Information School News

Professor of Data Science Mike Thelwall recently gave his inaugural lecture at the University of Sheffield, entitled  How helpful are AI and bibliometrics for assessing the quality of academic research? The lecture, delivered in the University's Diamond building, was introduced by Head of the Information School Professor Briony Birdi. It covered Mike's research into whether Artificial Intelligence can inform - or replace - expert peer review in the journal article publication process and what this could look like, as well as to what extent bibliometrics and citation statistics can play a role in assessing the quality of a piece of research. Mike also discussed whether tools like ChatGPT can accurately detect research quality. The inaugural lecture was well attended by colleagues from around the University.

 Self-tracking - the practice of capturing data about one’s own activities, often through wearable technology - is an ever-growing phenomenon, and one that is firmly established in the worlds of physical activity and public health. Recording statistics about our own activities is becoming commonplace, with our devices prompting us to measure things like step counts, heart rate, calories burned - even the quality of our sleep. Increasingly, this data is becoming linked to our perception of our own health and wellbeing, with healthcare providers even sometimes suggesting this kind of tracking as part of a programme of care. Dr Lee Pretlove - Information School PhD graduate and ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow recently began his 12-month ESRC-funded Fellowship (through the White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership) looking at self-tracking specifically in relation to running communities, building on his PhD project and examining what this kind of relationship to our data could mean for physical an