Development of a Journal Information System for Engineering Research Studies
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2003-1588 Development of a Journal Information System for Engineering Research Studies KIT FAI PUN and ANESA HOSEIN Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Trinidad and Tobago, WI (email: [email protected]) Abstract: A prototype journal information system (JIS) comprising of a cataloguing sub-system and an information indexing sub-system was developed to assist researchers and engineering students in their literature review and research studies. The system can provide 1) a fast- searching capability to trace articles with specified themes, subject areas, keywords, authors, year of publication and index references; and 2) the facilities for grouping and sorting of articles according to types and names of journals and their specializations. This paper describes the design, collection and input of data, query usage, and report outputs of the system. Introduction Today’s literature reviewing process is different to that of two decades ago1. The process is more complex as much literature is being published in a wider array of journals. The literature reviewing process underwent by engineering researchers and students began to employ digital libraries available through compact diskettes (CDs) during the 1980s and since the 1990s through the World Wide Web (WWW)2. The digital libraries were able to provide an efficient searching interface for retrieval of information as compared to paper citation, subject and keyword indexes that were previously available1,2. In the past, researchers and students stored collected materials (e.g. copies of papers and notes) in personal card indices to aid in the retrieval of papers during the writing process3. Today, personal bibliographic software (PBS) is widely used for the same purposes with add-ins or compatibility features with word processing programmes (e.g. Microsoft Word and WordPerfect)4. Most PBS are able to create bibliographic references in many writing styles, store information by keywords and link to online digital libraries. Many commercial PBS packages (e.g. AutoBiblio, Bibliographix, Biblioscape, Endnote, Procite, and Reference Manager) cost about US$100-300. Despite the cost factors, these packages are developed for different disciplines (e.g. physical sciences, bioscience, library science, medicine, economics, and legal) and/or general purposes. However, they may not meet the specific requirements of researchers and research students of engineering disciplines and applications4-6. This paper presents a journal information system (JIS) that provides a cost- effective and personalized means for assisting researchers and research students to manage their literature review processes and outputs. Using the system can save considerable amount of time in tracking the location of literature, especially when the search is conducted over a long period 8.415.1 Page and researchers are unable to recall papers at some later date. To discuss how the JIS helps in a Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2003, American Society of Engineering Education literature review process and builds a bibliography, this paper will illustrate a working example of decision models’ applications in agribusiness operations and engineering. Conducting a literature search To create bibliographic references that facilitate the process of literature search and review, users (e.g. researchers and research students) need to identify the data types and determine the searching methodology. The main data types are: 1) bibliographic information (such as, the title of article, name of author and journal, volume and issue numbers, and year of publication); 2) important notes (e.g. main findings and conclusions) derived from articles, and 3) a soft or hard copy of articles. Figure 1 illustrates the information gathering methodology in the literature review process. In most circumstances, a user must develop or identify a set of keywords that help determines the data types and the search of the literature sources (i.e. relevant journals and articles) for any specified research work. He/she can then use the search box in digital libraries to retrieve related and relevant journal articles containing the keywords. Users can also browse the quoted bibliographic references to search and retrieve more literature publications of the same topics and related areas7-9. Perform queries in Retrieve query results of Read, browse and find digital libraries articles containing articles of interest by their keywords abstract, title and keywords User determines Retrieve articles of interest searchable keywords either in digital or paper format Record bibliographic Make a copy of information and make interested papers in keynotes digital or paper format Scan bibliographic references of interested papers Figure 1. Information gathering in the literature review process Design and building a JIS The design and building of a journal information system has three main phases, namely: 1) design and creation of the system; 2) inputting of the gathered information into the system; and 3) manipulating results in terms of reports and queries. A prototype JIS was developed for facilitating users to build a personalized bibliographic reference on a selected application of engineering disciplines. A schematic representation of the JIS is given in figure 2. It shows the logic flow starting from data input and manipulation to generation of bibliography reports. Two application tools of Microsoft Office software packages (i.e. Microsoft Access 2000 and Microsoft Word 2000) are used to build the prototype. The system has two subsystems, including 1) a Cataloguing Subsystem to store the collection of bibliographic data from literature, and 2) an Information Indexing Subsystem to record the important information of individual literature. Both subsystems are linked as a one-to-many relationship since any article can have one or 8.415.2 Page more indexed information record(s), and one record can store one methodology being used and Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2003, American Society of Engineering Education the conclusions made. A context diagram is shown in figure 3. For the purpose of illustration, an entity relationship diagram and a Level-0 diagram of the system are given in appendix 1. Soft copies of articles are stored as files in a separate directory and retrieved using the Object Linked and Embedded (OLE) feature of the system. Hard copies are stored elsewhere alphabetically in physical folders. The design of the two subsystems is elaborated separately as follows. Gathered Bibliographic Data and Keynotes Cataloguing Information Subsystem Subsystem Data Manipulation and Analysis Reports Figure 2. A schematic representation of the JIS Information Request Bibliography notes Article 0 User/ Literature request reviewer JIS system Literature review notes Article needed Bibliography list Figure 3. A context diagram of the JIS The Cataloguing Subsystem Microsoft Access 2000 provides a platform to develop the cataloguing subsystem. This sub- system keeps a record of the journal articles reviewed and the essential information required for creating a bibliography. Data inputted into the subsystem includes: • Name(s) of Author(s) 8.415.3 Page • Title of Article Proceedings of the 2003 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2003, American Society of Engineering Education • Name of Journal • Volume and Issue Numbers • Year of Publication including month or period (if any) • Page Numbers or Ranges • Paper Categorization or Index (optional) • Abstract (optional) Three database tables are built. The first and main one is the cataloguing table that stores the above data in separate fields. All data fields are kept as text data types except for the abstract field and the publication year of articles which uses the memo and number data types respectively. Volume and issue numbers are either numerical or alphanumerical n text fields with direct inputs rather than as drop-down menus. The primary key is chosen as an auto-number generated by the system. The second is the journal table that contains the list of journals searched, whereas the third is the article group table that is used to categorize articles by their main fields of application. Using an application example of “decision models for agribusiness operations and engineering”, the fields of the system are categorized into 1) decision models in agribusiness operations, 2) decision models in engineering systems, 3) computer applications in agribusiness operations, and 4) computer applications in other related industries. A cataloguing form is created based on the data fields of the main cataloguing table (see figure 4). Using a set of specifically designed syntax, data is inputted directly in both journal table and article group table. Data field naming must be determined and data must be normalized wherever possible to ensure a quick sorting and retrieval of information. For example, two separate data fields are created for the “Authors of the article”. The first field stores the record of the first author, whereas the second field is reserved for other author(s). The syntax (i.e. format of input) for the author names must also be determined (e.g. “Piper, E.L.” versus “Piper, E L”), and data inputs must follow the convention strictly. Page 8.415.4 Page Figure 4. A