The Questions

In the beginning of this project, the class was given a list of questions to answer throughout the process of researching a scientist. Though many have been included in previous posts, I'd like to take the opportunity now to review these questions and the answers that I have discovered through researching Dr. Monica Medina.

Where might you find a more complete description of their research?
I think the best resource for this is Dr. Medina’s Lab website. It is maintained by her or people close to her, such as her students, so it is the most up to date and most comprehensive. It offers the public information that is unlikely to be found anywhere else.

Can you see any patterns in their literature use?
Yes. Often the same resources that she publishes in are also the resources she cites. She favors many that are listed by the UC Merced Computational Biology Journal Club on their website, an organization of which she is a member.

Would they serendipitously scan for ideas? Where?
She may serendipitously scan for ideas. If so it would be in interdisciplinary resources such as Science and Nature, or the proceedings of conferences and colloquia.

Where might they systematically look for information?
Dr. Medina would systematically search scholarly journals whose coverage is closely related to her research. Examples of these would be Molecular Ecology and Marine Biotechnology

Are there interdisciplinary aspects to their work?
Yes.

If so, how would this complicate their information seeking behavior?
Because of the interdisciplinary aspects of her work, Dr. Medina must explore more basic resources of information to get a strong grasp of the field and the more specific information that is important to her research. This makes it more difficult because she must acquire or refresh her memory on some information before she can begin to understand the more pertinent information. This slows the research process slightly and requires well established and accepted resources to fill in the “background information” needs.

Is there a possibility that their work pulls information from sub-disciplines or disciplines that have historically been working somewhat in isolation from one another?
Yes. She incorporates many sub-disciplines of biology into her work, such as phycology, malacology, and oceanography.

Is there any evidence that they participate in some form of social (computerized or otherwise) networking – especially ones where they are exchanging information with colleagues?
Yes. She has given at least on presentation at a conference but cites other conference proceedings which indicates that she is involved in some sort of formal networking group outside of her institution, the UC Merced Computational Biology Journal Club, and the “invisible college.” Though at this time there has been no evidence to support such conclusions, it may be possible that she participates in listservs or other activities that allow for the sharing of information.

Are the journals, or other information that they are citing, open access?
Very few of the resources she cites are open access. Two open access journals that she has contributed to herself are BMC Genomics and Emerging Infectious Diseases.