Which are the best performing regions in information science in terms of highly cited papers? Some improvements of our previous mapping approaches

Bornmann and Leydesdorff (2011) proposed methods based on Web of Science data to identify field-specific excellence in cities where highly cited papers were published more frequently than can be expected. Top performers in output are cities in which authors are located who publish a number of highly cited papers that is statistically significantly higher than can be expected for these cities. Using papers published between 1989 and 2009 in information science improvements to the methods of Bornmann and Leydesdorff (2011) are presented and an alternative mapping approach based on the Integrated Impact Indicator (I3) is introduced here. The I3 indicator was developed by Leydesdorff and Bornmann (2011b).     

Invoking “collective memory”: mapping the emergence of a concept in archival science

The concept of “collective” or “social” memory has assumed increasing prominence in the discourse of archivists over the past few decades. Archives are frequently characterized as crucial institutions of social memory, and many professional activities are considered forms of memory preservation. We present a systematic examination of the relationships between archives and collective memory as articulated in the English-language archival literature. We first identify the major themes regarding collective memory and categorize archival writings into four major threads. We then analyze citations extracted from 165 articles about collective memory published between 1980 and 2010 in four leading English-language archival studies journals. We identify the most influential scholars and publications and trace the evolution of the collective memory concept in that literature. By comparing the archival literature on collective memory to that indexed in Thomson’s Web of Science and in Google Scholar, we identify specific disciplines, authors, and works that archivists working on collective memory may find useful. We find that in general the archival literature on collective memory is fairly insular and self-referential and call on archivists to actively engage other disciplines when carrying out collective memory research.     

An Annotated Bibliography of 46 Useful Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Monographs Published from 1902–2007

The Interlibrary Loan and Document Delivery Department train staff, updates manuals, compiles statistics, trains staff, follows copyright guidelines, and performs other relevant duties. Knowledge of copyright guidelines is an important factor that affects decisions on whether to borrow or purchase. Practices and procedures of other institutions guide decisions about how an interlibrary loan and document delivery department operates on a day-to-day basis. The titles in this annotated bibliography will help to guide interlibrary loan practitioners to texts with information on specific topics. This annotated bibliography lists titles with historical, statistical, practical, and useful information on how to operate and manage the interlibrary loan unit.     

Research trends and collaborations by applied science researchers in South African universities of technology: 2007–2017

This paper analyses the publication patterns of researchers in the field of applied sciences at Universities of Technology in South Africa. Aspects investigated include publications in SCOPUS-listed journals; number of citations and countries of publication. Collaborative research patterns at national and international levels were also investigated. A bibliometric analysis approach was followed using SCOPUS as the main source of data and analysing the articles published in selected applied science disciplines. Results show that researchers in the field of applied sciences in universities of technology have increased their number of publications over the past 10?years and are also working in conjunction with other researchers both nationally and internationally. The analysis is an important addition to the field in South Africa which helps in measuring how institutions are positively responding to government incentives in research. The results are also important to information professionals who are increasingly playing an important role in research impact assessments.     

Which percentile-based approach should be preferred for calculating normalized citation impact values? An empirical comparison of five approaches including a newly developed citation-rank approach (P100)

For comparisons of citation impacts across fields and over time, bibliometricians normalize the observed citation counts with reference to an expected citation value. Percentile-based approaches have been proposed as a non-parametric alternative to parametric central-tendency statistics. Percentiles are based on an ordered set of citation counts in a reference set, whereby the fraction of papers at or below the citation counts of a focal paper is used as an indicator for its relative citation impact in the set. In this study, we pursue two related objectives: (1) although different percentile-based approaches have been developed, an approach is hitherto missing that satisfies a number of criteria such as scaling of the percentile ranks from zero (all other papers perform better) to 100 (all other papers perform worse), and solving the problem with tied citation ranks unambiguously. We introduce a new citation-rank approach having these properties, namely P100; (2) we compare the reliability of P100 empirically with other percentile-based approaches, such as the approaches developed by the SCImago group, the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS), and Thomson Reuters (InCites), using all papers published in 1980 in Thomson Reuters Web of Science (WoS). How accurately can the different approaches predict the long-term citation impact in 2010 (in year 31) using citation impact measured in previous time windows (years 1–30)? The comparison of the approaches shows that the method used by InCites overestimates citation impact (because of using the highest percentile rank when papers are assigned to more than a single subject category) whereas the SCImago indicator shows higher power in predicting the long-term citation impact on the basis of citation rates in early years. Since the results show a disadvantage in this predictive ability for P100 against the other approaches, there is still room for further improvements.     

Infectious diseases citation patterns: mapping the literature 2008–2010

Objectives:

The research identified the publication types and ages most frequently cited in the infectious diseases literature and the most commonly cited journals.

Methods:

From 2008–2010, 5,056 articles in 5 infectious diseases journals cited 166,650 items. Two random samples were drawn: one (n = 1,060) from the total set of citations and one (n = 1,060) from the citations to journal articles. For each sample citation, publication type and date, age of cited item, and inclusion of uniform resource locator (URL) were collected. For each item in the cited journal articles sample, journal title, publication date, and age of the cited article were collected. Bradford zones were used for further analysis.

Results:

Journal articles (91%, n = 963) made up the bulk of cited items, followed by miscellaneous items (4.6%, n = 49). Dates of publication for cited items ranged from 1933–2010 (mean = 2001, mode = 2007). Over half (50.2%, n = 483) of cited journal articles were published within the previous 5 years. The journal article citations included 358 unique journal titles.

Discussion:

The citations to current and older publications in a range of disciplines, heavy citation of journals, and citation of miscellaneous and government documents revealed the depth and breadth of resources needed for the study of infectious diseases.

Highlights

• Literature on infectious diseases is multidisciplinary, encompassing medical specialties, public health, and the medical sciences.
• Infectious disease publications cite journal articles more than 90% of the time. Cited journal articles greatly range in age at citation: more than a quarter were over 10 years old.
• Infectious disease citation patterns resemble clinical medicine citation patterns more than public health citation patterns.

Implications

• Infectious disease professionals need access to general medicine titles as well as infectious disease, immunology, virology, microbiology, and public health literature.
• Librarians serving infectious disease researchers and practitioners should provide access to older materials, especially journal back files, to support the cyclical needs of their patrons.

     

Chronemics in Instructor–Student E-Mail Communication: An Experimental Examination of Student Evaluations of Instructor Response Speeds

Text-based computer-mediated communication (e.g., e-mail) lacks nonverbal cues afforded by traditional face-to-face interaction in the classroom. A lack of cues may cause students to place increased importance on elements that are still present, such as how long it takes an instructor to respond to a message. This study experimentally explored how instructor e-mail response speed and message content interact to influence student perceptions of instructor interpersonal attraction and credibility. Results (N = 385) suggested that the quicker an instructor responds to a student e-mail message, the more positively s/he is evaluated in terms of social attractiveness, task attractiveness, competence, character, and caring. However, the content of the message did not significantly influence student perceptions of the instructor. These findings offer practical implications for instructor e-mail communication in the classroom and extend what is known about chronemics in computer-mediated communication to the instructional setting.     

Broadcast profitability: A comparison of profits from broadcast and non‐broadcast segments of public corporations

To understand the broadcast segments of multi‐industry companies, it is important to consider the revenue demands of their parent companies. This article develops a methodology for analyzing the profitability of broadcast and non‐broadcast segments and applies that methodology in an examination of publicly held corporations.     

Publisher–Society partnerships to further image accessibility and global inclusivity in the Humanities and Social Sciences: Comparing top-down and bottom-up approaches

• Collaboration between publishers and learned society partners can accelerate and amplify DEIA outcomes.
• 97 HSS titles have adopted alt-text publication workflows and this change has been welcomed by journal authors and editors.
• Efforts to promote global inclusivity do not always result in greater membership diversity, retention and growth.
• Top-down, publisher-led DEIA initiatives are effective when they are aligned strategically to pre-existing society initiatives.
• Bottom-up, member-led DEIA initiatives benefit from publisher support to mitigate financial and time-based barriers to active participation.
• To reliably track DEIA outcomes, publishers ought to adopt systematic data collection strategies through initiatives like C4 and the Joint Commitment.

     

Conceptual and technical work: Who will disrupt science?

The disruption (D) index is a network-based indicator to quantify the extent to which a focal paper disrupts its predecessors. This study focuses on what disruption means by examining example articles related to “sleeping beauties in science” and frequency-inverse document frequency (TF-IDF). We investigated the structure of the citation network and subsequent papers’ motivations for citing the focal papers. Based on the observation that conceptual work is more likely to disrupt science than technical work, we hypothesize that disruption reflects the mechanism of how paradigms shift in the development of science. We also assume that the disruption identified by the D index indicates more than generating a new direction. Disruptive contributions include revolutionary studies such as Nobel-prize-winning papers, as suggested in previous work. However, disruptive contributions also include scientific dissemination of new terminology created by popular proposals, such as “sleeping beauties in science.” Such contributions redefine and popularize phenomena in science.     

Cartographies of research designs in library information science research in Nigeria and South Africa, 2009–2015

Research designs are key to the research process and the production of knowledge that supports performance and development. The appropriateness of the methodologies used in research has implications for the trustworthiness and validity of the outcomes of research and practice. The research designs used in library information science (LIS) research in Nigeria and South Africa between 2009 and 2015 were investigated. The objective was to map out the contours of the research designs that are utilised in LIS, particularly to keep the profession abreast of the trends in the field and the patterns in research designs used. Qualitative content analysis was used to examine 104 PhD dissertations, using six taxonomies to categorise research designs used in the two countries. Positivist epistemologies and quantitative methodologies predominated research in LIS. A handful of studies used basic mixed method research designs. Questionnaires and interviews were commonly used for data collection, but the triangulation of methods was not prevalent. The value of this study lies in that it will lead to the accumulation of knowledge of research designs and provide a baseline for studies on methodological practices.     

What is next for information world mapping? International and multidisciplinary approaches to understanding information behaviors/practices in context

As the use of arts-involved and data visualization methods increases in information science, it is essential to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of various methods. An international lineup of information researchers shares their experiences using the participatory, visual elicitation technique Information World Mapping (IWM) in their work. The authors begin with an overview of IWM, detailing its origins and emerging directions. They summarize their application of IWM to describe information behaviors/practices across various locations, cultures, disciplines, and technology access environments. The authors conclude by discussing key questions and areas of exploration for IWM in information research, including cultural influences, changes in media and methods for data collection, power dynamics, and researcher positionality and reflexivity. Insights offer new possibilities for the next phase of IWM in information research, including challenges and areas for innovation.     

Perceptions of world view among Japanese and American university students: A cross‐cultural comparison

The Gilgen & Cho (1979a) Questionnaire to Measure Eastern and Western Thought was administered to 240 Japanese and 163 American respondents. Results indicate that significant differences exist between the two cultures. The Japanese reflect an Eastern thought mode while the Americans favor a Western one. Also, results indicate gender differences between cultures and within the American culture. American females are more Eastern thought inclined than are the males.     

Prevalence of methodological transparency in the use of mixed methods research in library and information science research in South Africa and Nigeria, 2009–2015

Methodological transparency facilitates rigorous, trustworthy, and reliable mixed methods research (MMR). Because divergent views on the conceptualization of mixed methods can create confusion for researchers, methodological transparency can help researchers to replicate methods in other studies and attract them to mixed methods research. Many studies have been conducted to assess the utilization of mixed methods research in several disciplines, but few in library and information science (LIS) have studied how authors describe the methods used. This study investigated the clarity and detail provided about methodology in mixed methods research articles in LIS, focusing on South Africa and Nigeria. Content analysis was used to assess 104 doctoral theses, of which 10 used mixed methods. Results suggest that methodological transparency in MMR research is underrepresented in LIS. This study contributes to the discussion on how LIS can enhance the quality of mixed methods research studies by underscoring the importance of methodological transparency in such studies. Researchers and LIS educators can use the gaps identified by this study to use and report mixed methods appropriately in future research.