Research

This page describes some current projects and contains a thematically organized list of selected publications with short narratives for background information.

See my Curriculum Vitae (CV) for more details.

Current Projects

Project 1: A study of tacit knowledge and open science. My thesis is that tacit knowing, Michael Polanyi's idea that we can know more than we can tell, challenges the idea that an open science can be fully open. If true, this has ramifications for what we can learn from science done more openly and for what can be replicated based on a more open science. See What documents cannot do: Revisiting Polanyi and the tacit knowledge dilemma, which describes the beginning of the thesis in more detail.

Project 2: A study on ungrading with Jennifer Pusateri, Daniela DiGiacomo, and Katherine Ritchie. We investigated two of my library science graduate courses. One course is discussion based and the other is project based. This is an ongoing research project. The first paper for this project was accepted (Jan. 2024) by the Journal of Education for Library and Information Science and will be published soon. We received internal funding to continue this research in a computer science course.

Project 3: A study on open educational resources (OER) and faculty agency with Mandi Goodsett (Cleveland State University). A lighting talk presentation was accepted (May 2024) in the next Open Education Conference (October 2024).

Project 4: An information literacy study of first semester undergraduate students with colleagues at UK Libraries and UK CELT. More details later.

Plain Text Social Science

I enjoy a Plain Text Way To Do Plain Text Social Science. I have been using the plain text research approach to write more research projects. I describe the process on The Text.

Research Themes

Scholarly Communication, Scientometrics, and Citation Analysis

Peer Review Practices and Biases

• Burns, C.S., & Fox, C.W. (2017). Language and socioeconomics predict geographic variation in peer review outcomes at an ecology journal. Scientometrics, 113(2), 1113-1127. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-017-2517-5, Open Access Copy: https://works.bepress.com/cseanburns/42/
• Fox, C.W., Burns, C.S., Muncy, A.D., & Meyer, J.A. (2017). Author-suggested reviewers: Gender differences and influences on the peer review process at an ecology journal. Functional Ecology, 31, 270-280. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12665
• Fox, C.W., Burns, C.S., Muncy, A.D., & Meyer, J.A. (2016). Gender differences in patterns of authorship do not affect peer review outcomes at an ecology journal. Functional Ecology, 30, 126-139. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12587 Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.5090r
• Fox, C.W., Burns, C.S., & Meyer, J.A. (2015). Editor and reviewer gender influence the peer review process but not peer review outcomes at an ecology journal. Functional Ecology, 30, 140-153. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12529 Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.5090r

Article Titles and Citation Analysis

• Burns, C.S., & Islam, M.A. (2024). A citation analysis examining geographical specificity in article titles. Scientometrics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-024-05075-3; Read only view: https://rdcu.be/dLyWr; Code and data: https://github.com/cseanburns/geo-titles
• Fox, C.W., & Burns, C.S. (2015). The relationship between manuscript title structure and success: Editorial decisions and citation performance for an ecological journal. Ecology and Evolution, 5(10), 1970-1980. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.1480

Journal and Publication Studies

• Burns, C.S. (2023). The issues with journal issues: Let journals be digital libraries. Publications, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/publications11010007. Preprint: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2301.00832
• Spence, P.R., & Burns, C.S. (2020). Retrieving arguments and support after publication: Archiving links in communication research. Communication Studies, 71(5). https://doi.org/10.1080/10510974.2020.1836781
• Burns, C.S. (2015). Characteristics of a megajournal: A bibliometric case study. Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice, 3(2), 16-30. https://doi.org/10.1633/JISTaP.2015.3.2.2, Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1501498
• Burns, C.S. (2014, January). The scholarly journal and disciplinary identity: An autoethnographic reading of The Library Quarterly. Paper presented at the meeting of the Association for Library and Information Science (ALISE), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. https://ali.memberclicks.net/assets/documents/conf_2014/Abstracts/2014_juried_papers.pdf
• Budd, J.M., Burns, C.S., & Moulaison, H.M. (2013). High-stakes information: Deciding what constitutes quality in our products of communication. Proceedings of the Association for Information Science & Technology, 50(1). https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/meet.14505001020.

Open Science and Open Access

• Burns, C.S. (2021). What documents cannot do: Revisiting Polanyi and the tacit knowledge dilemma. Information & Culture, 56(1). https://doi.org/10.7560/IC56104, Open Access Copy: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/slis_facpub/77/
• Kim, Y., & Burns, C.S. (2016). Norms of data sharing in biological sciences: The roles of metadata, data repository, and journal and funding requirements. Journal of Information Science, 42, 230-245. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165551515592098
• Burns, C.S. (2014). Academic libraries and open access strategies. In D. Williams & J. Golden (Eds.), Advances in Library Administration and Organization, 32, pp. 147-211. https://dx.doi.org/10.1108/S0732-0671%282014%290000032003; Open Access copy: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/slis_facpub/8/
• Burns, C.S. (2011). Social justice and an information democracy with free and open source software. Information, Society and Justice, 4(2), 19-28. Open Access copy: https://repository.londonmet.ac.uk/id/eprint/112; https://works.bepress.com/cseanburns/8/

Information Retrieval and Search Systems

MEDLINE and Search Retrieval Issues

• Burns, C.S., Nix, T., Shapiro II, R.M., & Huber, J.T. (2021). MEDLINE search retrieval issues: A longitudinal query analysis of five vendor platforms. PLOS ONE, 16(5), e0234221. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0234221 Preprint: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.05.22.110403v1, Code and Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4757516
• Burns, C.S., Shapiro II, R.M., Nix, T., & Huber, J.T. (2019). Search result outliers among MEDLINE platforms. Journal of the Medical Library Association, 107(3). https://doi.org/10.5195/jmla.2019.622
• Burns, C. S., Shapiro II, R. M., Nix, T., & Huber, J. T. (2019, April). Examining MEDLINE search query reproducibility and resulting variation in search results. iConference, Washington, DC, March 31- April 3, 2019. https://hdl.handle.net/2142/103369
• Burns, C.S., Nix, T., Shapiro II, R.M., & Huber, J. T. (2019, September). Codifying discrepancies among MEDLINE platforms to advance instruction and practice. Proceedings of the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE), Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. https://hdl.handle.net/2142/105316
• Shapiro II, R.M., Nix, T., Burns, C.S., & Huber, J. T. (2019, May). Variation and outliers in search results among MEDLINE-based platforms: A longitudinal study. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Medical Library Association (MLA), Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Information Discovery

• Smith, C., & Burns, C.S. (2011). The First International Workshop on Opportunistic Discovery of Information. Information Research: An International Electronic Journal, 16(3). https://informationr.net/ir/16-3/paper490.html

Image Search

• Chen, H., Kochtanek, T., Burns, C., & Shaw, R. (2010). Analyzing users' retrieval behaviors and image queries of a photojournalism image database. The Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science, 34(3), 249-268. https://doi.org/10.1353/ils.2010.0003

Information Access

• Adkins, D., & Burns, C.S. (2013). Arizona public libraries serving the Spanish-speaking: Context for changes. Reference and User Services Quarterly, 53(1), 60-70. https://dx.doi.org/10.5860/rusq.53n1.60 Open Access copy: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/slis_facpub/5

Information Organization

• Moulaison, H., & Burns, C.S. (2012). Organization or conversation in Twitter: A case study of chatterboxing. Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science & Technology, 49(1), 1-11. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/meet.14504901185.

Reference Librarianship and Qualitative Methodology Studies

• Bossaller, J., Burns, C.S., & VanScoy, A. (2017). Re-conceiving time in reference and information services work: A qualitative secondary analysis. Journal of Documentation, 73, 2-17. https://doi.org/10.1108/JD-03-2016-0028, Open Access Copy: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/slis_facpub/26/
• VanScoy, A., Bossaller, J., Burns, C. S. (2017, June). Problems and promises of qualitative secondary analysis for research in information science. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of CAIS/Actes du congres annuel de l'ACSI, 2017, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. https://doi.org/10.29173/cais1037
• Bossaller, J., Burns, C.S., & VanScoy, A. (2016). Advancing research for library and information science with qualitative secondary analysis. Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries, 5(3), 593-600. London, UK. https://www.qqml-journal.net/index.php/qqml/article/view/21
• VanScoy, A., & Burns, C. S. (2015, June). Time in the experience of reference and information service work. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of CAIS/Actes du congres annuel de l'ACSI, 2015, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. https://doi.org/10.29173/cais918
• Burns, C.S. & Bossaller, J. (2012). Communication overload: A phenomenological inquiry into academic reference librarianship. Journal of Documentation, 68(5), 597-617. https://doi.org/10.1108/00220411211255996, Open Access Copy: https://hdl.handle.net/10355/15760

Technology and Automation in Libraries

• Burns, C.S. (2023, August 7). The impact of artificial intelligence on academic libraries, higher education, and human skills in critical evaluation and reasoning. Invited panelist. UK Libraries Faculty Retreat, Lexington, KY.
• Burns, C.S. (2014). Academic libraries and automation. A historical reflection on Ralph Halstead Parker. portal: Libraries and the Academy, 14(1), 87-102. https://muse.jhu.edu/article/534487, Open Access Copy: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/slis_facpub/6/
• Burns, C.S., Lana, A., & Budd, J.M. (January/February 2013). Institutional repositories: Exploration of costs and value. D-Lib Magazine, 19(1/2). https://doi.org/10.1045/january2013-burns
• Burns, C. S. (2011, January). Ralph H. Parker and the history of library automation. Paper presented at the meeting of the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE), Historical Perspectives Special Interest Group, San Diego, California, USA.

Library and Information Science (LIS) Education, Open Educational Resources, Pedagogy

• Goodsett, M.M., & Burns, C.S. (2024, October 8-10, forthcoming). Exploring faculty agency in open education. Open Education Conference, Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
• Burns, C.S., Pusateri, J., & DiGiacomo, D.K. (2024). Learning by doing: An online, open source course design approach to systems librarianship. Journal of Education for Library and Information Science. https://doi.org/10.3138/jelis-2023-0070
• Burns, C.S., Pusateri, J., DiGiacomo, D.K, & Ritchie, K. (2024, October forthcoming). Ungrading's impact on learning and autonomy: Insights from an empirical study. Proceedings of the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE), Portland, Oregon, USA.
• Burns, C.S. (2023, October 16). Charting the digital discourse: Understanding the research and instructional value of discursive exchanges with AI. Commonwealth Computational Summit on AI, Lexington, KY.
• Burns, C. Sean, DiGiacomo, D. K., & Pusateri, J. (2023-10-03). Exploring the impact of ungrading on student learning. Works-in-Progress Poster. Proceedings of the ALISE Annual Conference, Milkwaukee, Wisconsion, USA. https://doi.org/10.21900/j.alise.2023.1272

Fake News, Misinformation, Information Literacy

• Burns, C.S., Kaufmann, R., & Limperos, A. (2021). Mixed findings in directly replicated experimental studies on fake news. First Monday, 26(12). https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v26i12.11774
• Burns, C.S., & Kaufmann, R. (2019, September). How the presentation of metadata of a news article influences perceptions of fake news. Proceedings of the Association for Library and Information Science Education (ALISE), Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. https://hdl.handle.net/2142/105350.
• Bossaller, J., & Burns, C.S. (2020, May). Bibliographic subject analysis of fake news. International Conference on Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries (QQML), Barcelona, Spain. Presented virtually due to COVID-19.