Research in Academic Reference Librarianship: Review of the 2008–2012 Published Research

This article reviews the research literature of three major journals in reference librarianship. The texts of 494 articles were analyzed and classified as research versus nonresearch. Articles such as news, commentary, book reviews, editorials, meeting announcements, and opinion pieces were excluded from the analysis. A total number of 162 (30.49%) articles were determined to be research articles and were examined to collect data on numerous variables including but not limited to authorship, affiliation, topic, type of research, data collection, and data analysis techniques.     

Readability: A Factor in Student Research?

Readability assessments of works cited in freshmen informative and argumentative speeches were performed with the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Grade Level and Flesch Reading Ease assessment tools available in Microsoft Word. Students selected their sources independently, and their sources were grouped as journals, magazines and newspapers, and websites, which were then subdivided by domain type. The wide range of readability scores in sources cited in freshman speeches raises questions related to college freshmen's reading abilities and how that affects student's selection of sources when performing research for class assignments.     

Current Situation of Theoretical Research of Library Science in China

Since1980s,Chinahasmadegreatprogressinthetheoreticalresearchoflibraryscience.Themostim-portantcharacteristicsmaybedescribedasfollows:　　·Thelibraryscienceresearchhascometoevadebeinglimitedonlytodescribeexperimentallythecon-creteworkinthelibrary,andpaymoreandmoreattentiontotheconnotationandtheoreticalsystemofthediscipline;　　·Ithascomeoutofthemicro-worldofthelibrary,andbeenspeculatingabouttheactualmacro-prob-lemsbothundertheperipheralenvironmentandinthesociety;　　·Ithasintroducedmanyachi…     

How Do They Research? An Ethnographic Study of Final Year Undergraduate Research Behavior in an Irish University

The objectives of this study were to identify how, when, and where students research; the impact of learning environments on research productivity, and to recommend improved supports to facilitate research. An ethnographic approach that entailed following five students in the final six weeks of their program enabled deep level analysis. The study examined the practice of undergraduate research inside and outside the library walls and found that the research process can be influenced by a number of factors including age, experience, work commitments, family, peer, academic, and library support. Mobile research is continuing to grow among undergraduate students, particularly those juggling family and work commitments. The research suggests a correlation between intercultural issues such as ethnicity and language with library anxiety. Until they had immersed themselves in the research process, most of the students in this study believed that research was a linear process.     

Research productivity in communication: An analysis, 1996‐2001

The study provides an analysis of those scholars who produced a substantial number of articles in 24 communication journals during the period, 1996‐2001. The purpose of the study was to update the information provided in previous studies. Using data similar to that previously found in the Index to Journals in Communication Studies, the authors found that during the period a number of new names has appeared. As a result, the authors develop a list of the top one percent (50) of those researchers, as well as providing data on the institutions which these scholars represent. The minimum number of articles necessary during the period to be included was nine.     

King of the Hill? Seeking the New in Audience Research

This article looks at the ways of finding novelty in communication and audience research and questions the necessity to seek constant innovation in conquering new territories in audience research. Based on both personal experiences and those from the PhD students across Europe, the article maps five Basic elements where novelty in audience research is sought—new technologies, new countries, new audiences, interdisciplinarity and cross-media. The article argues that despite the constant pressure to innovate, there are important elements of value in traditional audience research that need to be kept, including methodological diversity and often repeated feel for the triangulation of audiences, producers and text. In this combination of keeping the old and seeking the new in audience research, the discipline can be seen growing richer and more diverse with every added contribution.     

Reclassification in Academic Research Libraries: Is It Still Relevant in an E-Book World?

This article examines whether academic libraries are still reclassifying materials, how they are doing so, and if the acquisition of electronic materials has an impact on reclassification efforts. An online survey was sent to the heads of cataloging units at libraries belonging to the Association of Research Libraries to answer these questions. Almost one-third of libraries are currently involved in reclassification projects. Most respondents reported they do not believe that purchasing e-books has affected their decisions about reclassification. The article also examines the faceted search capability of next-generation catalogs and their possible impact on patrons’ use of classification.     

Open Access Publishing in Business Research: The Authors’ Perspective

Open access (OA) publishing is now accepted as an integral part of the emerging trends within scholarly communication. Business librarians, like their subject specialist colleagues in other disciplines, are increasingly called upon to interpret scholarly communication trends to their faculty. This study surveys 1,293 business faculty from American schools of business accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Issues explored include business faculty publishing practices within the discipline and how these affect academic advancement, obtaining articles for their own research, electronic publishing, self-archiving, and their perceptions about OA publishing generally.     

Research methods: What's in the name?

Research methods are applied in all kinds of studies, though no consensus exists regarding what constitutes a research method and how research methods should be categorized. Over 1900 research articles were obtained from three major journals published between 2001 and 2010 in library and information science (LIS). Each selected article was coded using a schema of research methods developed in this study. The coded data, along with related publications, were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. This exploration shows that research methods comprise data collection techniques (e.g., interview, observation) and data analysis techniques (e.g., qualitative, quantitative). Research methods should perhaps be categorized by data collection technique, as it makes more sense than if research methods are labeled as qualitative or quantitative. This study is one of the many efforts to facilitate a better understanding of research methods in LIS and help scholars make more informed decisions about research method selection in their endeavors. Its implications can be extended to LIS research education, training, and advocacy. Because research methods themselves are not discipline-specific, researchers beyond the LIS field would benefit from this study as well.     

Brands and Branding in Media Management—Toward a Research Agenda

This article provides a systematic overview and conceptual analysis of existing research on brands and branding in the literature on media management. The aim is to advance knowledge in the field by mapping out the different ways in which brands are understood and conceptualized in the literature. In doing so, the article identifies overlooked research areas and works toward a research agenda for future scholarly research on the topic. Overall, it is argued that the further development of the area calls for a more systematic theoretical analysis of the nature of media brands and the specific features and complexities of the media field as a strategic business environment where brands are built and managed. The development of the research area would seem to be crucial not only for scholarly reasons, but also because strong brands seem to be gaining strategic value and importance in today’s changing and highly competitive media markets.     

Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) Maintained Research Institutes’ Libraries in India: Towards Digitization and Networking

The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) was established for development of social science research in India. It provides grants to 27 research institutes and six regional centers in India. These institutes have established close links with scholars in the region through activities such as seminars, workshops, training, and consultancy programs. Some of the institutes are closely associated with national and state level planning development agencies and have thereby strengthened the links between research and policy-making. The present study includes 22 institute libraries and three regional libraries in different Indian states. The study analyses their annual acquisition of books; periodicals; CD-ROMs; annual budgets; computerization; hardware and software; Internet; library network; and interlibrary loan and photocopy facilities available in these libraries. Digitization provides a solution to traditional library problems such as conservation, preservation, multimedia documents, and remote access to information, collection, and storage space. ICSSR institute libraries are replacing conventional storage and network systems with digital systems. The progress is a bit slow. Only a few ICSSR institute libraries are subscribing to electronic journals and having electronic documents. ICSSR institute libraries have started computerized operations and are making vigorous attempts to have digitized collections. However, these libraries are required to understand literature growth and use patterns in the social sciences.     

The Influence of James C. McCroskey’s Research in South Korea

In honor and remembrance of Dr. James C. McCroskey, this article looks at McCroskey’s influence in Korean academic fields. We find that McCroskey’s scholarly articles and books were increasingly cited from 2001 to 2016 and that his work has been cited in Korean journals across diverse fields. In addition to the communication and education fields, McCroskey was cited also in the fields of science and medicine in South Korea. The findings document the international and interdisciplinary impact of McCroskey’s scholarship.     

“Unknown Symbols”: Online Legal Research in the Age of Emoji

Abstract

Over the last decade, emoji and emoticons have made the leap from text messaging and social media to legal filings, court opinions, and law review articles. However, emoji and emoticons’ growth in popularity has tested the capability of online legal research systems to properly display and retrieve them in search results, posing challenges for future researchers of primary and secondary sources. This article examines current display practices on several of the most popular online legal research services (including Westlaw Edge, Lexis Advance, Bloomberg Law, Fastcase, HeinOnline, and Gale OneFile LegalTrac) and suggests effective workarounds for researchers.     

Visiting Libraries in Central Asia: An Academic Librarian’s Research Experience

ABSTRACT

In May 2017, I had the opportunity to spend three weeks visiting several libraries in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan as part of my research project on international student services and information literacy. I visited these countries to conduct fieldwork research on American University of Central Asia’s information literacy program, library services for international and first year students, and more broadly to build exchanges and partnerships with Fresno State and these universities. In this travel report, I briefly cover my experiences conducting research and training at the American University of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan and my shorter trips to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.     

From Dogmatism to Open-Mindedness? Historical Reflections on Methods in Audience Reception Research

The article traces, from the perspective of audience reception research, the gradual methodological rapprochement of once hostile methodological paradigms: the quantitatively oriented uses-and-gratifications research and the qualitatively anchored reception research. While recognizing that the methodological differences stem ultimately from different epistemological perspectives, the article describes how these differences have been played out on the terrain of empirical methodologies for conducting fieldwork on audience practices and meanings. The article considers four stages of this rapprochement: (1) antagonistic self-sufficiency; (2) separate camps; (3) self-critical coexistence; and (4) complementarity and collaboration.     

Print Newspapers: Are They Still Being Used in Academic and Research Libraries?

A six-month print newspaper usage study at the University of Michigan's Hatcher Graduate Library showed a marked decrease in use from a more limited study done four years previously. In general, patrons used only the major national, international, and regional newspapers. Communications with other academic and research libraries confirm these findings.     

Is There a Role for the Library in a Student-Faculty Collaborative Research Program?

ABSTRACT

With unique historical resources, academic archives can and should play an active role in support of the teaching and research missions of a college. Not only can archival teaching and collaborative learning teach students the importance of primary resources and how to use them but they also can provide support for the archives. Through partnership with faculty and students, the collaborative research program at Rollins College provides a viable means for enhancing the awareness and use of the unique historical collections, and, therefore, enriching students' appreciation of the liberal arts heritage of the institution while also providing students with a meaningful research experience.     

Point of Practice: Keeping “Health” in Health Communication Research and Practice

A review of my research in health communication leads to the presentation of eight insights that may be applied to the practice of health communication. The significance of collaboration and work in health communication practice settings, ranging from public health departments, to clinics, to participation in the Institute of Medicine guides the discussion of three broad principles that inform my health communication research. In both cases, a core emphasis is given to keeping “health” in health communication research and practice.     

Will Web Search Engines Replace Bibliographic Databases in the Systematic Identification of Research?

The availability of web search engines offers opportunities in addition to those provided by bibliographic databases for identifying academic literature, but their usefulness for retrieving research is uncertain. A rigorous literature search was undertaken to investigate whether web search engines might replace bibliographic databases, using empirical research in health and social care as a case study. Eight databases and five web search engines were searched between 20 July and 6 August 2015. Sixteen unique studies which compared at least one database with at least one web search engine were examined, as well as drawing lessons from the authors’ own search process. Web search engines were limited in that the searcher cannot be certain that the principles of Boolean logic apply and they were more limited than bibliographic databases in their functions, such as exporting abstracts. Recommendations are made for improving the rigour and quality of reporting studies of academic literature searching.