Examining the Research Practices of Agricultural Scholars at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities

ABSTRACT

During the spring and summer of 2016, the University of Minnesota Libraries joined 18 other institutions to participate in Ithaka S+R's Research Support Services Program to explore agricultural scholars' research focus, research methods, and publishing practices. This report summarizes our local findings, resulting from 16 interviews with University of Minnesota faculty from the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources Sciences on the Twin Cities campus. It also offers suggestions for agriculture libraries and librarians based on the data we have gathered.     

Investigating the Research Practices of Agriculture Scholars: Findings From the University of Florida

ABSTRACT

The University of Florida (UF) George A. Smathers Libraries is one of 19 institutions that participated in an Ithaka S+R Research Support Services investigation of agricultural sciences. The authors conducted a qualitative analysis of research support services based on one-on-one semistructured interviews with 15 faculty of the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences in 2016. A number of core themes emerged from the analysis of research practices in the local study at UF. Core themes included finding appropriate literature, data management issues and tools, repositories for sharing research products, and research dissemination. This report summarizes a subset of these results, focusing on themes related to academic library services that support agricultural scholars research needs.     

University of Arkansas Food Science Faculty Publications and the Characteristics of Their Cited References: A Bibliometric Study

ABSTRACT

In the allocation of collection resources, it is important to have a good understanding of the teaching, instruction and research needs of faculty and graduate students. Data related to the use of electronic databases, journals, books, etc. is helpful; however, this data does not reflect the nature and impact of the information retrieved, but merely provides a general idea of the number of times items have been searched, retrieved or borrowed. By identifying and analyzing faculty and graduate students' publications and grant proposals to determine where researchers are publishing and what sources they are citing in their research, the Library can assess how well it is supplying a core of literature to meet research needs. To this end, this study analyzes the publication and citation patterns of food science faculty at the University of Arkansas for a fourteen-year period, 1990–2003. The findings show that faculty are using and citing materials ranging from 1 to 22 years old and that 85 titles account for only 13.67% of the total journals cited but for 77.75% of the citations. It is assumed that these 85 titles constitute the core journal titles for food science research.     

Current Awareness Delivery Options in Food Science and Technology: Their Coverage,Timeliness and Characteristics

ABSTRACT

This study seeks to (1) identify the most productive source for current awareness information for the faculty and graduate students in the Department of Food Science and Technology at the University of Arkansas, (2) identify the update frequency and, hence, currency of information, and (3) identify effectiveness in retrieval. It is also hoped that this research will provide evidenced-based information for subscribing to a particular current awareness database for University of Arkansas food science and technology patrons and will allow us to direct patrons in this subject area to the best and most relevant resource for their current information needs. This paper reports the results of our evaluation of four current awareness sources on three search interfaces. These include Article 1st (First Search); Ingenta Connect; ISI Current Contents: Agriculture, Biology and Environmental Sciences (ABES); and ISI Current Contents: Life Sciences (LS). A listing of journals cited by faculty and graduate students in the Department of Food Science at the University of Arkansas for the period 1987–2003 was used to check against these databases. The extent of coverage of the journals and timeliness of update were used as criteria for the evaluation. The characteristics of the three interfaces are highlighted with respect to their effectiveness in providing a current awareness service.     

基于CiteSpace可视化分析有机肥料研究进展

从Wo S数据库核心合集中检索出1900—2019年相关文献4473篇,运用CiteSpace知识图谱分析工具,对合著国家、机构、作者、学科领域、关键词、文献共被引网络等进行可视化分析,对有机肥料的研究进展及演变趋势进行图谱解读与分析:①有机肥料对改善土壤理化性状、抑制土传病害、提高作物产量品质的作用及其机理依然是研究重点;②最新的基因测序等分子生物学技术在有机肥料研究中将得到更加广泛应用;③添加天然沸石、生物质炭等物质制造有机类肥料是未来有机肥料加工的重要方向;④有机肥料研究具有很强的学科交叉性,涉及农业、化学、环境生态学、环境科学、工程学等众多学科领域;⑤中国有机肥料研究发展迅速,国际上合作发表有机肥料学术论文数量前三的研究机构分别是中国科学院、南京农业大学、中国农科院,具有重要的学术影响力。     

Intellectual Property: Information Ownership in the Electronic Age: The Government Perspective: Government's Role in Striking a Balance in the Public Interest

ABSTRACT

An overview of the National Agricultural Library's eleven specialized information centers is presented that includes information on electronic access to their databases, publications, and information.     

Data Practices in the Crop Sciences: A Review of Selected Faculty Publications

This bibliographic study gathered information about the data practices of crop scientists from their publications. Two recent articles were reviewed from each faculty member in the Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. The goals of this study were to learn the common data types used in crop sciences research, to describe data reuse and sharing practices in the literature, and to highlight resources for acquiring and sharing data, especially repositories with an agricultural emphasis.     

Genotype and climate conditions influence the drop off of flowers and premature berries of blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum L.)

Abstract

The aim of the present research was to study the extent of the drop off of blackcurrant flowers and young berries in the conditions of northern Europe, depending on particular genotypes and weather conditions. The study was carried out in southern Estonia in 2004–2007. The experiment involved nine recently selected genotypes from the blackcurrant breeding program of the Estonian University of Life Sciences Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Polli Horticultural Research Centre and 10 parent genotypes. Drop off is considerably influenced by the weather conditions during flowering (temperature, precipitation) and the particular genotype. Drop off is lower in genotypes ‘Ats’, 6-90-5, 1-90-15 and ‘Pilenai’, whereas it is high in genotypes ‘Zagadka’ and ‘Karri’. There is an average positive correlation between the cluster length, the number of flower buds in cluster and the extent of drop off. A strong negative correlation was found between the intra-flower fertilization ability of the genotype and drop off. There may be specimens with both similar as well as a very different extent of drop off among the genotypes originating from the same crossing combination. Drop off was lower among the genotypes where cultivar ‘Öjebyn’ was one of the parents.     

Sowing date influence on winter oilseed rape overwintering in Estonia

Abstract

In 2001–2005 an overwintering investigation of winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) was carried out at the Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences of the Estonian University of Life Sciences. In our trial we used two winter oilseed rape varieties: ‘Wotan’ and ‘Express’. The sowing was performed at four different times, with weekly intervals: 8, 15, 22 and 29 August. The soil type was Stagnic Luvisol by WRB classification; the texture was sandy loam with a humus layer of 20–30 cm. Our research indicated that successful wintering of winter oilseed rape depends directly on sowing date. From the data obtained it may be seen that differences between sowing dates and overwintering were statistically significant. Overwintering depends on numbers of growing-degree-days (GDD) in the autumn vegetative period. Three years’ data showed that in the autumn period plants need 416 GDD for developing a strong root system and to prepare for wintering.     

Research Support Services for the Field of Agriculture: Ithaka S+R Interviews and Themes for Libraries

ABSTRACT

As part of a larger, national survey, we performed an in-depth qualitative analysis using semistructured interviews and a standard set of questions. We wished to examine the research practices of faculty in agriculture, to understand what they need to be successful in their teaching and research. We plan to use this information to make improvements to research support services. The national survey results should help pinpoint opportunities for developing new research support services for agriculture. This study adds to library and information sciences by examining the specific needs of faculty members in agriculture and agricultural extension, groups that have been previously underrepresented in the library literature.     

The Electronic Information Era: A Vision of the Future–Paradigms and Paradoxes

ABSTRACT

Tuskegee University's involvement with the sweetpotato was initiated in the late 19th century by Dr. George Washington Carver. Carver's publications on the sweetpotato include information on the history and varieties of sweetpotatoes, their cultivation, insect and fungal problems, and their treatment, harvesting, storing, canning, and preparation for human consumption and animal feed. Carver developed more than 200 products from the sweetpotato. Today sweetpotato research at Tuskegee University includes: biotechnology and genetic engineering, development of growing systems for long term space missions, health benefits and utilization of sweetpotato greens, effects of elevated carbon dioxide levels on sweetpotato growth and biochemistry, breeding new varieties, new food and non-food uses, new market niches, non-chemical pest control, modeling sweetpotato growth, sustainable cropping systems, degradation of foliage and roots to form sugars and ethanol, and use in international development. The National Sweetpotato Information Center (NSPIC) was established in 1993 with funding from USDA as a cooperative effort of Tuskegee University, the National Agricultural Library, and the University of Illinois. NSPIC goals include: materials collection; development of computer databases (materials, research and expert databases); digitization of full-text, non-copyrighted sweetpotato materials (using CD-ROM); teaching students and faculty to utilize NSPIC resources; and development of a network of people and institutions involved in sweetpotato research, production and utilization.     

Oberly Award for Bibliography in the Agricultural Sciences

ABSTRACT

The Oberly Award for Bibliography in the Agricultural Sciences is a biennial award given in odd-numbered years, consisting of a citation and a cash award from the income of the Oberly Memorial Fund, presented for the best English language bibliography in the field of agriculture or one of the related sciences in the two-year period preceding the year in which the award is made. The bibliographies are judged on accuracy, scope, usefulness, format, and special features such as explanatory introductions, annotations and indexes.     

Serials Redesign: Using Electronic Document Delivery to Reshape Access to Agricultural Journal Literature

ABSTRACT

In response to financial pressures resulting from escalating serials prices and severe budget constraints, LSU Libraries have launched a complete and comprehensive evaluation and redesign of its serials collection. The Serials Redesign Project is an innovative approach to the serials review process using electronic document delivery to facilitate the integration of access and ownership. Library liaisons help promote faculty acceptance and support, which will be crucial to the success of the project. Background information, the project methodology, faculty responses, and preliminary results for two pilot studies and for the Agriculture departments are presented.     

Long-term nitrogen fertilization alters microbial community structure and denitrifier abundance in the deep vadose zone

Purpose

The excessive use of nitrogen (N) fertilizer in intensive agriculture has increased nitrate leaching into groundwater, but its impacts on N transformation processes and the associated microbial communities in the deep vadose zone remain unclear.

Materials and methods

Soil samples from 0–1050 cm depth were collected from a 20-year field experiment with two N fertilization treatments: 0 (N0) and 600 kg N ha^?1 year^?1 (N600). Amplicon sequencing and quantitative PCR analyses were performed to profile the vertical distribution of soil microbial communities and denitrification genes.

Results and discussion

The soil microbial community structure and diversity were strongly influenced by soil depth and N fertilization. The 250 cm depth was identified as a threshold depth, as dramatically different microbial communities were found below and above this depth. Quantitative PCR results showed that the absolute abundance of denitrification genes decreased with increasing soil depth.

Conclusion

This study elucidated the profound effects of long-term N input on the composition and diversity of the microbial communities and the abundance of denitrifiers in the deep vadose zone. Our results provide basic information for use in mitigating nitrate leaching by enhancing microbial denitrification in deep vadose zones in intensive agricultural areas.

     

Prospectus for the Field of Agriculture at the Oklahoma State University Library: A Local Report for Ithaka S+R Research and Support Services

ABSTRACT

In 2016, the Oklahoma State University (OSU) Library was invited to participate in an Ithaka S+R research project with 19 other academic libraries from institutions with strong agricultural programs. This project documents agriculture research practices and needs and reflects a summary of findings from 10 interviews with OSU faculty researchers. This local report is to inform the Library's support for research of the OSU's agricultural faculty. The report was completed on December 1, 2016.     

From Their Mouths to Our Ears: Research Practices and Needs of Agricultural Scientists at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

ABSTRACT

University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) Libraries was one of 19 participants in a national study of the research practices and needs of agricultural researchers. Two UNL Libraries faculty members interviewed 11 UNL scholars during the summer of 2016. The ethnographic research approach revealed four core themes: interdisciplinarity and collaborations, scientific communication practices, scientific research data issues and practices, and challenges and opportunities. Illustrated by the sample of faculty comments presented here, the themes have direct implications for the UNL Libraries, while in other cases these point to concerns and opportunities for the university, the academy, and the nation.     

AgMaps: A Partnership Between Cornell University's Mann Library,New York County Extension Offices and the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the USDA

ABSTRACT

AgMaps is a system that allows Mann Library to distribute customized numeric data sets and thematic maps over the Web. To further the efforts of the AgMaps project, Mann Library is actively engaging in intellectual and financial collaboration with three New York County Extension offices, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Cornell faculty, and the National Agricultural Statistical Service of the USDA. After a brief discussion of the need for GIS and AgMaps in particular, this paper focuses on the roles each agency played in the process of creating AgMaps, describes the partnerships, highlights a user study employed for the interface design and presents AgMaps and some of its features.     

Leviathan: An Extension Service Information Server

ABSTRACT

Texas Agricultural Extension Service (TAEX) has been experimenting with electronic information servers as an adjunct to traditional information distribution methods. Information servers may be easily established on inexpensive (< $1,500 US) computers running all free software. A brief analysis of present usage is presented, and cost savings documented. Some guidelines for on-line information providers are presented. Internet information servers allow access to a broader audience at lower cost than traditional distribution.