Forty-Five Years of LIS Research Evolution, 1971–2015: An Informetrics Study of the Author-Supplied Keywords

This article sought to investigate the evolution of library and information science by tracking the author-supplied keywords in the research articles published in the domain between 1971 and 2015. Data was extracted from Thomson Reuters’ citation mainstream indexes and analysed using the VosViewer computer-aided software to obtain author-supplied keyword frequencies in each decade since 1971. We identified the most salient and common research themes in LIS and how the themes have evolved, by delving into the author-supplied keywords to proxy research themes in the field domain. Results indicate that the field of LIS has evolved in terms of its subject focus from information systems design and management in the 1970s to scientific communication, information storage and retrieval, information access, information and knowledge management, and user education in 2015. The application of ICTs in LIS practice and education, too, has emerged as a prominent topic in the field. These issues have the potential of shaping or have shaped the LIS curriculum in some LIS schools in the continent.

[1]  Chetan Sharma,et al.  Library and Information Science , 2007 .

[2]  C. Neylon,et al.  Article-Level Metrics and the Evolution of Scientific Impact , 2009, PLoS biology.

[3]  Jinho Choi,et al.  The organization of scientific knowledge: the structural characteristics of keyword networks , 2011, Scientometrics.

[4]  F. G. Río,et al.  [Key words, essential tools for bibliographic research: analysis of usage in Archivos de Bronconeumología for respiratory system knowledge areas]. , 2005 .

[5]  Filippo Menczer,et al.  Social Dynamics of Science , 2012, Scientific Reports.

[6]  Christopher W. Craighead,et al.  Operations management research: evolution and alternative future paths , 2008 .

[7]  Guo Chen,et al.  Identifying the research focus of Library and Information Science institutions in China with institution-specific keywords , 2015, Scientometrics.

[8]  Qiong Wu,et al.  Detecting the intellectual structure of library and information science based on formal concept analysis , 2015, Scientometrics.

[9]  A. Horri.  Bibliometric overview of library and information science research productivity in Iran , 2004 .

[10]  Gohar Feroz Khan,et al.  Information technology management domain: emerging themes and keyword analysis , 2015, Scientometrics.

[11]  Qing Ke,et al.  Defining and identifying Sleeping Beauties in science , 2015, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[12]  Robert M. Hayes,et al.  Library Automation: History , 2010 .

[13]  T J Bevclacaqua,et al.  About information systems. , 1998, Nursing management.

[14]  Francisco López-Muñoz,et al.  Evolution of Spanish scientific production in international obstetrics and gynecology journals during the period 1986-2002. , 2005, European journal of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive biology.

[15]  Mike Thelwall,et al.  Introduction to Webometrics: Quantitative Web Research for the Social Sciences , 2009, Introduction to Webometrics.

[16]  Yu-Wei Chang,et al.  A comparative study of interdisciplinary changes between information science and library science , 2012, Scientometrics.

[17]  J. I. D. G. Orive,et al.  Las palabras clave como herramientas imprescindibles en las búsquedas bibliográficas: análisis de las áreas del sistema respiratorio a través de Archivos de Bronconeumología , 2005 .

[18]  Michel Zitt,et al.  Development of a method for detection and trend analysis of research fronts built by lexical or cocitation analysis , 1994, Scientometrics.

[19]  Martin Fenner,et al.  Altmetrics in Evolution: Defining and Redefining the Ontology of Article-Level Metrics , 2013 .

[20]  M. Ferreira,et al.  Thirty years of entrepreneurship research published in top journals: analysis of citations, co-citations and themes , 2015 .

[21]  Nader Ale Ebrahim,et al.  Major trends in knowledge management research: a bibliometric study , 2016, Scientometrics.

[22]  Judit Bar-Ilan,et al.  Evolution, continuity, and disappearance of documents on a specific topic on the Web: A longitudinal study of informetrics , 2004, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[23]  Ugo Finardi,et al.  On the time evolution of received citations, in different scientific fields: An empirical study , 2014, J. Informetrics.

[24]  Pertti Vakkari,et al.  Evolution of library and information science, 1965–2005: Content analysis of journal articles , 2014, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[25]  Pertti Vakkari,et al.  The Evolution of Library and Information Science 1965-1985: A Content Analysis of Journal Articles , 1993, Inf. Process. Manag..

[26]  M. Callon,et al.  Mapping the Dynamics of Science and Technology , 1986 .

[27]  Irina Marshakova-Shaikevich,et al.  Bibliometric maps of field of science , 2005, Inf. Process. Manag..

[28]  Lutz Bornmann,et al.  Growth rates of modern science: A bibliometric analysis based on the number of publications and cited references , 2014, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[29]  Howard D. White.  Bibliometric Overview of Information Science , 2010 .

[30]  Yinian Gu,et al.  Global knowledge management research: A bibliometric analysis , 2004, Scientometrics.

[31]  Mike Thelwall,et al.  Language evolution and the spread of ideas on the Web: A procedure for identifying emergent hybrid word family members , 2006, J. Assoc. Inf. Sci. Technol..

[32]  Dietmar Wolfram,et al.  Visualizing the intellectual structure of information science (2006-2015): Introducing author keyword coupling analysis , 2016, J. Informetrics.

[33]  M. Callon,et al.  Mapping the dynamics of science and technology : sociology of science in the real world , 1988 .

[34]  Yu-Wei Chang,et al.  Evolution of research subjects in library and information science based on keyword, bibliographical coupling, and co-citation analyses , 2015, Scientometrics.

[35]  Ning Li,et al.  Evolutionary patterns of national disciplinary profiles in research: 1996–2015 , 2017, Scientometrics.