are sought.
“In the early 1980s, geneticists worked away in their different labs, racing to sequence genes and patent them before the neighbouring lab could. The result: duplication, very slow progress and a huge bill.” (Pisani 2011)
Historically scientific research remained, in large part, a closed off system. However in the new age of media connectivity, collaboration is key. “There’s arguably even greater benefit to digital knowledge transfer in science” (Wilbanks 2011), allowing research to be shared over numerous groups, aiding the speed and reliability of results. However in a world where “published papers are virtually the only measure of success” (Pisani 2011), issues of ownership and recognition become a problem, causing fear towards the new media’s place in our society. This begs the question, should the industry change to accordingly adopt the new media, or should the academic papers return to the private medium they once were?
This brings into context concepts of future, an issue that will be explore in the next blog.
By Wayne Blair, z3290795
Tutorial – Monday 4pm
References
- Pisani, E. 2011 ‘Medical science will benefit from the research clouds’, The Guardian, accessed online 9th May 2011 <http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jan/11/medical-research-data-sharing>
- Wilbanks, J. 2011, ‘On Science Publishing’, Seed, accessed online 9th May 2011 <http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/on_science_publishing>
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