The aim of this study was to map the intellectual base at the Swedish School of Library and Information Science (SSLIS) at the University Collage of Borås, and to compare this intellectual base to the intellectual base of the research area Library and Information Science. This was done by analysing the citations in publications published, between the year of 2001 to the first quarter of 2006, by researchers at the institution, using the technique of author cocitation analysis. Cluster analysis and multidimensional scaling, statistical techniques that are traditional i the author cocitation analysis, formed an objective map of the intellectual base at the SSLIS. This map was then compared with three prior studies, that used the same technique to map the intellectual base of the research area. The result shows that the map of the intellectual base at the SSLIS consists of the specialities: user studies, library studies, culture/cultural policy, information retrieval, bibliometrics and information in organisations. The comparison to the prior studies shows that the intellectual base at the SSLIS is somewhat different to the intellectual base of the research area. The main differences between the two intellectual bases are: culture/cultural policy and library studies are not represented in the intellectual base of the research area, bibliometrics is not as obvious in the intellectual base of SSLIS as in the intellectual base of the research area. / Uppsatsnivå: D

The purpose with this study is to map the research front and the research base in information science, by using the bibliometric methods bibliographic coupling and author-co citation analysis. The research questions are: 1. What is the nature of the research front in information science, regarding which areas that are being studied? 2. What is the nature of the research base in information science, regarding which authors who are most cited, and how they can be grouped? The data used in the study were gathered from articles published in the journal Journal of the American society for information science and technology, published between 2004-2006, respectively 1986-2006. The result was presented by using cluster analysis and MDS-maps. The study shows that the research front can be divided in to three areas: 1. Information searching and information retrieval from the World Wide Web. 2. Bibliometrics. 3. Information searching and information retrieval, not from the World Wide Web. The 50 most cited authors was identified, and could be grouped into three areas: 1. Bibliometrics, 2. General, 3. Hard-IR/Soft-IR. / Uppsatsnivå: D

The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate the combination of bibliographic coupling and three hierarchical cluster analytic techniques: average, complete and single linkage. Bibliographic coupling is applied as a measure of similarity between recently published articles and the cluster techniques are used for the partition of a set of articles into subsets of articles with similar research focus. The field of information science is applied as the test arena and the selection of data, i.e., the article population to be partitioned, is based on a number of central journals. Methods of evaluation include both quantitative approaches as well as a qualitative one. For comparing the resulting partitions, adjusted Rand index is utilized and for the establishment of cluster coherence and isolation, measures of average normalized coupling strength is applied. In an effort to quantify the degree of subject focus within clusters, normalized entropy of a cluster’s distribution of weighted descriptors is calculated. Manual inspection of cluster composition is also performed. The findings show that choice of cluster method has a profound impact on the resulting partitions. Complete linkage generated highly subject coherent clusters but produced a fragmented picture of the research field in question, i.e., the split up of research specialties. Single linkage on the other hand, performed unsatisfactory and is not recommended. It is suggested that average linkage, when combined with a stopping rule (the inconsistency coefficient), should be considered as the method of choice since it mainly generated reasonable subject coherent clusters while avoiding severe fragmentation. / Uppsatsnivå: D

An ongoing discussion concerning the possibilities of universal classification based on phenomena rather than on research disciplines has been noticed. In order to discover if this was a limited discussion or the beginning of a major new field of research a study of citations was made using the database Web of Science. In addition, references of the works concerned were studied to find out where the ideas originated. The study of references shows that the ideas originate in a limited number of older published works, some of them well established in Information Science, some of them less generally known. The main ideas commonly used in Information Science are Ranganathan’s facet theories and the work of the Classification Research Group. The less familiar notions include the philosophy of Nicolai Hartmann, most of whose works are only available in German. Hartmann’s “stratified” ontology has received particular attention, and some writers argue that it could be combined with suggestions about integrative levels brought forth by the Classification Research Group in order to form a new and improved system of classification. While the survey of articles, references and citations reveals no major impact on the field of Information Science as yet, it also shows that the discussion is likely to continue for some time and that it may influence future research by questioning disciplines and reviving the interest in some theories deserving recognition. / Program: Bibliotekarie

This master’s thesis aims to analyze the ongoing debate in Scandinavia on research evaluation of the humanities. This field of research uses bibliometrics, quantative analysis of bibliographical units as a research assessment tool. In recent years evaluative bibliometrics has been an increasingly used method. In Scandinavia, governments have introduced new funding models for research in higher educational institutions. The change consists of the way the research funding is distributed. The analysis has principally been based upon articles in periodicals connected to universities. Discourse analysis has been used to analyze the design of the debate, and to outline which discoursive formations that could be perceived. The discoursive formations have then been related to earlier research and citation theory. The result of the analysis is that bibliometrics for learning purposes represent a value of supporting researchers’ activity. Citation analysis is not yet possible to apply on research of the humanities because lack of data in this area. Publications are not always indexed and documented, hence the lack of data. In the new funding models, internationalization of the humanities is advocated despite that earlier research shows that it has negative consequences for the humanities.

The purpose of this Bachelor’s thesis is to explore the useability of bibliometric analysis on scientists of the humanities. This is accomplished by doing a case study on philosopher Slavoj Žižek. The work process and the results the case study is able to produce and the limits of these results are then analysed and discussed.In the case study all scientific articles in English published 1987-2010 citing Žižek were analysed. The material was gathered from the databases provided by Thomson Reuters through the Web of Science.Most references to Žižek were published in Cultural Critique, a transdisciplinary journal published in the USA. Organizational behaviourist De Cock had the most references, but literature studies was the most common institution among the authors. The 15 most cited works are monographs, and the most cited is The sublime object of ideology. The most cocited works are by psychoanalyst Lacan or works about his theories.The results show that an analysis of a researcher of the humanities using bibliometric methods provide us with relevant information. However, this information is not as complete as when applied on a scientist in the natural sciences. The main reason for this is the differences in publication behaviour and the lack of relevant material in the databases covering the humanities.Several suggestions for further research is given. These concern more in depth studies of the citations of Žižek, comparative studies using other databases, and the changes in publication patterns within the humanities. / Program: Bibliotekarie

Knowledge organization is perceived as a central, constituting activity defining the notion of libraries. Critique calling for a new theoretical foundation voiced by active researchers within library and information science concerning the current knowledge organization has been utilized as a point of departure. Specifications concerning a new theoretical foundation implied by these critiques are considered within this thesis and theory found in The Order of Things by Michel Foucault proposed as an alternative theory for understanding knowledge organization as a human science where meaning, value and representation, by which the ordering of things is possible, is acknowledged as a result of human activity and history. Thus meaning, value and representation must be perceived as dynamic. An example of implementation of the proposed theory has been achieved by the use of bibliometrics. In order to do this bibliometrics has been discussed in relation to the proposed theory. A bibliometric method, founded by Howard D. White, where one constructs pennant diagrams by the means of term frequencies (tf) and inverse document frequencies (idf) in relation to a seed term, is used here as a method to organize texts dynamically based on human activity. Two main pennant diagrams derived from two different seed terms: Hjorland, B. and Rothstein, B. have been constructed and analyzed using the proposed theory. The results show that dynamic representation and organization of texts via bibliometrics is possible where, amongst other things, the specificity or generality of a text in relation to the seed term is visible. / Program: Bibliotekarie

The aim of this study was to conduct a domain analysis of the intellectual structure of Library and Information Science (LIS) from the perspective of Richard Rubins’ (2016) notion of the discipline as consisting of two separate paradigms: a library-paradigm and an information-paradigm. In accordance with the purpose of the study and the theoretical definition of the field of LIS, seven library science journals and five information science journals were identified as the basis of the study. Accordingly, bibliographic data from 5556 documents, published between the years of 2015-2022, were collected from the Web of Science. The library-paradigm revolves around the research areas of academic libraries, information literacy and library instruction. The information-paradigm is both founded on and driven by a technological incentive with strong interdisciplinary ties with computer science. In conclusion, the library-paradigm consists of research areas that to a greater extent are identified as information science research areas than the other way around. To some degree, the result shows that it is reasonable to adhere to the notion of a library-paradigm and an information-paradigm within LIS. However, the close ties between library science and information science implies that the discipline of LIS should not be considered to consist of the two paradigms. On the contrary the discipline should be regarded as consisting of library and information science and that these two spheres of the field should not be separated when conducting an analysis of its intellectual structure.