The Centre for Informetric Studies (CIS) was launched in 1996 by the Royal School of Library and Information Science in Copenhagen. The head of centre presents the CIS, giving a…
Abstract
The Centre for Informetric Studies (CIS) was launched in 1996 by the Royal School of Library and Information Science in Copenhagen. The head of centre presents the CIS, giving a sample of activities and research programmes. The emerging field of informetrics is described in a historical perspective as a subfield of bibliometrics. The new approach combines advanced information retrieval theories and methodologies with the scientific study of information flows. CIS aims to apply improved bibliometric methods not only to scientometrics studies and research evaluations of science and technology, but also to the analysis of their mutual societal, industrial and other special relations. This means an extension of traditional bibliometric analyses to cover non‐scholarly communities in which information is produced, communicated and used. It is also an appeal to modern LIS professionals to face the challenge of this new area of quantitative studies, and to explore the databases not only as a registry but also as a tool for analytical work. The possibilities for LIS professionals to raise their positions in information work hierarchies are emphasised, as well as the exploration of informetric techniques to support “informed” management decisions and policy making.
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By developing a methodology for on‐line citation analysis, the international characteristics of scientific journals have been analysed on the basis of correlations between the…
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By developing a methodology for on‐line citation analysis, the international characteristics of scientific journals have been analysed on the basis of correlations between the geographical distribution patterns of authors, citations and subscriptions. The study covered seven selected LIS journals. Assuming that the numbers of authors and citations in each geographical region follow the Poisson distribution, the hypothesis was tested, that the intensities are proportional to the subscriptions. In most cases the correlation between authors and citations was so positive that the international visibility and impact of the scientific journals can be defined by these two variables. As regards the distribution pattern of subscribers, authors and citations, however, the test showed very weak or no correlations. The analysis of the statistical significance of differences gave some useful data, the importance of which to marketing and publishing strategies is obvious. The paper suggests examining also the knowledge export of journals as an additional criterion for the evaluation of their impact, and the quality of research published in them. The comparison of Journal Impact Factors (JIF) is another contribution of this study, aimed to enhance the use of impact factor analysis with various time intervals. We demonstrate new and flexible ways of using the JIF for diachronous and synchronous analyses. The study brings new dimensions to the discussions of the impact, status and image of scientific journals. It focuses on the utilisation of informetric analysis to go beyond the simplistic use of the JIF and to get a deeper understanding of the “real” impact of international scientific journals and their market.
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The paper analyses the development of LIS research in Denmark since 1985, when research became one of the main activities of the Royal School of Library and Information Science…
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The paper analyses the development of LIS research in Denmark since 1985, when research became one of the main activities of the Royal School of Library and Information Science (RSLIS) along with education and continuing education. The paper outlines the background for the development of the School from a professional school to a university institution and the political, economic, professional and other conditions for this framework. The initiatives taken and the activities realised during the years are evaluated, especially those with relevance to international co‐operation.
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Discusses the papers presented at the Fifth World Conference on Continuing Professional Development for the Library and Information Professions organised by the Round Table on…
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Discusses the papers presented at the Fifth World Conference on Continuing Professional Development for the Library and Information Professions organised by the Round Table on Continuing Professional Development of IFLA held August 2002. They included theoretical discussions, research reports, descriptions of best practice, case studies, project evaluations and state‐of‐the‐art reviews presented by library and information professionals.
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The article analyzes the development of the Finnish research in library and information science into its present position of high qualitative and quantitative level (in relation…
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The article analyzes the development of the Finnish research in library and information science into its present position of high qualitative and quantitative level (in relation to the size of the research community). A number of aspects that may explain the success of the Finnish research are presented: 1) the early academic context, i.e., the establishment of the chair in LIS at the University of Tampere in 1971, 2) the new conception of LIS that emerged in Finland in the early 1980s shifting the attention from institutions into users and actions, 3) internationalization of research including publishing in peer reviewed journals, participating in international conferences, inviting foreign top-researchers into Finland, and organizing international conferences that have become institutionalized (CoLIS and ISIC), and 4) the selection of priority areas for the research effort combined with the concentration of research and doctoral education in research groups.
New field for Infomart. Infomart, SDC's agent in Canada, recently announced that it had entered the field of electronic publishing with an influx of $6 million from two of…
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New field for Infomart. Infomart, SDC's agent in Canada, recently announced that it had entered the field of electronic publishing with an influx of $6 million from two of Canada's largest communication companies, Southam Inc. and Torstar Corporation. Infomart recently hosted an international forum on the future of videotex in Canada.
Martha E. Williams and Darren C. Du Vall
This is the tenth article on business and law (BSL) databases in a continuing series of articles summarising and commenting on new database products. Two companion articles have…
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This is the tenth article on business and law (BSL) databases in a continuing series of articles summarising and commenting on new database products. Two companion articles have appeared, one covering science, technology and medicine (STM) in Online & CDROM Review vol. 21, no. 4 and the other covering social science, humanities, news and general (SSH) in Online & CDROM Review vol. 21, no. 5. The articles are based on the newly appearing database products in the Gale Directory of Databases. The Gale Directory of Databases (GDD) was created in January 1993 by merging Computer‐Readable Databases: A Directory and Data Sourcebook (CRD) together with the Directory of Online Databases (DOD) and the Directory of Portable Databases (DPD).
Gives a comprehensive revue of the literature which marked the birth centenary of Dr S.R. Ranganathan, a prolific writer on librarianship and library science.
Abstract
Gives a comprehensive revue of the literature which marked the birth centenary of Dr S.R. Ranganathan, a prolific writer on librarianship and library science.