IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/scient/v91y2012i3d10.1007_s11192-012-0619-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A comparative study of interdisciplinary changes between information science and library science

Author

Listed:
  • Mu-Hsuan Huang

    (National Taiwan University)

  • Yu-Wei Chang

    (Fu Jen Catholic University)

Abstract

This study employs the method of direct citation to analyze and compare the interdisciplinary characteristics of the two disciplines of library science and information science during the period of 1978–2007. Based on the research generated by five library science journals and five information science journals, library science researchers tend to cite publications from library and information science (LIS), education, business/management, sociology, and psychology, while researchers of information science tend to cite more publications from LIS, general science, computer science, technology, and medicine. This means that the disciplines with larger contributions to library science are almost entirely different from those contributing to information science. In addition, researchers of library science frequently cite publications from LIS; the rate is as high as 65.61%, which is much higher than the rate for information science, 49.50%. However, a decreasing trend in the percentage of LIS in library science indicates that library science researchers tend to cite more publications from non-LIS disciplines. A rising trend in the proportion of references to education sources is reported for library science articles, while a rising trend in the proportion of references to computer science sources has been found for information science articles. In addition, this study applies an interdisciplinary indicator, Brillouin’s Index, to measurement of the degree of interdisciplinarity. The results confirm that the trend toward interdisciplinarity in both information science and library science has risen over the years, although the degree of interdisciplinarity in information science is higher than that in library science.

Suggested Citation

  • Mu-Hsuan Huang & Yu-Wei Chang, 2012. "A comparative study of interdisciplinary changes between information science and library science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 91(3), pages 789-803, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:91:y:2012:i:3:d:10.1007_s11192-012-0619-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-012-0619-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11192-012-0619-7
    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/s11192-012-0619-7?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. Rosenfield, Patricia L., 1992. "The potential of transdisciplinary research for sustaining and extending linkages between the health and social sciences," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 35(11), pages 1343-1357, December.
    2. Huutoniemi, Katri & Klein, Julie Thompson & Bruun, Henrik & Hukkinen, Janne, 2010. "Analyzing interdisciplinarity: Typology and indicators," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 79-88, February.
    3. Ed J. Rinia & Thed N. van Leeuwen & Eppo E. W. Bruins & Hendrik G. van Vuren & Anthony F. J. van Raan, 2002. "Measuring knowledge transfer between fields of science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 54(3), pages 347-362, July.
    4. Tijssen, Robert J. W., 1992. "A quantitative assessment of interdisciplinary structures in science and technology: Co-classification analysis of energy research," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 27-44, February.
    5. Frizo Janssens & Wolfgang Glänzel & Bart Moor, 2008. "A hybrid mapping of information science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 75(3), pages 607-631, June.
    6. Ruimin Ma & Qiangbin Dai & Chaoqun Ni & Xuelu Li, 2009. "An author co-citation analysis of information science in China with Chinese Google Scholar search engine, 2004–2006," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 81(1), pages 33-46, October.
    7. Thomas W. Steele & Jeffrey C. Stier, 2000. "The impact of interdisciplinary research in the environmental sciences: a forestry case study," Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 51(5), pages 476-484.
    8. Choong-Han Song, 2003. "Interdisciplinarity and knowledge inflow/outflow structure among science and engineering research in Korea," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 58(1), pages 129-141, September.
    9. Michael Buckland, 1999. "The landscape of information science: The American Society for Information Science at 62," Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 50(11), pages 970-974.
    10. Manuel Trajtenberg & Rebecca Henderson & Adam Jaffe, 1997. "University Versus Corporate Patents: A Window On The Basicness Of Invention," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(1), pages 19-50.
    11. Donald T. Hawkins, 2001. "Information Science Abstracts: Tracking the literature of information science. Part 1: Definition and map," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 52(1), pages 44-53.
    12. Loet Leydesdorff & Carole Probst, 2009. "The delineation of an interdisciplinary specialty in terms of a journal set: The case of communication studies," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 60(8), pages 1709-1718, August.
    13. Staša Milojević, 2010. "Power law distributions in information science: Making the case for logarithmic binning," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 61(12), pages 2417-2425, December.
    14. Howard D. White & Belver C. Griffith, 1981. "Author cocitation: A literature measure of intellectual structure," Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 32(3), pages 163-171, May.
    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. Yu-Wei Chang, 2016. "Influence of the principle of least effort across disciplines," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 106(3), pages 1117-1133, March.
    2. Lu Huang & Yijie Cai & Erdong Zhao & Shengting Zhang & Yue Shu & Jiao Fan, 2022. "Measuring the interdisciplinarity of Information and Library Science interactions using citation analysis and semantic analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(11), pages 6733-6761, November.
    3. Yu-Wei Chang, 2018. "Examining interdisciplinarity of library and information science (LIS) based on LIS articles contributed by non-LIS authors," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 116(3), pages 1589-1613, September.
    4. Wang, Shiyun & Mao, Jin & Lu, Kun & Cao, Yujie & Li, Gang, 2021. "Understanding interdisciplinary knowledge integration through citance analysis: A case study on eHealth," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 15(4).
    5. Xiaoyao Han, 2020. "Evolution of research topics in LIS between 1996 and 2019: an analysis based on latent Dirichlet allocation topic model," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 125(3), pages 2561-2595, December.
    6. Cristina Gomes Souza & Marta Lúcia Azevedo Ferreira, 2013. "Researchers profile, co-authorship pattern and knowledge organization in information science in Brazil," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 95(2), pages 673-687, May.
    7. Yu-Wei Chang, 2021. "Characteristics of high research performance authors in the field of library and information science and those of their articles," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(4), pages 3373-3391, April.
    8. Kevin M. Kniffin & Andrew S. Hanks, 2017. "Antecedents and near-term consequences for interdisciplinary dissertators," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 111(3), pages 1225-1250, June.

    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. Dellaportas, Steven & Xu, Lina & Yang, Zhiqiang, 2022. "The level of cross-disciplinarity in cross-disciplinary accounting research: analysis and suggestions for improvement," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    2. Francesco Giovanni Avallone & Alberto Quagli & Paola Ramassa, 2022. "Interdisciplinary research by accounting scholars: An exploratory study," FINANCIAL REPORTING, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2022(2), pages 5-34.
    3. Jian Xu & Yi Bu & Ying Ding & Sinan Yang & Hongli Zhang & Chen Yu & Lin Sun, 2018. "Understanding the formation of interdisciplinary research from the perspective of keyword evolution: a case study on joint attention," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 117(2), pages 973-995, November.
    4. Hiroko Nakamura & Shinji Suzuki & Tomobe Hironori & Yuya Kajikawa & Ichiro Sakata, 2011. "Citation lag analysis in supply chain research," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 87(2), pages 221-232, May.
    5. Zhang, Chengzhi & Liu, Lifan & Wang, Yuzhuo, 2021. "Characterizing references from different disciplines: A perspective of citation content analysis," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2).
    6. Lina Xu & Steven Dellaportas & Jin Wang, 2022. "A study of interdisciplinary accounting research: analysing the diversity of cited references," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(2), pages 2131-2162, June.
    7. Tanmoy Chakraborty, 2018. "Role of interdisciplinarity in computer sciences: quantification, impact and life trajectory," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 114(3), pages 1011-1029, March.
    8. Yan, Erjia & Ding, Ying & Cronin, Blaise & Leydesdorff, Loet, 2013. "A bird's-eye view of scientific trading: Dependency relations among fields of science," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 7(2), pages 249-264.
    9. Jian Wang & Bart Thijs & Wolfgang Glänzel, 2015. "Interdisciplinarity and Impact: Distinct Effects of Variety, Balance, and Disparity," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(5), pages 1-18, May.
    10. Seguí-Mas Elies & Jiménez-Arribas Irene & Tormo-Carbó Guillermina, 2019. "Does the Environment Matter? Mapping Academic Knowledge on Entrepreneurial Ecosystems in GEM," Entrepreneurship Research Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 9(2), pages 1-19, April.
    11. Jianhua Hou & Xiucai Yang & Chaomei Chen, 2018. "Emerging trends and new developments in information science: a document co-citation analysis (2009–2016)," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 115(2), pages 869-892, May.
    12. Ruimin Ma, 2012. "Discovering and analyzing the intellectual structure and its evolution of LIS in China, 1998–2007," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 93(3), pages 645-659, December.
    13. Huutoniemi, Katri & Klein, Julie Thompson & Bruun, Henrik & Hukkinen, Janne, 2010. "Analyzing interdisciplinarity: Typology and indicators," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 79-88, February.
    14. Rey-Long Liu, 2015. "Passage-Based Bibliographic Coupling: An Inter-Article Similarity Measure for Biomedical Articles," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(10), pages 1-22, October.
    15. Ruimin Ma & Erjia Yan, 2016. "Uncovering inter-specialty knowledge communication using author citation networks," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 109(2), pages 839-854, November.
    16. Tracy Klarenbeek & Nelius Boshoff, 2018. "Measuring multidisciplinary health research at South African universities: a comparative analysis based on co-authorships and journal subject categories," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 116(3), pages 1461-1485, September.
    17. Keisuke Okamura, 2019. "Interdisciplinarity revisited: evidence for research impact and dynamism," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 5(1), pages 1-9, December.
    18. Katalin Orosz & Illés J. Farkas & Péter Pollner, 2016. "Quantifying the changing role of past publications," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 108(2), pages 829-853, August.
    19. Raasch, Christina & Lee, Viktor & Spaeth, Sebastian & Herstatt, Cornelius, 2013. "The rise and fall of interdisciplinary research: The case of open source innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(5), pages 1138-1151.
    20. Wang, Feifei & Jia, Chenran & Wang, Xiaohan & Liu, Junwan & Xu, Shuo & Liu, Yang & Yang, Chenyuyan, 2019. "Exploring all-author tripartite citation networks: A case study of gene editing," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 13(3), pages 856-873.

    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:91:y:2012:i:3:d:10.1007_s11192-012-0619-7. 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.