How Journal
Discovery Platforms Are Helping Technology Research In India: E-Learning
Research is
of utmost importance in the development of any country. The progress of science
and technology critically depends on it. No wonder, developed countries spend
huge amounts on R & D. For example, in 2011, worldwide expenditure on
research was 1.77 per cent of the total global gross domestic product (GDP).
However,
spending in India on R & D is nowhere in comparison. There continues to be
little investment. In such a situation, it would be unreasonable to expect
state-of-the-art progress as far as new innovations and technology are
concerned. In a world where technology is evolving rapidly, it is important for
countries to earmark funds for research.
One of the
critical problems that researchers face is access to the latest developments in
their respective fields across the world. This is particularly true for the
field of technology, where change is the only constant.
It is, in
fact, the biggest challenge facing research. It is this gap that journal
discovery platforms such as J Gate, i-Scholar, etc. are aiming to fill. Researchers agree that
such tools are useful for all library users, especially members of their
community.
“In fact,
libraries promote the usage of journal discovery platforms and place them on
their website. They also use mailers to make users aware of such services,”
says N V Sathyanarayana, founder, J-Gate.
Discovery of
content is one of the most important services that libraries can offer. Journal
platforms have the potential to facilitate discovery. If libraries consider the
implementation of a discovery service in their library, then it would lead to
great and easier research in the field. For example, i-Scholar aggregates
peer-reviewed Indian journals, enabling institutions and individuals to browse
and access scholarly content.
“Discovery
of content by authors is an excellent feature. It does make it convenient and easy
for the librarian to share resources. Moreover, such journal sharing platforms
work towards facilitating some of the brightest minds of India in their
learning pursuits,” adds says Dr. H Anil Kumar, Librarian and Head NICMAN, IIM,
Ahmedabad.
A comprehensive
journal discovery platform helps researchers discover millions of scholarly
articles and literature from multiple journals. Some of them cover all subjects
making a researcher’s life a lot simpler.
“As far as
search is concerned, it is a useful tool. I can select articles and store/save
them in my library, my folders, my favourites, etc. I can also share it with my
peers. If I want to collaborate with someone on a project, that is also
possible. If the full-text article is not available, the user can reach out to
the author by clicking on the author’s name. Our students are using it
effectively and authors are responding within 2-3 days of reaching out. When a
research scholar wants a particular article, this is a handy feature,” says Dr.
Bhojaraju Gunjal, NIT, Rourkela.
“They can be
helpful as India tries to match up to the might of western countries as far as
research and innovation is considered. In that respect, journal discovery
platforms are important for researchers in India,” adds librarian and information
scientist Sathyanarayana who founded J-Gate in the 1990s. His says his mission
is to transform the education space in India through e-learning.
Regards
Prof. Pralhad Jadhav
Master of Library &
Information Science (NET Qualified)
Senior Manager @ Knowledge
Repository
Khaitan & Co
Twitter Handle | @Pralhad161978
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