The systems movement: An overview for information scientists

Abstract

The focus of information research in any given discipline depends on the meaning of the word “information” for scientists in that discipline. This article lists some of the “disciplines of information,” including several with a strong systems orientation, and identifies those information scientists for whom a knowledge of systems methodology is important. This is followed by a broad‐brush treatment of the modern systems movement: its role in the changing worldview of science, some disciplines (e.g., cybernetics and operations research) that have contributed to its development, and the distinction that can be drawn between General Systems Theory (GST) and other approaches to the study of systems—a theme developed by Mattessich in the article that follows.