Information for Research in Developing Countries: Information Technology – Friend or Foe?
Title | Information for Research in Developing Countries: Information Technology – Friend or Foe? |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2003 |
Authors | Arunachalam S |
Journal | Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology |
Start Page | 16 |
End page | 21 |
Date Published | June/July 2003 |
Keywords | Bulletin of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Developing Countries, information, Information Technology, Research |
Abstract | Research or production of knowledge is at once an intensely personal and social activity. The quest for exploring unknown territories – the loneliness of a long-distance runner – is the personal aspect. But aggregation and advancement of knowledge takes place by collective efforts of researchers around the world. In the production of new knowledge scientists use what is already known. That pattern is why we need huge – and expensive – libraries. Moreover, generation of knowledge is only one part of the research process. For knowledge to be useful, it should be shared with other researchers and communicated, in a suitable format, to different users/stakeholders. Scientists in developing countries are terribly handicapped in both generation and sharing. |