Letter to the Editor: The special competency of information specialists

Abstract

Presents shortly 11 specific approaches to domain analysis, which is claimed together define the specific competencies of information specialists. The approaches are 1. Producing and evaluating literature guides and subject gateways, 2. Producing and evaluating special classifications and thesauri, 3. Research on and competencies in indexing and retrieving information specialties, 4. Knowledge about empirical user studies in subject areas, 5. Producing and interpreting bibliometrical studies, 6. Historical studies of information structures and services in domains, 7. Studies of documents and genres in knowledge domains, 8. Epistemological and critical studies of different paradigms, assumptions, and interests in domains, 9. Knowledge about terminological studies, LSP (Languages for Special Purposes), and discourse analysis in knowledge fields, 10. Knowledge about and studies of structures and institutions in scientific and professional communication in a domain, 11. Knowledge about methods and results from domain analytic studies about professional cognition, knowledge representation in computer science and artificial intelligence.