Glossary

 

abstract brief summary of a research article or other scholarly communication, typically a 250 to 500 word outline at the beginning of an essay that summarizes the key aspects of the entire paper. Abstracts also serve as a form of proposal for academic conferences, collected anthologies, or special issues that focus on a theme or a problem.

academic integrity the moral code and ethical policy of academia, or the honesty, truthfulness, accuracy, and ethical standards you observe when pursuing your research.

addenda separate sheets of paper inserted into a print document that indicate corrections in the text.

aggregators websites or software that collect and analyze information from multiple sources.

analysis a process of separating a text into its component parts so as to engage in a detailed examination of those parts for the purposes of discussion and interpretation.

API (application programming interface) specifies how software components should communicate with each other.

application-conditioned delivery specific methods by which “apps” or applications are distributed.

argument taking a side in a debate or making a case and then defending your stand using persuasive evidence.

bitmap a digital image in a rectangular array of pixels.

blog a website where individuals or groups post opinions and information on an ongoing basis.

blogosphere the interlinking of blogs, bloggers, and readers posting comments.

blogrolls links to other blogs that the blog owner reads or follows.

born-digital material that originates in a digital form. Th is is in contrast to analogue (or print) material that has been digitized.

brick-an-mortar models of reserach research that requires in-person visits to a building to access and view material.

call numbers the numbers used by libraries for the classifi cation of materials (e.g., the Dewey Decimal or Library of Congress Classification systems).

clinical trials studies that follow selected participants for a specifi c period of time; some participants receive an intervention and some do not (the control group). Clinical trials measure the effects of medical interventions, including therapeutic agents, devices, and procedures.

cloud computing software stored and delivered through a remote network.

CMS (content management system) a web content publishing and management system that allows content originators to create, submit, and publish their content directly within a web application or site without any development tools or knowledge of html.

computer archives a collection of individual publications often catalogued and made accessible in some way.

content analysis a technique for gathering and analyzing the content of speeches, texts, images, and other media. Th e content can be words, sentences, paragraphs, pictures, or arguments, and the content analysis can be either qualitative or quantitative. See also qualitative content analysis and quantitative content analysis.

Creative Commons a licence that makes information available without charge to everyone with a computer.

critical descended from a Greek word meaning to choose, separate, or discern. A critical essay is a piece of writing that seeks to investigate, analyze, interpret, and evaluate a topic.

cross-sectional research research that involves the study of all members of a population, or a representative subset, at one particular point in time.

database aggregators gather together (i.e., aggregate) research articles from many different sources and journals. You can search multiple databases at the same time or work with a single database depending on your discipline or your area of inquiry.

databases structured sets of data or information contained in a computer system or online.

deductive reasoning reasoning that starts with a hypothesis or known facts and proceeds to a conclusion from that generalization. The basic assumption in deductive reasoning is that if something is true of a class of things in general, this will apply to all the specific members of that class.

digital essay the term we use when talking about scholarship that incorporates creative digital techniques and tools in an integrative framework.

digital ethnography the application of new technologies to the method of ethnography. More specifically, digital ethnography describes the process and methodology of doing ethnographic research in a digital space.

discourse communities scholarly groups that draw on particular information, texts, and techniques as background to the study of certain phenomena.

dose-response relationship in the fields of pharmacology and toxicology, scientific experiments that are used to determine the relationship between a particular dosage and the body’s response to it.

eBooks electronic versions of printed books.

eJournals electronic issues of journals and articles, either web versions of print documents or so-called born-digital publications.

empirical investigation research that involves gaining knowledge by direct or indirect observation or experience.

essay derived from the French word essayer, which means to try or to attempt. It stems from the Latin exigere—to drive out, to try, or to examine. In the English language, the term essay first meant a trial or an attempt.

ethnographyan established method of participant observation based on field research and has as its aim a full depiction of the characteristics of a group or population. Ethnographic research involves the process of describing a population’s culture or way of life as a distinct point of view.

exposition a form of writing that elucidates a topic by providing a thorough description that avoids bias, opinion, critique, or argument.

folksonomya collection of tags built up by users tagging information.

genre the rules and conventions that situate modes of inquiry within various disciplinary paradigms. These different styles and forms for communicating information have evolved over time to represent knowledge efficiently and effectively to readers and audiences in a specific field.

geocoding taking a geographic identifier, such as a street address or postal code, and finding associated geographic coordinates (or vice versa for reverse geocoding).

geotagging the adding of geographical identification metadata to various types of digital media such as photos, videos, podcasts, websites, SMS messages, blog entries, or social network posts. The data typically consists of latitude and longitude coordinates, but it can also include altitude, accuracy data, and place names.

GIS (geographic information system) designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of geographical data.

GPS (global positioning system) positioning technologies made possible by satellites orbiting the earth that transmit information about geographic location and time.

hashtags the hashtag symbol, #, marks keywords or tags, particularly those associated with microblogging sites such as Twitter.

hearsay information gathered without the evidence—citations, references, or fact-checking—that proves its truth or validity.

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) a system that allows pages to be displayed in a web browser. HTML is used to tag text and images in angle brackets

so that a web browser can read the document and organize it into a web page. The HTML tags are invisible from the web page; the browser does not display them but rather, uses HTML tags to interpret the content of the page.

hyperlinked documents documents that allow readers to delve more deeply into the research and to directly access the images and other sources of information used in creating the body of evidence for a document or study.

inductive reasoning a line of thought that begins with specific observations of one particular case and then moves toward broad generalizations.

infographics graphics that present complex information and data sets in a visually stimulating and easy-to-digest design.

interdisciplinary research research in which the problem, question, or theme defines the approach adopted and directs efforts to find a synthesis across subject, field, or disciplinary divisions.

LAN systems (local area network) a network that links computers in a smaller area, such as a university.

LBS (location-based services) services that integrate geographic location with the user’s own context (e.g., city, town, college campus) to deliver precise information about buildings, restaurants, health services, or recreational opportunities at a certain place in real time.

longitudinal research research that involves repeated observations of the same phenomena over long time periods.

metacognition the term for higher order thinking. It is “thinking about thinking.”

metadata information about the data (e.g., publishing dates, authorship, purpose, or location) on a network.

method a procedure, instrument, technique, tool, or manner of data collection used to study facts or evidence.

methodologythe describing, explaining, assessing, or critiquing of the standard processes, concepts, theories, or methods associated with a discipline. Moreover, a methodology involves examining or questioning the reasons or assumptions that form the intellectual underpinning of a specific theory or method.

mobile technologies technology used for cellular communication.

models scholarly materials that supply a plan, paradigm, pattern, or blueprint for mapping, organizing, and constructing your own original study.

multicasting sending the same file to multiple users at the same time.

multidisciplinary research research in which disciplines are loosely linked by way of a problem, question, or theme and there is little attempt to synthesize and integrate the diverse methods employed.

multimodal a multimodal document or interface provides multiple media or tools for the communication of information (e.g., a message that incorporates still and moving images, music, sound eff ects, voices, and written text).

news aggregator a website or software that collects and analyzes news from many different online sources and finds what is new.

OCR (optical character recognition) the mechanical or electronic conversion of scanned images of handwritten, typewritten, or printed text into machine-encoded text. It is widely used as a form of data entry from original paper data sources, such as documents or printed records.

ontologies a framework for knowledge representation wherein systems of classifications are arranged in hierarchies that move from general to specific.

open-source software that uses source code that allow documents to be accessible to everyone free of charge over the internet.

OPML (Outline Processor Markup Language) an XML format for outlines that makes it possible to share feed lists or a subject-specific feeds list with others.

paradigm the idea that a theory, method, or even a specific case serves as a model for examining other like things that appear to be of the same type (i.e., “setting them side by side”). From the Greek word paradeigma, which means pattern, exemplar, or to exhibit by setting side by side.

participant observation a research method that involves the direct observation of individuals or groups of people in their natural settings.

persuasive argument a common format for scholarly writing across all the disciplines. Academic essays typically seek to shape communication in ways that help bring about a voluntary change in the reader’s judgment. The aim is to turn the readers’ thinking around so they accept a position they did not hold before.

pixels short for “picture elements,” the smallest individual unit in an image. Each pixel represents the colour (in colour images) or grey level (for black and white images) at a single point in the picture.

podcast a series of audio or video media files (such radio programs or segments, lectures, news, or music) that are released episodically and typically downloaded by web syndication. A podcast is also a digital media file, either audio or video, that is freely available for download from the Internet.

qualitative content analysis a method used to explore the meanings of messages. Data samples usually consist of purposively selected texts, which inform the research questions under investigation. Whereas quantitative methods use computational approaches, qualitative studies seek to identify the specific themes that illustrate the range of the meanings of phenomena under investigation.

quantitative content analysis a method of research that relies on counting manifest textual elements. For example, content analyses may track the number of times specific words are mentioned or the regularity of the appearance of particular concepts. Images may be analyzed as “visual texts.” See also qualitative content analysis.

raster image or raster map a two-dimensional array of small integers. These values are often transmitted or stored in a compressed form.

remote backup services a way to store and share folders containing a number of documents for collaborative work.

research strategy multiple tactics for information-seeking and for developing critical skills. Information-seeking entails understanding what information you need, where to look for it, and how to use it effectively to solve problems.

RSS feeds an initialism for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary, a system for publishing content that is changed or updated on a regular basis. For example, blog entries and online news reports have RSS feeds that include either full text or summaries of content.

RTW (real-time Web) technology and techniques that allow people to receive information as soon as it is uploaded to the Web and to contribute content that is published as it is being uploaded.

satire when a person or a text is imitated in order to poke fun or to ridicule, often politically motivated.

semantic matching connecting information based on correspondences among ontologies.

social media Internet-based applications that allow people to create and exchange content and information.

social networking sites web-based services that allow you to construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, to connect and interact with other users with whom you share a connection or interests, and to view your list of connections and those made by others within the system.

statement of ethics concerning research on human participants the policy of an academic institution that requires you to document your intended research activities if they involve human participants who could potentially be harmed by the techniques you will be using.

style the way something is said or accomplished as opposed to the substance of the communication. Although style and substance are interrelated, style is more a matter of form than of content.

substance the content of a communication or its message. See also style.

syndication web syndication ensures that a notice about updated content is sent to subscribers so that they are aware of changes to their favourite sites.

synthesis the combination or fusion of parts or elements so as to form a whole.

tag a keyword and a form of metadata assigned to an image, file, or some other piece of information online. Tags allow information to be found and retrieved in a search enabled by keyword-based classification.

theoretic framework the component of the document that sets forth and makes explicit the system of principles that serve as the constructs that will be used to provide an account of the phenomena under investigation.

theory a set of interconnected notions, ideas, rules, or principles that together describe, explain, or provide an account of some thing, situation, or phenomenon based on general laws or rules that exist independently of the thing under scrutiny.

thesis at the most basic level, a thesis is a statement that introduces and summarizes the content of an essay by presenting the main argument, claims, ideas, or conclusion. On a larger level, a thesis is a term for a study that is longer and more complex than a term paper, but not as large and complex as a doctoral dissertation or a book.

trailer a video advertisement that uses inventive editing and is intended to generate attention and create excitement about a project.

transdisciplinary research research in which real life contexts—such as some actual problem or situation—guide investigations that extend beyond particular disciplinary boundaries.

video embedding a feature, such as that offered by YouTube, that allows you to insert video clips into your blog or website.

vlog a video blog; a form of blog that primarily uses video (e.g., web television).

VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) a technology that transmits your voice, image, and instant messages over the Internet instead of through the telephone network.

wiki a website that can be accessed and edited by a number of different people so that it facilitates collaborative work.

XML (Extensible Markup Language) a file format that defines the rules for encoding documents so they can be read by both people and computers. XML makes it possible for the information on the site to be published once and viewed by many different programs.