IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/scient/v108y2016i3d10.1007_s11192-016-2033-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Understanding the evolving academic landscape of library and information science through faculty hiring data

Author

Listed:
  • Yongjun Zhu

    (Drexel University)

  • Erjia Yan

    (Drexel University)

  • Min Song

    (Yonsei University)

Abstract

Using a 40-year (from 1975 to 2015) hiring dataset of 642 library and Information science (LIS) faculty members from 44 US universities, this research reveals the disciplinary characteristics of LIS through several key aspects including gender, rank, country, university, major, and research area. Results show that genders and ranks among LIS faculty members are evenly distributed; geographically, more than 90 % of LIS faculty members received doctoral degrees in the US; meanwhile, 60 % of LIS faculty received Ph.D. in LIS, followed by Computer Science and Education; in regards to research interests, Human–Computer interaction, Digital Librarianship, Knowledge Organization and Management, and Information Behavior are the most popular research areas among LIS faculty members. Through a series of dynamic analyses, this study shows that the educational background of LIS faculty members is becoming increasingly diverse; in addition, research areas such as Human–Computer interaction, Social Network Analysis, Services for Children and Youth, Information Literacy, Information Ethics and Policy, and Data and Text Mining, Natural Language Processing, Machine Learning have received an increasing popularity. Predictive analyses are performed to discover trends on majors and research areas. Results show that the growth rate of LIS faculty members is linearly distributed. In addition, among faculty member’s Ph.D. majors, the share of LIS is decreasing while that the share of Computer Science is growing; among faculty members’ research areas, the share of Human–Computer interaction is on the rise.

Suggested Citation

  • Yongjun Zhu & Erjia Yan & Min Song, 2016. "Understanding the evolving academic landscape of library and information science through faculty hiring data," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 108(3), pages 1461-1478, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:108:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_s11192-016-2033-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-016-2033-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11192-016-2033-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11192-016-2033-z?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cassidy R. Sugimoto & Chaoqun Ni & Terrell G. Russell & Brenna Bychowski, 2011. "Academic genealogy as an indicator of interdisciplinarity: An examination of dissertation networks in Library and Information Science," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 62(9), pages 1808-1828, September.
    2. Cassidy R. Sugimoto & Daifeng Li & Terrell G. Russell & S. Craig Finlay & Ying Ding, 2011. "The shifting sands of disciplinary development: Analyzing North American Library and Information Science dissertations using latent Dirichlet allocation," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 62(1), pages 185-204, January.
    3. Rabah Amir & Malgorzata Knauff, 2008. "Ranking Economics Departments Worldwide on the Basis of PhD Placement," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(1), pages 185-190, August.
    4. Robyn Marschke & Sandra Laursen & Joyce McCarl Nielsen & Patricia Rankin, 2007. "Demographic Inertia Revisited: An Immodest Proposal to Achieve Equitable Gender Representation among Faculty in Higher Education," The Journal of Higher Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 78(1), pages 1-26, January.
    5. Erjia Yan, 2014. "Topic-based Pagerank: toward a topic-level scientific evaluation," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 100(2), pages 407-437, August.
    6. Jianlin Zhou & An Zeng & Ying Fan & Zengru Di, 2016. "Ranking scientific publications with similarity-preferential mechanism," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 106(2), pages 805-816, February.
    7. Yongjun Zhu & Erjia Yan, 2015. "Dynamic subfield analysis of disciplines: an examination of the trading impact and knowledge diffusion patterns of computer science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 104(1), pages 335-359, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xiaoguang Wang & Hongyu Wang & Han Huang, 2021. "Evolutionary exploration and comparative analysis of the research topic networks in information disciplines," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(6), pages 4991-5017, June.
    2. He, Zekai & Zhen, Ni & Wu, Chaojiang, 2019. "Measuring and exploring the geographic mobility of American professors from graduating institutions: Differences across disciplines, academic ranks, and genders," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 771-784.
    3. Zuo, Zhiya & Zhao, Kang, 2018. "The more multidisciplinary the better? – The prevalence and interdisciplinarity of research collaborations in multidisciplinary institutions," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 736-756.
    4. Zuo, Zhiya & Zhao, Kang & Ni, Chaoqun, 2019. "Standing on the shoulders of giants?—Faculty hiring in information schools," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 341-353.
    5. Zhu, Yongjun & Yan, Erjia, 2017. "Examining academic ranking and inequality in library and information science through faculty hiring networks," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 641-654.
    6. Cheng Peng & Zhepeng (Lionel) Li & Chaojiang Wu, 2023. "Researcher geographic mobility and publication productivity: an investigation into individual and institutional characteristics and the roles of academicians," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(1), pages 379-406, January.
    7. Manika Lamba & Margam Madhusudhan, 2019. "Mapping of topics in DESIDOC Journal of Library and Information Technology, India: a study," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 120(2), pages 477-505, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yanan Wang & An Zeng & Ying Fan & Zengru Di, 2019. "Ranking scientific publications considering the aging characteristics of citations," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 120(1), pages 155-166, July.
    2. Ebadi, Ashkan & Tremblay, Stéphane & Goutte, Cyril & Schiffauerova, Andrea, 2020. "Application of machine learning techniques to assess the trends and alignment of the funded research output," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 14(2).
    3. Fen Zhao & Yi Zhang & Jianguo Lu & Ofer Shai, 2019. "Measuring academic influence using heterogeneous author-citation networks," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 118(3), pages 1119-1140, March.
    4. Shiji Chen & Clément Arsenault & Yves Gingras & Vincent Larivière, 2015. "Exploring the interdisciplinary evolution of a discipline: the case of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 102(2), pages 1307-1323, February.
    5. Meijun Liu & Sijie Yang & Yi Bu & Ning Zhang, 2023. "Female early-career scientists have conducted less interdisciplinary research in the past six decades: evidence from doctoral theses," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-16, December.
    6. Dejian Yu & Wanru Wang & Shuai Zhang & Wenyu Zhang & Rongyu Liu, 2017. "A multiple-link, mutually reinforced journal-ranking model to measure the prestige of journals," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 111(1), pages 521-542, April.
    7. Yi Bu & Binglu Wang & Win-bin Huang & Shangkun Che & Yong Huang, 2018. "Using the appearance of citations in full text on author co-citation analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 116(1), pages 275-289, July.
    8. Yongjun Zhu & Erjia Yan, 2015. "Dynamic subfield analysis of disciplines: an examination of the trading impact and knowledge diffusion patterns of computer science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 104(1), pages 335-359, July.
    9. Zhu, Yongjun & Yan, Erjia, 2017. "Examining academic ranking and inequality in library and information science through faculty hiring networks," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 641-654.
    10. John McLevey & Alexander V. Graham & Reid McIlroy-Young & Pierson Browne & Kathryn S. Plaisance, 2018. "Interdisciplinarity and insularity in the diffusion of knowledge: an analysis of disciplinary boundaries between philosophy of science and the sciences," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 117(1), pages 331-349, October.
    11. John Gibson & David L. Anderson & John Tressler, 2014. "Which Journal Rankings Best Explain Academic Salaries? Evidence From The University Of California," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 52(4), pages 1322-1340, October.
    12. Sari Pekkala Kerr & William Kerr & Çağlar Özden & Christopher Parsons, 2016. "Global Talent Flows," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(4), pages 83-106, Fall.
    13. Benno Torgler & Marco Piatti, 2011. "A Century of American Economic Review," Working Papers 2011.27, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    14. Daniel S. Hamermesh, 2018. "Citations in Economics: Measurement, Uses, and Impacts," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 56(1), pages 115-156, March.
    15. Leks Borgans & Frank Corvers (Transl. by: E. Pokatovich ), 2010. "The americanization of European higher education and research," Voprosy obrazovaniya / Educational Studies Moscow, National Research University Higher School of Economics, issue 2, pages 5-43.
    16. Wen-Yau Cathy Lin, 2012. "Research status and characteristics of library and information science in Taiwan: a bibliometric analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 92(1), pages 7-21, July.
    17. Yue, Zenghui & Xu, Haiyun & Yuan, Guoting & Pang, Hongshen, 2019. "Modeling study of knowledge diffusion in scientific collaboration networks based on differential dynamics: A case study in graphene field," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 524(C), pages 375-391.
    18. John Rigby & Barbara Jones, 2020. "Bringing the doctoral thesis by published papers to the Social Sciences and the Humanities: A quantitative easing? A small study of doctoral thesis submission rules and practice in two disciplines in ," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 124(2), pages 1387-1409, August.
    19. Coleen Carrigan & Katie O’Leary & Eve Riskin & Joyce Yen & Matt O’Donnell, 2017. "On-ramping: following women scientists and engineers through their transition from nonacademic to faculty careers," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 98-115, February.
    20. Chaoqun Ni & Cassidy R. Sugimoto & Blaise Cronin, 2013. "Visualizing and comparing four facets of scholarly communication: producers, artifacts, concepts, and gatekeepers," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 94(3), pages 1161-1173, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:108:y:2016:i:3:d:10.1007_s11192-016-2033-z. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.