Modeling Scholarly Communication as an Information System

Many studies purport to describe the costs and benefits of different models of scholarly communication. However, in order to evaluate these claims, a consistent framework describing the social environment in which these changes occur is needed. This presentation will apply a system of social and intentional modeling to the functions of scholarly publishing, in an attempt to provide a usable framework under which such scenarios can be tested. Drawing on the University of California report on patterns of scholarly communication, the authors have attempted to create a model of scholarly communication using the i* language through which the social impacts of alternative models of scholarly communications can be evaluated.