New Zealand Published LIS and ARM Research, 2004 - 2014: A Subject Analysis

Abstract

Research problem: While subject analyses of research topics have been conducted on Library and Information Science (LIS) and Archives and Records Management (ARM) research internationally, such analyses of New Zealand literature are rare, and those that exist are limited to only a part of the literature. Overall, there is very little written analysing LIS and ARM research in New Zealand, and few prior studies analysing the subject trends of New Zealand LIS and ARM research literature.

Methodology: A priori content analysis was conducted of a purposefully selected sample of research literature. Journal articles and conference papers from New Zealand LIS and ARM professional journals and conference proceedings, from the period 2004 to 2014 were selected, and the topics of research were categorized using Zins’ (2007) Classification Scheme of Information Science. These were then analyzed to determine which research topics are currently receiving the most interest at present, which are receiving the least attention at present, and how the topics researched have changed and developed over time.

Results: It was found that the research topics of most focus were consistently Information Industry Economics and Management and Information/Learning Society. Conversely, the topics receiving the least attention were Diffusion Studies, which did not receive any research attention, and Methodology, which consistently received very low research attention. There were also several other observable changes in the topics of research focus in the literature, with a decline in the topics of Data Organization and Retrieval, Foundations of Information Science, Social Information Science and User Studies, and an increase in Information Ethics and Law and Information Technology.

Implications: This research enables researchers to identify research topics of interest, as well as gaps in New Zealand LIS and ARM research literature. New Zealand researchers will be able to identify new research topics to enrich the current body of knowledge, and identifying topics of high activity can have important implications for strategic planning in research and research policy. Researchers in other countries can also use this study to conduct similar studies to explore research literature trends in their own setting, and add to the existing international LIS body of knowledge.