Andrew Tsou | Indiana University (original) (raw)

Papers by Andrew Tsou

Research paper thumbnail of Big data, bigger dilemmas: A critical review

The recent interest in Big Data has generated a broad range of new academic, corporate, and polic... more The recent interest in Big Data has generated a broad range of new academic, corporate, and policy practices along with an evolving debate among its proponents, detractors, and skeptics. While the practices draw on a common set of tools, techniques, and technologies, most contributions to the debate come either from a particular disciplinary perspective or with a focus on a domain-specific issue. A close examination of these contributions reveals a set of common problematics that arise in various guises and in different places. It also demonstrates the need for a critical synthesis of the conceptual and practical dilemmas surrounding Big Data. The purpose of this article is to provide such a synthesis by drawing on relevant writings in the sciences, humanities, policy, and trade literature. In bringing these diverse literatures together, we aim to shed light on the common underlying issues that concern and affect all of these areas. By contextualizing the phenomenon of Big Data within larger socioeconomic developments, we also seek to provide a broader understanding of its drivers, barriers, and challenges. This approach allows us to identify attributes of Big Data that require more attention—autonomy, opacity, generativity, disparity, and futurity—leading to questions and ideas for moving beyond dilemmas.

Research paper thumbnail of Post-interdisciplinary frames of reference: exploring permeability and perceptions of disciplinarity in the social sciences

Scientometrics, 2014

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database contains records for approximately 2.3 million dissert... more ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database contains records for approximately 2.3 million dissertations conferred at 1,490 research institutions across 66 countries. Despite the scope of the Dissertations and Theses database, no study has explicitly sought to validate the accuracy of the ProQuest SCs. This research examines the degree to which ProQuest SCs serve as proxies for disciplinarity, the relevance of doctoral work to doctoral graduates' current work, and the permeability of disciplines from the perspective of the mismatch between SCs and disciplinarity. To examine these issues we conducted a survey of 2009-2010 doctoral graduates, cluster-sampled from Economics, Political Science, and Sociology ProQuest SCs. The results from the survey question the utility of traditional disciplinary labels and suggest that scholars may occupy a post-interdisciplinary space in which they move freely across disciplinary boundaries and identify with topics instead of disciplines.

Research paper thumbnail of Unpublishable research: examining and organizing the 'file drawer

Research paper thumbnail of Faculty and student interactions via Facebook: Policies, preferences, and practices

it - Information Technology, 2014

Students and faculty members have always interacted informally. However, Facebook and other socia... more Students and faculty members have always interacted informally. However, Facebook and other social networking sites (SNSs) present interaction spaces that blur the boundaries between professional, academic and personal lives. The impetus for this study is to understand the extent of SNS-mediated informal interactions between faculty members and students and the policies, preferences, and practices that inform these interactions. Adopting a multiple-case approach, interviews with faculty members and graduate students at three North American library and information science schools were completed to examine behaviors when interacting through Facebook. Additionally, syllabi at two of the case settings were analyzed to see if they contain any polices, guidelines, or other expectations for faculty and student interactions via SNSs. Interview findings show that a majority of faculty members and students prefer not to interact via Facebook, with several having developed ad hoc, informal personal guidelines informing their decision-making. No faculty or students reported explicit SNS policies or guidelines at their respective institutions addressing faculty-student interactions. The lack of explicit directives was apparent in the syllabi analysis as well. The implications for higher education and development of policies are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Team size matters: Collaboration and scientific impact since 1900

Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2014

This paper provides the first historical analysis of the relationship between collaboration and s... more This paper provides the first historical analysis of the relationship between collaboration and scientific impact, using three indicators of collaboration (number of authors, number of addresses, and number of countries) and including articles published between 1900 and 2011. The results demonstrate that an increase in the number of authors leads to an increase in impact--from the beginning of the last century onwards-and that this is not simply due to self-citations. A similar trend is also observed for the number of addresses and number of countries represented in the byline of an article. However, the constant inflation of collaboration since 1900 has resulted in diminishing citation returns: larger and more diverse (in terms of institutional and country affiliation) teams are necessary to realize higher impact. The paper concludes with a discussion of the potential causes of the impact gain in citations of collaborative papers.

Research paper thumbnail of Publish or Practice? An Examination of Librarians’ Contributions to Research

portal: Libraries and the Academy, 2013

This article examines authorship of LIS literature in the context of practitioner and nonpractiti... more This article examines authorship of LIS literature in the context of practitioner and nonpractitioner production of published research. 4,827 peer-reviewed articles from 20 LIS journals published between 1956 and 2011 were examined to determine the percentage of articles written by practitioners. The study identified a decrease in the proportion of articles authored by practitioners between 2006 and 2011. Topic analysis of articles revealed subtle yet distinct differences in research subjects matter between practitioner-authored and non-practitioner authored articles. If present trends continue, the character of LIS literature may shift away from many issues relating to practical librarianship.

Research paper thumbnail of Big data, bigger dilemmas: A critical review

The recent interest in Big Data has generated a broad range of new academic, corporate, and polic... more The recent interest in Big Data has generated a broad range of new academic, corporate, and policy practices along with an evolving debate among its proponents, detractors, and skeptics. While the practices draw on a common set of tools, techniques, and technologies, most contributions to the debate come either from a particular disciplinary perspective or with a focus on a domain-specific issue. A close examination of these contributions reveals a set of common problematics that arise in various guises and in different places. It also demonstrates the need for a critical synthesis of the conceptual and practical dilemmas surrounding Big Data. The purpose of this article is to provide such a synthesis by drawing on relevant writings in the sciences, humanities, policy, and trade literature. In bringing these diverse literatures together, we aim to shed light on the common underlying issues that concern and affect all of these areas. By contextualizing the phenomenon of Big Data within larger socioeconomic developments, we also seek to provide a broader understanding of its drivers, barriers, and challenges. This approach allows us to identify attributes of Big Data that require more attention—autonomy, opacity, generativity, disparity, and futurity—leading to questions and ideas for moving beyond dilemmas.

Research paper thumbnail of Post-interdisciplinary frames of reference: exploring permeability and perceptions of disciplinarity in the social sciences

Scientometrics, 2014

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database contains records for approximately 2.3 million dissert... more ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database contains records for approximately 2.3 million dissertations conferred at 1,490 research institutions across 66 countries. Despite the scope of the Dissertations and Theses database, no study has explicitly sought to validate the accuracy of the ProQuest SCs. This research examines the degree to which ProQuest SCs serve as proxies for disciplinarity, the relevance of doctoral work to doctoral graduates' current work, and the permeability of disciplines from the perspective of the mismatch between SCs and disciplinarity. To examine these issues we conducted a survey of 2009-2010 doctoral graduates, cluster-sampled from Economics, Political Science, and Sociology ProQuest SCs. The results from the survey question the utility of traditional disciplinary labels and suggest that scholars may occupy a post-interdisciplinary space in which they move freely across disciplinary boundaries and identify with topics instead of disciplines.

Research paper thumbnail of Unpublishable research: examining and organizing the 'file drawer

Research paper thumbnail of Faculty and student interactions via Facebook: Policies, preferences, and practices

it - Information Technology, 2014

Students and faculty members have always interacted informally. However, Facebook and other socia... more Students and faculty members have always interacted informally. However, Facebook and other social networking sites (SNSs) present interaction spaces that blur the boundaries between professional, academic and personal lives. The impetus for this study is to understand the extent of SNS-mediated informal interactions between faculty members and students and the policies, preferences, and practices that inform these interactions. Adopting a multiple-case approach, interviews with faculty members and graduate students at three North American library and information science schools were completed to examine behaviors when interacting through Facebook. Additionally, syllabi at two of the case settings were analyzed to see if they contain any polices, guidelines, or other expectations for faculty and student interactions via SNSs. Interview findings show that a majority of faculty members and students prefer not to interact via Facebook, with several having developed ad hoc, informal personal guidelines informing their decision-making. No faculty or students reported explicit SNS policies or guidelines at their respective institutions addressing faculty-student interactions. The lack of explicit directives was apparent in the syllabi analysis as well. The implications for higher education and development of policies are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of Team size matters: Collaboration and scientific impact since 1900

Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 2014

This paper provides the first historical analysis of the relationship between collaboration and s... more This paper provides the first historical analysis of the relationship between collaboration and scientific impact, using three indicators of collaboration (number of authors, number of addresses, and number of countries) and including articles published between 1900 and 2011. The results demonstrate that an increase in the number of authors leads to an increase in impact--from the beginning of the last century onwards-and that this is not simply due to self-citations. A similar trend is also observed for the number of addresses and number of countries represented in the byline of an article. However, the constant inflation of collaboration since 1900 has resulted in diminishing citation returns: larger and more diverse (in terms of institutional and country affiliation) teams are necessary to realize higher impact. The paper concludes with a discussion of the potential causes of the impact gain in citations of collaborative papers.

Research paper thumbnail of Publish or Practice? An Examination of Librarians’ Contributions to Research

portal: Libraries and the Academy, 2013

This article examines authorship of LIS literature in the context of practitioner and nonpractiti... more This article examines authorship of LIS literature in the context of practitioner and nonpractitioner production of published research. 4,827 peer-reviewed articles from 20 LIS journals published between 1956 and 2011 were examined to determine the percentage of articles written by practitioners. The study identified a decrease in the proportion of articles authored by practitioners between 2006 and 2011. Topic analysis of articles revealed subtle yet distinct differences in research subjects matter between practitioner-authored and non-practitioner authored articles. If present trends continue, the character of LIS literature may shift away from many issues relating to practical librarianship.