0.2 Research in a connected world

Key concepts

• data-rich science
• e-Research

Introduction

Research today is often critically dependent on computation and data handling. The practice has become known under various terms such as e-Science, e-Research, and cyberscience. We would like to avoid using these terms, but when it is unavoidable, in the interests of brevity, we use the term e-Research in a broad sense to include all information processing support for research. Irrespective of the name, many researchers acknowledge that the use of computational methods and data handling is central to their work.

There is no question that scientific research over the past twenty years has undergone a transformation. This transformation has occurred as a result of various factors. New technologies, leading to new methods of working, have accelerated the pace of discovery and knowledge accumulation not only in the natural sciences but also in the social sciences and arts and humanities. Advances in scientific and other knowledge have generated vast amounts of data which need to be managed well so that they can be analysed, stored and preserved for future re-use. Larger scale science enabled by the Internet, and other information and communication technologies (ICTs), scientific instrumentation and automation of research processes has resulted in the emergence of new research paradigms that are often summarised as 'data-rich science' . A feature of this new kind of research is an unprecedented increase in complexity, in terms of the sophistication of research methods used, in terms of the scale of phenomena considered as well as the granularity of investigation.

e-Research involves the use of computer-enabled methods to achieve new, better, faster or more efficient research and innovation in any discipline. It draws on developments in computing science, computation, automation and digital communications. Such computer-enabled methods are invaluable within this context of rapid change, accumulation of knowledge and increased collaboration. They can be used by the researcher throughout the research cycle, from research design, data collection, and analysis to the dissemination of results. This is unlike other technological "equipment" which often only proves useful at certain stages of research. Researchers from all disciplines can benefit from the use of e-Research approaches, from the physical sciences to arts and humanities and the social sciences.

The following sections in this introduction will elaborate on these transformations in research and the role played by ICT, describing research collaborations, “big research” in a globalised world and participation in research.

Research collaborations

Today’s research into social and scientific issues and problems often involves increased sharing of resources – because individual research institutions cannot afford having these resources or because they are inherently distributed (for example in the case of linked radio telescopes). The research community has changed, so that more work is done in international collaborations and these collaborations have become increasingly multi- or interdisciplinary.