Access to information about research

Details of research can be difficult to obtain and perhaps may not be in the public domain. The reasons for this may be:

•  it is restricted company information (for example, information about new
 products)
•  it contains sensitive information (for example, about an individual)
•  it may be considered to have legal implications
•  it may not have been published using the normal channels

Details can be found in scholarly publications such as published theses, jour-
nal articles, conference papers, pre-prints, or reports. There are indexes and
directories available to aid the discovery of research activity. Some sources rely
on the researchers themselves submitting details. This assumes that they are
(a) aware of the index and (b) wish to have details made public. Others are maintained by institutions such as a research library and some obtain information directly from institutions.
Anyone undertaking doctoral or other high level research must first be sure
that what they intend doing is original. They will wish to find out about other
research activity in the subject area in order to inform their own work. There
are initiatives around the world attempting to make research data and other
materials more visible, accessible and re-useable. Some are national projects
while others have been set up by individuals or commercial companies. The
Web has enabled information about research to be potentially available to
anyone with Internet access. However, there is neither a coordinated global
index nor any national index that can be described as comprehensive.