Basic types of library and information science research

1. LIS 695
LIS Research
Teresa Welsh, Ph.D.
teresa.welsh@usm.edu

2. Bibliometric Research:
Citation Analysis
• Measures impact (most cited = greatest impact)
• Works cited examined to determine patterns of
scholarly communication: comparative importance
of books vs journals, or current vs retrospective
sources, in one or more academic disciplines
(ODLIS).
• “Gender and Citation in LIS e-Journals” (Reece-
Evans, 2010) 2

3. Bibliometric Research:
Collection Analysis
• Evaluation determines how well the collection
supports goals, needs, curriculum of parent org.
• Assessment examines/describes collections in their
own terms or relative to other collections or checklists
(Johnson ppt, 2006)
• “Analysis of Primers in the de Grummond Children's
Literature Collection” (Salisbury, 2014)
• Also Reinke (2012), Heidelberg (2013), Bolton (2014)
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4. Bibliometric Research:
Content Analysis
• To classify, quantify, analyze, evaluate important words,
concepts, symbols, themes in a text as a basis for
inferences about explicit and implicit messages it
contains (ODLIS)
• “Adolescent Females and the Graphic Novel: A
Content Analysis” (Simmons, 2015)
• “School Library Media Research: An Analysis of
Articles Found in School Library Media Research and
ERIC Database” (Wirkus, 2006) 4

5. Bibliometrics: Database Comparison,
Classification Analysis
• “A Comparison of Three Library and Information
Science Databases” (Vinson & Welsh, 2014)
• “The Classification of Censorship: An Analysis of
Challenged Books by Classification and Subject
Heading” (Lewis-Anderson, 2014)
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6. Bibliometric Research:
Publication Pattern Analysis
• Bradford’s Law - a few core journals provide 1/3 of
articles on a given subject (ODLIS)
• Lotka’s Law - 61% of authors publish just 1 article on
a particular subject, about 15% two pubs, about 7%
three, and <1% produce ten+ pubs (ODLIS)
• “Academic Libraries and Development: A Bibliometric
Analysis of LIS Journals Related to Funding”
(Sootheran, 2014)
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7. Bibliometric Research:
Web Analysis/Webometrics
• Cybermetrics/Webometrics - description/evaluation
of Internet as scholarly communication tool, by
means of quantitative analysis of web-based
scholarly and scientific communications (ODLIS)
• “Content and Design: An Analysis of Alabama
Academic Library Web Sites” (Wilson, 2015)
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8. Library History/Archival Studies
• “Hancock County Public Library System: History
and Hurricane” (Moreau, 2012)
• “Smith Wright Mercantile Store Ledger 1841-1845:
Documenting the Content and History of Archival
Materials” (Ballard, 2013)
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9. Survey Research
• Must have IRB approval including informed consent
before beginning research
• “Management of Electronic Serials in Academic
Libraries: The Results of an Online Survey”
(Branscome, 2013)
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10. Questions?
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