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The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to information science:

Information science – interdisciplinary field primarily concerned with the analysis, collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information.^[1] Practitioners within the field study the application and usage of knowledge in organizations, along with the interaction between people, organizations and any existing information systems, with the aim of creating, replacing, improving or understanding information systems.

What type of thing is information science?

Information science can be described as all of the following:

An academic discipline –
A branch of science –
- An applied science –
- An action research –

Sub-disciplines of information science

Contributing fields

As an interdisciplinary field, information science draws upon and incorporates concepts and methodologies from:

History of information science

History of information science
Documentation science – predecessor of information science.
Fathers of information science
- Paul Otlet
- Henri La Fontaine
Information history
International Federation for Information and Documentation
History of information representation and retrieval
- Has undergone four phases of development^[2]
  1. Increased Demand (1940s–early 1950s) (Information explosion)
  2. Rapid Growth (1950s–1980s) (the emergence of computers and systems such as Dialog (online database))
  3. Demystification Phase (1980s–1990s) (systems developed for end-user searching)
  4. The Networked Era (1990s–Present) (search engines such as AltaVista and Google)

Research methods of information science

Archival research – facts or factual evidences from a variety of records are compiled.
Computational complexity and structure – algorithmic and graphic methods are used to explore the complexity of information systems, retrieval and storage.
Content analysis – studies how people communicate by analyzing the contents of books and mass media as well as the messages people talk or write about.
Case study – specific set of circumstances or a group (the 'case') is analyzed according to a specific goal of study. Generally, case studies are used to characterize a trend or development; they have weak generalizability.
Discourse analysis – analyzing written, oral, and sign language use
Historical method – involves a continuous and systematic search for the information and knowledge about past events related to the life of a person, a group, society, or the world.
Interviews – researchers obtain data by interviewing people. If the interview is non-structured, the researcher leaves it to the interviewee (also referred to as the respondent or the informant) to guide the conversation.
Life history – study of the personal life of a person. Through a series of interviews, the researcher can probe into the decisive moments in their life or the various influences on their life.
Longitudinal study – extensive examination of a specific group over a long period of time.
Observation – using data from the senses, one records information about a social phenomenon or behavior. Qualitative research relies heavily on observation, although it is in a highly disciplined form.
Participant observation – involves researchers going into the field (usually a community), living with the people for some time, and participating in their activities in order to know and feel their culture.

General information science concepts

Related disciplines

There are many fields which claim to be "sciences" or "disciplines" which are difficult to distinguish from each other and from information science. Some of them are:

Information science organizations

American Society for Information Science and Technology
Association of Information Technology Professionals (AITP)
Society of Information Technology Management (SOCITM), related group based in the UK

Related governmental agencies

National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS)
Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)

Educational institutions

Information school
- List of Information Schools

Information science awards

Information science publications

Information science journals

Persons influential in information science

References

^ Merriam-Webster and American Heritage Dictionary.
^ Chu, Heting (2010). Information Representation and Retrieval in the Digital Age, Second Edition. Medford, NJ: Information Today