Cyberscience

Since the early 1980s, the scholarly community is witnessing a considerable incease in its use of information and communication technologies (ICT). The network PC, E-mail, the internet, on- and off-line databases, the World Wide Web, electronic conferences, digital libraries and "knowbots" are but a few of the trends which influence the daily working of the scientific community. In the context of this project, the notion of "cyberscience" will be used to designate these applications and services. As opposed to "traditional" science which does not use networked computers, cyberscience may be defined as all scholarly activities in the "information and communication space"- formed by the computer and in particular the ICT -in which the scholars work to an ever increasing degree. A synopsis of the various developments on the path to cyberscience recently led to two conclusions: First, ICT affect virtually all forms of scholarly activity and several basic framework conditions. Systematic screening reveals that both the organisational setting and the production of knowledge as well as scholarly communication and finally the transfer of academic knowledge (teaching) are directly concerned. The second conclusion is that the many developments faced by scholars do not only accelerate communication or increase the publication output, as frequently assumed, but also have the potential to lead to qualitative changes in the research community, This claim has already been substantiated with respect to the themes listed below under (ii.), (iii.) and (v.). In the proposed research project we aim, first, at exploring and evaluating these potentials in a sample of scholarly disciplines. Second, we shall trace the driving forces as well as the factors which work against this development. In a third step, we shall discuss the implications of cyberscience for research policy. The main subjects within this broad approach will be (i.) a comprehensive description of the elements of cyberscience; the discussion of (ii.) the possible liberation of research from spatial limitations; (iii.) the future distribution of roles in academia, (iv.) the future of knowledge representation; (v) the future of the publication system; (vi.) the future of quality control; (vii.) the impact of teaching in a virtual environment on research; (ix.) the differences between the various disciplines; (x.) legal aspects; (x.) a conceptual synthesis; and (xi.) the discussion of policy aspects.

The study "Cyberscience" analysed the impact of information and communication technologies in academia. In a first step, we collected data on the status quo. E-mail is used practically universal and online databases are spread very widely. While E-mail discussion lists are partly considered very important, Internet video-conferencing is, so far, the rare exception. Virtual research institute exist only to some extent, but there is a trend to more. Electronic journals, full text databases for digital working papers, as well as digital libraries are gaining ground. Altogether, we elaborated and compared 13 case studies of academic disciplines. Contrary to expectations, not only the natural sciences use increasingly these new technologies. Also several fields in the humanities, social sciences and cultural studies, such as parts of history and papyrology, are well advanced in this respect. In a second step, we analysed in-depth what kinds of impact the use of new media already has today, and which effects are to be expected in the future. In cyberscience, spatial distances (e.g. with regard to libraries) become less important. Peripheral research distant to the centres will be easier to some extent. In the field of academic publishing, in particular, important changes are looming. In academia, electronic publishing will replace print and paper in the not so distant future. New procedures of quality control are in the making and will complement the existing ones. New formats of knowledge representation (hypertext, multimedia) are likely to be seen soon next to the classical scientific article or book. In addition, the much cheaper electronic publishing opens up the opportunity that academia gets eventually rid of the financial burdens that are laid upon it by the present commercialised publishing system. As regards copyright law, there is urgent need for action in order to guarantee research the necessary access to all important information. Finally, the study found that, potentially, there will be even indirect impact on the substance of research. The electronic media trigger changes in methodologies, work modes and as regards the representation of knowledge. These changes may have an impact on knowledge production.