In our study, we explored how early career researchers manage the vast amount of academic literature required for their work. We introduced the Researcher's Management of Search and Storage (RaMSeS) model, a comprehensive framework designed to streamline the entire research process, from initial literature search to final report composition. Through an extensive survey, we identified distinct behaviors among researchers, including their reading, note-taking, and document management practices. Our findings offer insights into the development of more effective tools and strategies to support researchers in navigating the complexities of academic literature, enhancing productivity and contributing to more impactful research outcomes.
This project aimed to enhance insights into Reference Management Systems (RMS) utilization by broadening the analysis to encompass the academic document composition. It also sought to increase the geographical diversity in the sample to gain a comprehensive understanding of research practices. We introduced the RaMSeS model, delineating the academic document collection management process within the context of academic document creation.
To explore research practices, we designed a questionnaire covering reading habits, note-taking, and tool utilization. Using unsupervised clustering, we analyzed 100 valid questionnaire responses to gain insights into researchers' processes. The findings revealed tendencies such as skimming research materials, the persistence of traditional note-taking methods, and high RMS satisfaction.
We also gathered valuable suggestions for future tool development aimed at enhancing organization, collaboration, ease of use, integration, and analysis capabilities. The project contributed important results from an online survey, shedding light on research material collection and curation habits and challenges.
Furthermore, we presented RaMSeS as a valuable model that illustrates the researcher's journey from information seeking/synthesis to final report/result writing. Additionally, we engaged in a discussion to identify research directions and challenges in academic document collection creation and curation.
- RQ1 - What are the typical researcher reading habits? E.g., do researchers read individual articles before collecting them? How much of an article is read before and after collecting?
- RQ2 - What are the typical summarization and notetaking practices? E.g., when do researchers take notes or summarize?
- RQ3 - How do researchers populate and maintain their collections? E.g., how do researchers process the article collections? Do researchers feel that RMS supports them in processing collections?
- RQ4 - How do researchers eventually transform what they have read and collected into writing? E.g., to what extent do they rely on their collections when writing?
Dataset (DataSet_RaMSeS.xlsx) is published without any idintification of participants. It contains 2 sheets, one with survey responses another encoded for analysis!
- Results from an online survey involving 100 academic researchers, providing valuable insights into research material collection and curation habits and challenges.
- The RaMSeS model, an instructive representation of the researcher's journey from information seeking/synthesis to final report/result writing.
- A discussion that identifies research directions and challenges for academic document collection creation and curation.
Survey Results: The answers ranking questions (SQ9, SQ12 and SQ20) are in ascending order, with the left choices having lower cumulative averages.
