Librarians as Research Partners: Their Contribution to the Scholarly Endeavour Beyond Library and Information Science

Academic libraries are increasingly called upon to demonstrate their value to their home institutions. Research collaboration with faculty resulting in the co-authorship of scholarly output is one possible way to demonstrate the alignment of the library with the institutional mission. Involvement in research also improves librarians' skills in offering research support services. This study explores the contribution of librarians to scholarly journals in fields other than Library and Information Science (LIS) as well as their collaboration practices with researchers in those fields. Results show an increasing number of papers published by library-affiliated authors in non-LIS journals between 2006 and 2015. The papers fall broadly into four areas: articles on topics related to LIS published in non-LIS journals; higher education and information literacy; systematic reviews and meta-analysis; and research collaboration in the faculty's areas of expertise. The study is limited by the difficulty in properly retrieving the scholarly output of librarians from bibliographic databases and the difficulty in ascertaining their contributions to published articles.     

我国图情领域期刊论文在线百科的利用特征探析

[目的/意义]在线百科主题覆盖面和用户范围非常广泛,不同的学科领域及不同类型的用户对应着不同的需求和利用模式,因此需要从研究人员对在线百科的引用特征和引用类型出发,深入分析在线百科的用户需求和利用特征。[方法/过程]以我国图书情报学领域（以下简称“图情领域”）期刊论文为研究对象,从引用在线百科资源的论文数量及引文数量、时间分布、主题分布、期刊分布、机构分布、作者分布、文献类型、引用类型等多个指标,探析图情领域期刊论文在线百科的利用特征与规律。[结果/结论]结果表明,在我国图情领域学术研究过程对在线百科资源具有较高的依赖性,引用在线百科的期刊论文研究主题集中在图书馆、当下流行的信息技术和概念等相关方面,以非实证性研究居多,引用频次较高的期刊和机构主要是排名靠前的核心期刊和高校,引用较多的作者群体多为女性作者和实践工作者,引用类型依次为对非图情专业术语的引用、图情专业术语的引用以及网站和词条本身的引用。最后从在线百科词条质量和信息聚合两个角度对这一现象和特征进行讨论。     

Measuring the Quality of Contributions of Saudi Authors to LIS Journals Using Journal Impact Factor (JIF), SCImago Journal Rank (SJR), and Google Scholar Metrics (GSM)

This research study evaluates the quality of articles published by Saudi and expatriate authors in foreign Library and Information Science (LIS) journals using three popular metrics for ranking journals—Journal Impact Factor (JIF), SCImago Journal Rank (SJR), and Google Scholar Metrics (GSM). The reason for using multiple metrics is to see how closely or differently journals are ranked by the three different methods of citation analysis. However, the 2012 JIF list of journals is too small, almost half the size of the SJR and GSM lists, which inhibited one-to-one comparison among the impact factors of the thirty-six journals selected by Saudi authors for publishing articles. Only seventeen journals were found common to all the three lists, limiting the usefulness of the data. A basic problem is that Saudi LIS authors generally lack the level of competency in the English language required to achieve publication in the most prominent LIS journals. The study will have implications for authors, directors, and deans of all types of academic libraries; chairmen and deans of library schools; and the Saudi Library Association. Hopefully these entities will take necessary steps to prepare and motivate both academics and practicing librarians to improve the quality of their research and publications and thus get published in higher ranked journals.     

Leadership competencies and the importance of research methods and statistical analysis in decision making and research and publication: A study of citation patterns

The roles of academic librarians and administrators include the use of statistical analysis and general analytical abilities in their decision-making processes, as well as in their roles as researchers, in developing research collections, and in providing instruction and reference assistance for students and other researchers. The research presented in this article addresses the original research published in frequently cited library and information science (LIS) journals to consider the extent to which academic librarians and administrators conduct and publish original research and to evaluate the range of research methodologies used and the level of collaboration among academic librarians, LIS faculty members, and others. The research results extend the prior self-report research in this area and indicate that academic librarians, administrators, and LIS faculty are authors of most of the published research in highly ranked journals. The level of collaboration among those in different types of roles is limited, however. In addition, most of the research articles have been authored or coauthored by those in research university libraries.     

Growth and nature of international LIS research: An analysis of two journals

The study explores the publication trends of scholarly journal articles in two core Library and Information Science (LIS) journals indexed under ScienceDirect Database during the period for the period 2000–2010, and for the “Top 25 Hottest Papers” for 2006–2010. It examines and presents an analysis of 1000 research papers in the area of LIS published in two journals: The International Information & Library Review (IILR) and Library & Information Science Research (LISR). The study examines the content of the journals, including growth of the literature, authorship patterns, geographical distributions of authors, distribution of papers by journal, citation pattern, ranking pattern, length of articles, and most cited authors. Collaboration was calculated using Subramanyam's formula, and Lotka's law was used to identify authors' productivity. The results indicated that authors' distributions did not follow Lotka's law. The study identified the eight most productive authors with a high of 19 publications in this field. The findings indicate that these publications experienced rapid and exponential growth in literature production. The contributions by scientists from India are examined.     

Information Transfer in Articles About Libraries and Student Success

Connecting academic libraries to the higher education environment is crucial for demonstrating the impact of libraries on student success. The purpose of this study is to examine the information transfer between the disciplines of library and information science (LIS) and higher education in order to evaluate the influence of ideas between the two disciplines. Information transfer was analyzed in 39 articles focused on the library's contributions to student success by examining the cited references, the author and collaborator affiliations, and the forward citations. The findings from the cited reference analysis suggest that LIS is borrowing concepts and methods through citations from the discipline of education. Authorship affiliations showed that some non-LIS authors are publishing in the field of LIS and that LIS authors are collaborating with non-LIS authors. Finally, based on the forward citations, other disciplines are rarely citing LIS research about student success. This article's findings highlight the need to consider research and collaborators outside of the LIS field when researching the library's contribution to student success.     

Library and learning experiences turned mobile: A comparative study between LIS and non-LIS students

The rapid developments of wireless telecommunication networks and the widespread increase of smartphone ownership around the world have created tremendous impacts on the services provided by institutions of higher education worldwide on several dimensions. Unarguably, mobile technologies have created new and unforeseen opportunities for educators, information services providers and students to experience the new horizon of teaching, learning, as well as knowledge transfer and creation. Taking into consideration that since Library and Information Science (LIS) students are training to become future LIS professionals, they are expected to be ready as well as active in integrating mobile technology into their daily learning practices.This study was set up to examine two groups of students (namely: LIS versus non-LIS students) at Peking University – their attitudes and level of activeness in adopting mobile technology in their daily life, as well as in their learning practices. Quantitative questionnaire survey was used for data collection, and a total number of 319 responses (i.e., LIS, 63 and non-LIS, 256) were collected from this study. Findings of this study reveal that no significant differences were found between the two student groups (LIS versus non-LIS) in many areas. In fact, both LIS and non-LIS student groups were using their smartphones to engage in different learning, research, social networking, pastimes, and recreational activities on similar level. However, it was concerning to note that the LIS student group was slightly less active in accessing the online services and resources provided by their university library. This was a particular finding that went against the researchers' original anticipation. However, such unexpected finding did not mean that these LIS students were necessarily less active or ‘open’ as mobile learners. For the reason that in comparison to their non-LIS counterparts, they were equally as active as in terms of using their mobile devices for other learning (particularly collaborative learning) and research purposes. Further studies are recommended to determine various factors that are hindering these LIS students from using the university library's online resources and services on a more active level.     

Academic libraries as the flagships of publishing trends in LIS: a complex analysis of rankings,citations and topics of research

The aim of this paper is to identify the most prevailing trends of research and publishing in the field of Library and Information Science (LIS) based on the publications of the past five years. The study follows a complex methodology. First, the scope of the journals to be analysed were defined, using the results of the Scimago Journal Rank (SJR) from the period between 2013 and 2017, and then their most cited articles were selected based on Web of Science (WoS) data. During the selection process we performed a comparative analysis of the journals as well, involving several criteria, to be able to finally choose 632 articles, published between 2014 and 2018 to be included in our research sample. We then examined (1) the authors occurring most frequently, (2) the most often cited articles, (3) the institutions with the highest publication activity, (4) the most common topics based on titles, keywords, and abstracts, and (5) the connections between all of the above. The results of the analyses provide an international overview and assessment of the leading research topics and the most prominent representatives of LIS, all of which are directly connected to the notion and the activities of academic libraries.     

Australian PhDs by LIS educators, researchers and practitioners: Depicting diversity and demise

Analyses of more than 73,000 PhD thesis records in a comprehensive database of bibliographic records from all Australian universities from 1948 to 2006 demonstrate that PhDs on LIS-related topics reveal not only diversity of content, but also the diverse nature of the researcher's academic disciplines. This diversity includes researchers from within and outside LIS who bring to LIS–or take away–a variety of methods, approaches, theories and understandings. With 27 of Australia's 39 universities having produced LIS-related PhD graduates, the distribution through the Australian university system is evident and emphasizes the transferability of skills and knowledge which graduates bring to their work. It is possible that the diversity of researcher's disciplines, combined with the dangerously low numbers of LIS graduations, may also threaten the future of LIS research and education in Australia. Based on the findings of this study, the sustainability of LIS research and research training for the next generation in Australia is under threat.     

Annals of Library and Information Studies: A Bibliometric Analysis of the Journal and a Comparison with the Top Library and Information Studies Journals in Asia and Worldwide (2011–2017)

ABSTRACT

This article presents a thorough bibliometric analysis of research published in Annals of Library and Information Studies (ALIS), an India-based journal, for the period 2011–2017. Specifically, it compares this journal’s trends with those of other library and information science (LIS) journals from the same geographical area (India, and Asia as a whole) and with the 10 highest-rated LIS journals worldwide. The source of the data used was the multidisciplinary database Scopus. To perform this comparison, ALIS’ production was analyzed in order to identify authorship patterns; for example, authors’ countries of residence, co-authorship trends, and collaboration networks. Research topics were identified through keyword analysis, while performance was measured by examining the number of citations articles received. This study provides substantial information. The research lines detected through examining the keywords in ALIS articles were determined to be similar to those for the top LIS journals in both Asia and worldwide. Specifically, ALIS authors are focusing on metrics, bibliometrics, and social networking, which follows global trends. Notably, however, collaboration among Asia-based journals was found to be lower than that in the top-indexed journals in the LIS field, showing lesser internationalization. The results obtained present a roadmap for expanding the research in this field.     

Diversity-related research reported in high-impact library and information science journal literature: A content analysis

This study reports a content analysis of the frequency distribution of diversity-related research in four high-impact Library and Information Science (LIS) journals published between 1995 and 2014. High-impact journals (with high rankings and impact factors) were chosen because empirically based articles from them are more likely to be able to influence future research direction. The journals chosen were published articles quarterly or bi-monthly, with an average of 5–6 articles per issue. A total of 1766 research articles were collected, with 28.71% determined to be related to diversity. Results show an increasing interest in diversity-related research in the LIS field, with a dramatic increase between 2010 and 2014. The majority of diversity-related research focuses on age, gender and ethnicity. Only a small portion of research discusses issues concerning specific populations and emphasizes diversity-related theoretical concepts. More efforts are needed to highlight the link in order to contribute to the diversity and inclusion agenda in LIS.     

Report of the UNESCO “Training the Trainers in Information Literacy” (“TTT”) Workshop Ankara,Turkey, September 3–5, 2008

The purpose of this article is to explore the use of mixed methods research (MMR) in articles published in library and information science (LIS) journals in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from 2004 to 2008. A mixed methods research framework provided in the methodological literature is used to determine how this method was practiced within the LIS scientific community in SSA. Six hundred and eighty five articles published in nine peer-reviewed LIS journals in SAA were reviewed, finding the dominant research methods in these journals to be survey designs and historical research. The use of MMR was limited: 48 out of 685 articles used the mixed methods approaches that were identified in the methodological literature. A paradigm shift and a change of mindset are recommended for LIS researchers in SSA so that they may exploit the advantages offered by mixed methods research in conducting their studies.     

Mapping mixed methods research in library and information science journals in Sub-Saharan Africa 2004–2008

The purpose of this article is to explore the use of mixed methods research (MMR) in articles published in library and information science (LIS) journals in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) from 2004 to 2008. A mixed methods research framework provided in the methodological literature is used to determine how this method was practiced within the LIS scientific community in SSA. Six hundred and eighty five articles published in nine peer-reviewed LIS journals in SAA were reviewed, finding the dominant research methods in these journals to be survey designs and historical research. The use of MMR was limited: 48 out of 685 articles used the mixed methods approaches that were identified in the methodological literature. A paradigm shift and a change of mindset are recommended for LIS researchers in SSA so that they may exploit the advantages offered by mixed methods research in conducting their studies.     

Library And Information Science Research in Developing Countries and Eastern European Countries: A Brief Bibliometric Perspective

We examined a set of 21 core journals in the field of library and information science (LIS) from 1980–1999 for articles with either principal or co-authors from developing countries (DCs) and the formerly socialist Eastern European countries (EECs). We found that only 826 (7·9%) of a total of 10 400 articles published in 21 journals are from DCs or EECs. The numbers of articles with authors from China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Botswana, Ghana, Kuwait, and Taiwan considerably increased and those of India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Brazil, and Poland decreased. Using a bibliometric indicator we found that among the countries with declining trends in the numbers of articles, LIS research is receiving high priority in Nigeria and Pakistan whereas among the countries with increasing trends in articles, it is receiving low priority in China, Turkey and Taiwan. A ‘co-word’ analysis based on the key words and thematic noun- phrases in the titles and abstracts of a sample of 102 articles published in 1996 to 1999 indicated that bibliometrics is the most frequent topic in LIS research in major DCs and EECs. Information retrieval, information need and information use is among the topics of relatively high interest for the researchers working in DCs in Asia and Africa.     

Access to the publications of the international labour office

Abstract

Using a scientometric approach, this study examines scholarly publications by library and information science (LIS) researchers affiliated with Iranian institutions that were published in non-Iranian journals and indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) database, together with publications in Iranian LIS journals from 1980 through 2016. The results show that Iranian authors published 538 LIS documents indexed in WoS and another 7,837 in national journals. The research article was the predominant document type at both the national and international levels. The total number of international publications in LIS by all countries was 313,449; Iran ranked 34th among the countries for publications in LIS.     

我国图情期刊学术规范化调查——以文后参考文献著录为例

以图书馆学情报学核心期刊为例,对2007年上半年出版的17种期刊执行GB/T7714-2005 《文后参考文献著录规则》的情况进行抽样调查。结果发现,17种图情期刊中对文后参考文献著录格式提出明确要求的很少,而且在著录项目、著录格式和著录符号使用3个方面还存在大量的不规范现象,因此提出应该从认清编辑的角色、关注国家标准和提供作者写作指南等来加强编辑与作者的规范意识。     

图书情报学(LIS)领域的循证科学研究进展

[目的/意义]从文献内容角度了解图书情报学（LIS）领域对循证科学的研究进展,重点分析主要的研究主题及近年研究方向,同时进行国际与国内的对比。[方法/过程]从Web of Science核心合集、CNKI和万方数据库的核心期刊中检索LIS领域关于循证科学的研究。使用内容分析法,从年发文量、所属学科领域对目标文献集进行统计分析,并重点从学科交叉研究、LIS学科职能及其研究对象两种视角分析其研究主题及近5年的研究主题,同时进行国际与国内对比。[结果/结论]LIS领域的循证科学研究涉及医学、护理及卫生保健、政策科学、信息系统、教育学等多个学科领域;最终将LIS领域关于循证科学的主要研究主题总结为10类,其中"图情机构服务及图书馆员的专业发展"和"证据来源及获取方法、技术"为核心主题;无论是从涉及的学科领域及主题的广度还是对各主题研究的深度而言,国内均相对较弱。     

Growth and nature of international LIS research: An analysis of two journals

The study explores the publication trends of scholarly journal articles in two core Library and Information Science (LIS) journals indexed under ScienceDirect Database during the period for the period 2000–2010, and for the “Top 25 Hottest Papers” for 2006–2010. It examines and presents an analysis of 1000 research papers in the area of LIS published in two journals: The International Information & Library Review (IILR) and Library & Information Science Research (LISR). The study examines the content of the journals, including growth of the literature, authorship patterns, geographical distributions of authors, distribution of papers by journal, citation pattern, ranking pattern, length of articles, and most cited authors. Collaboration was calculated using Subramanyam's formula, and Lotka's law was used to identify authors' productivity. The results indicated that authors' distributions did not follow Lotka's law. The study identified the eight most productive authors with a high of 19 publications in this field. The findings indicate that these publications experienced rapid and exponential growth in literature production. The contributions by scientists from India are examined.     

The preferences of authors of Chinese library and information science journal articles in citing Internet sources

The preferences of the authors of Chinese library and information science (LIS) journal articles in citing Internet sources were investigated using eight premium Chinese LIS journals from Chinese Social Sciences Citation Index (the observation group) and 10 journals in other disciplines (the control group) from the same database from 1999 to 2008. A total of 252,881 citations were analyzed in terms of count, domain name, and citing purposes. The results show that (a) in comparison to the disciplines in the control group, LIS articles in Chinese journals indicated a strong preference for citing Internet sources, and this preference is increasing; (b) LIS articles did not seem to discriminate against domain names when citing Internet sources; and (c) LIS articles cited more Internet sources as evidence to support research results and conclusions. Excessive dependency on Internet sources may raise concerns over the quality, research ethics, and credibility of research publications. Chinese LIS researchers should place more emphasis on the disadvantages of Internet sources as supporting material. Guidelines and criteria to help researchers, journal editors, students, and librarians assess information on the Web need to be developed.     

试论网络环境下图情类文献利用状况

运用文献计量学方法,结合数据库分析工具,基于1994-2006年40种图情类期刊在数量、类型、语种状况的41余万条引文数据,分析网络环境下传统学术期刊文献的利用、传播与老化规律;并专门针对期刊网络引文状况开展专项调查,从而揭示网络文献作为新兴文献类型的利用时效性与语种特征。最后,概括印刷型文献与网络文献的整体利用规律特点,以期为网络环境下的文献资源建设与用户服务提供参考借鉴。