More to come later on the study of sub-disciplines and isolated disciplines later- I have a few emails out to some medical student friends for some input.
When I first read the networking question I immediately thought of H-Net, a networking site for the Humanities and Social Sciences. Through this site anyone interested in either discipline and a multitude of sub-disciplines can sign up for discussion forums and list-serves. The forums offer a great place for the discussion of new publications in the fields and even opportunities to discuss job opportunities.
The National Science Teachers Association also offers a similar forum for discussion of science at the elementary and highschool levels. As for Rebecca Saxe it seems that MIT has its own fairly structured forum for discussion among its faculty through article postings, pod casts, e-news, and rss feeds. ( http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2008/saxe-tt0514.html )
The New York Academy of Science, of which Saxe is apparently either a member or simply a visitor (she spoke there in April 2007) is an interdisciplinary organization for the presentation of research in print and electronic format with conferences and symposiums.
Brain Talk Communities is a non-profit organization geared toward patients undergoing treatment or observation for a neurological condition. Brain Talk maintains forums for discussion and support and a specific forum for Child Neurology. Although this forum is far from formally scientific, it does connect people w/ common issues and could offer Saxe a look into observations of children not in her study. ( http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=115 )
Back to scholarly resources-- Social Science Research Network maintains Cognitive Science Network for the publication of research papers, job postings, directory of professionals in the field, and other announcements. ( http://www.ssrn.com/csn/index.html ) Cognitive Science Network, after searching for author Rebecca Saxe returns "1 out of 0 results" so I'm not sure what they're getting at here.....
Networks of scientists sharing ideas through online forums and organizations create a variety of new resources for Saxe and her colleagues.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Sometimes It's a Struggle
After what I thought was a ground breaking epiphany of information resource 'awesome-ness' on Friday, back to the real world. Now that I see that Elsiever is the publisher and thus is picky enough to only promote their publications I feel that I've had a great experience in the next question- Interdisciplinary cross over would most definitely complicate any scientist's information seeking behavior.
In Rebecca Saxe's case, not only must she be able to find information on the biological workings of the brain, she must also be open to the constant stream of psychological and philosophical theories that pass through publications, forums, and conferences. It is very doubtful that Saxe would ever find a publication that would include all areas of her research or a conference that focuses specifically on her desired balance of biology, chemistry, neurology, psychology, and philosophy-- and whatever else she decides to throw in. Therefore, she must (as any librarian must also become accustomed to) be willing to search a variety of sources both traditional and non for research findings that could be woven together to serve her needs. As I have learned through 'googling' sometimes the best answers come from the most surprising places. In the name of science, a forum of scientists openly discussing their findings and theories could create new partnerships and spark new ideas.
Databases like Science Direct though would be most helpful since searching for a key word would produce articles from a variety of sources as in this age of technology it is hard to imagine that any non - librarian really spends time leafing through the latest journals. Electronic access is quickly taking over and as a result publications from a multitude of disciplines can be combined and searched in tandem easing the researching dilemmas of cross-over scientists utilizing a combination of disciplines to discover awesome things.
In Rebecca Saxe's case, not only must she be able to find information on the biological workings of the brain, she must also be open to the constant stream of psychological and philosophical theories that pass through publications, forums, and conferences. It is very doubtful that Saxe would ever find a publication that would include all areas of her research or a conference that focuses specifically on her desired balance of biology, chemistry, neurology, psychology, and philosophy-- and whatever else she decides to throw in. Therefore, she must (as any librarian must also become accustomed to) be willing to search a variety of sources both traditional and non for research findings that could be woven together to serve her needs. As I have learned through 'googling' sometimes the best answers come from the most surprising places. In the name of science, a forum of scientists openly discussing their findings and theories could create new partnerships and spark new ideas.
Databases like Science Direct though would be most helpful since searching for a key word would produce articles from a variety of sources as in this age of technology it is hard to imagine that any non - librarian really spends time leafing through the latest journals. Electronic access is quickly taking over and as a result publications from a multitude of disciplines can be combined and searched in tandem easing the researching dilemmas of cross-over scientists utilizing a combination of disciplines to discover awesome things.
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