Information literacy literature in the social sciences and humanities: a bibliometric study

2017 ◽  
Vol 118 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 67-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raj Kumar Bhardwaj

Purpose This paper aims to map information literacy literature in social sciences and humanities published during the period of 2001-2012. Design/methodology/approach The data for the study are obtained from Scopus, accessible at www.scopus.com. Study used the Transformative Activity Index (TAI) and relative citation impact (RCI) to know the impact of most productive countries and prolific institutions. The SCImago Journal and Country Rank accessible at www.scimagojr.com/ was used to determine the SCImago Journal Rank and source normalized impact per paper. Findings The study found that 1990 documents originating from 79 countries were published in this study area. These papers are published in 160 journals with an average ∼12.51 papers per journal. These papers have been cited 10,025 times with ∼5.0. average citations per publication. Study also found that information literacy literature is published in 16 languages and the majority of the papers are in English, 1,879 (94.4 per cent). The highest growth of publications (106.7 per cent) was found in 2005. The USA contributed the highest number, 1,035 (52 per cent) papers. Moreover, of the 15 most productive countries, three recorded TAIs >100, and 12 countries recorded TAIs <100. In all, 160 institutions worldwide have contributed in information literacy research. Study also found that maximum literature published on the subject by a single author is 828 (41.6 per cent). Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain has produced the highest number of papers (24, or 1.2 per cent) and received 61 (0.6 per cent) citations, while University of Strathclyde has the highest RCI (∼2.7) for its publications. Pintos, María from Universidad de Granada has published the maximum number of papers (18) that have been cited 78 times. Social implications The study endeavors to showcase information literacy research outcomes in social sciences and humanities. It involves quantitative analysis of the literature in this domain using bibliographic elements such as keywords, authors, affiliation, publication and citations. Originality/value No study has been conducted so far to map the information literacy literature in social sciences and humanities. Study will be useful in understanding the progress on information literacy in the area of social sciences and humanities. The study is significant for social scientists to foster further research in this emerging area.

Publications ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmitry Kochetkov

Recently, more and more countries are entering the global race for university competitiveness. On the one hand, global rankings are a convenient tool for quantitative analysis. On the other hand, their indicators are often difficult to quickly calculate and they often contradict each other. The author of this paper hoped to use widely available indicators for a quick analysis of the University’s publication strategy and opted for the normalized citation indicators available in the SciVal analytical tool, namely, Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) and Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI). The author demonstrated the possibility of applying the correlation analysis to the impact indicators of a document and a journal on a sample of social and humanitarian fields at Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (PFUR, “RUDN” in Russian). A dot diagram of university (or country) documents was used to form a two-factor matrix (SNIP and FWCI) that was further divided into four quadrants. Such an analysis illustrated the present situation in that discipline. An analysis of the RUDN university publications revealed problems and prospects in the development of social sciences and humanities. A serious problem observed was that high-quality results were often published in low-impact journals that narrowed the results’ potential audience and, accordingly, the number of citations. A particular attention was paid to the application of the results in practice.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheikh Shueb ◽  
Sumeer Gul ◽  
Nahida Tun Nisa ◽  
Taseen Shabir ◽  
Shafiq Ur Rehman ◽  
...  

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to map the funding status of COVID-19 research. The various aspects, such as funding ratio, geographical distribution of funded articles, journals publishing funded research and institutions that sponsor the COVID-19 research are studied. To visualize the country collaboration network and research trends/hotspots in the field of COVID-19 funded research, keyword analysis is also performed. The open-access (OA) status of the funded research on COVID-19 is also discussed.Design/methodology/approachThe leading indexing and abstracting database, i.e. Web of Science (WoS), was used to retrieve the funded articles published on the topic COVID-19. The scientometric approach, more particularly “funding acknowledgment analysis (FAA),” was used to study the research funding.FindingsA total of 5,546 publications of varied nature have been published on COVID-19, of which 1,760 are funded, thus indicating a funding ratio of 32%. China is the leading producer of funded research (760, 43.182%) on COVID-19 followed by the USA (482, 27.386%), England (179, 10.17%), Italy (119, 6.761%), Germany (107, 6.08%) and Canada (107, 6.08%). China is also in lead in terms of the funding ratio (60.94%). However, the funding ratio of the USA (31.54%) is at 11th rank behind Canada (40.68%), Germany (34.18%) and England (35.87%). The USA occupies a central position in the collaboration network having the highest score of articles with other countries (n = 489), with the USA–China collaboration ranking first (n = 123). National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) is the largest source of funding for COVID-19 research, supporting 342 (19.432%) publications, followed by the United States Department of Health Human Services (DHHS) and National Institute of Health (NIH), USA with 211 (11.989%) and 200 (11.364%) publications, respectively. However, China's National Key Research and Development Program achieves the highest citation impact (80.24) for its funded publications. Journal of Medical Virology, Science of the Total Environment and EuroSurveillance are the three most prolific journals publishing 63 (3.58%), 35 (1.989%) and 32 (1.818%), respectively, of the sponsored research articles on the COVID-19. A total of 3,138 institutions produce funded articles with Huazhong University of Science Technology and Wuhan University from China at the forefront publishing 92 (5.227%) and 83 (4.716%) publications, respectively. The funded research on COVID-19 is largely available in OA mode (1,674, 95.11%) and mainly through the Green and Bronze routes. The keyword clustering reveals that the articles mainly focus on the impact, structure and clinical characteristics of the virus.Research limitations/implicationsThe study's main limitation is that the results are based on the publications indexed by WoS, which has limited coverage compared to other databases. Moreover, all the funding agencies do not require or authors miss to acknowledge funding sources in their publications, which ultimately undermines the number of funded publications. The research publications on COVID-19 are also proliferating; thus, the study's findings shall be valid for a minimum period.Practical implicationsThe funding of research on the COVID-19 is highly essential to accelerate innovative research and help countries fight against the global pandemic. The study's findings reflect the efforts made by nations and institutions to remove the financial and accessibility hurdles. It not only underscores the lead of the USA in the research on COVID-19, but also shows China as a forerunner in sponsoring the research, thus, helping to know the contribution of nations toward understanding the dynamics of pandemic and controlling it. The study will help healthcare practitioners and policymakers recognize the areas that remain the focus of sponsored research on COVID-19 and other left-out areas that need to be taken up and thus may help in policy formulation. It further highlights the impact of prolific funding agencies so that efforts may be initiated to increase the impact and thereby the returns of investment. The study can help to map the scientific structure of COVID-19 through the lens of funded research and recognize core inclinations of its development. Overall, a comprehensive analysis has been performed to present the detailed characteristics of sponsored research on emerging area of COVID-19, and it is informative, useful and one of its kind on the theme.Originality/valueThe study explores the funding support of research on COVID-19 and its other aspects, along with the mode of availability.


2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 177-178
Author(s):  
Jessica A. Koos

A Review of: Bhardwaj, R.K. (2017). Information literacy in the social sciences and humanities: A bibliometric study. Information and Learning Science, 188(1/2), 67–89. https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-09-2016-0068 Abstract Objective – To determine the scope and distribution of information literacy research documents in the humanities and social sciences published from 2001 to 2012. Design – Bibliometric analysis. Setting – N/A Subjects – 1,990 document records retrieved from a Scopus database search.  Methods – Using the database Scopus, the author created and conducted a search for documents related to the concept of information literacy. Articles, review papers, conference articles, notes, short surveys, and letters were included in the results. Only documents published from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2012 were included in the study. The author then performed various bibliometric analyses of the results. Main Results – The author found that the number of publications and citations have increased over time, although the average citations per publication (ACPP) decreased significantly during the time period being studied. The majority of the literature published on this topic is in English and produced within the United States. The Transformative Activity Index was calculated to determine changes in publishing patterns across countries from 2001 to 2012. The amount of research collaboration across countries was calculated as well, with the U.S. being the most collaborative. The top journals publishing on this topic were identified by calculating the h-index. An individual from Universidad de Granada in Spain published the greatest number of articles from a single author, and this university was found to have produced the greatest amount of research. Documents produced by the United Kingdom have the highest citation rates. A total of 1,385 documents were cited at least once, and each item on average was cited five times. Conclusion – Most of the articles on information literacy in the social sciences and humanities comes from developed countries. The results of this study may help to inform those interested in researching this field further.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 385-395
Author(s):  
Richard Cebula ◽  
James E. Payne ◽  
Donnie Horner ◽  
Robert Boylan

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of labor market freedom on state-level cost of living differentials in the USA using cross-sectional data for 2016 after allowing for the impacts of economic and quality of life factors. Design/methodology/approach The study uses two-stage least squares estimation controlling for factors contributing to cost of living differences across states. Findings The results reveal that an increase in labor market freedom reduces the overall cost of living. Research limitations/implications The study can be extended using panel data and alternative measures of labor market freedom. Practical implications In general, the finding that less intrusive government and greater labor freedom are associated with a reduced cost of living should not be surprising. This is because less government intrusion and greater labor freedom both inherently allow markets to be more efficient in the rationalization of and interplay with forces of supply and demand. Social implications The findings of this and future related studies could prove very useful to policy makers and entrepreneurs, as well as small business owners and public corporations of all sizes – particularly those considering either location in, relocation to, or expansion into other markets within the USA. Furthermore, the potential benefits of the National Right-to-Work Law currently under consideration in Congress could add cost of living reductions to the debate. Originality/value The authors extend the literature on cost of living differentials by investigating whether higher amounts of state-level labor market freedom act to reduce the states’ cost of living using the most recent annual data available (2016). That labor freedom has a systemic efficiency impact on the state-level cost of living is a significant finding. In our opinion, it is likely that labor market freedom is increasing the efficiency of labor market transactions in the production and distribution of goods and services, and acts to reduce the cost of living in states. In addition, unlike previous related studies, the authors investigate the impact of not only overall labor market freedom on the state-level cost of living, but also how the three sub-indices of labor market freedom, as identified and measured by Stansel et al. (2014, 2015), impact the cost of living state by state.


2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Caiazza ◽  
David Audretsch ◽  
Tiziana Volpe ◽  
Julie Debra Singer

Purpose – Existing work documents the role that institutional setting plays in the process of spin-off creation. However, despite decades of studies, scholars have not clearly explained why some regions are more involved in spin-off activity than others. Drawing from institutional theory, the purpose of this paper is to compare different institutional settings identifying factors affecting the general environment capability to support spin-off activity of a specific region. Design/methodology/approach – The authors utilize a cross-national analysis of American, Asian, and European areas identifying factors affecting their different rate of spin-off activity. This study contributes to the policy debate concerning entrepreneurship and how best to spur spin-off activities. Findings – In this paper, the authors identify the general and specific factors that explain the cross-national diversity in spin-off creation. The authors then perform an analysis of the impact of these factors in various regions of the USA, Asia, and Europe, providing evidence for the necessity of specific combinations of these factors. Originality/value – The paper offers a new perspective on the causes of spin-offs through a cross-national analysis of many areas around the world.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Denni Arli ◽  
Tuyet-Mai Nguyen ◽  
Phong Tuan Nham

Purpose There is a perception that non-religious consumers are less ethical than religious consumers. Studies found prejudices against atheists around the world and assumed that those who committed unethical behavior were more likely to be atheists. Hence, first, the purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of consumers’ intrinsic religiosity, extrinsic religiosity and atheism on consumers’ ethical beliefs. Second, this study attempts to segment consumers and identify differences between these segments. Design/methodology/approach Using data from 235 study participants in the USA and 531 in Vietnam. Subsequently, a two-step cluster approach was used to identify segments within these samples. Findings The study results show consumers’ intrinsic religiosity negatively influences all consumers’ unethical beliefs. Similarly, atheism also negatively influences all consumers’ unethical beliefs. This study also complements other studies exploring consumer ethics in developing countries. In addition, the segmentation analysis produced unique segments. The results from both samples (USA and Vietnam) indicated that non-religious consumers are less likely to accept various unethical behaviors compared to religious consumers. Religious consumers are not necessarily more ethical and atheism consumers are not necessarily less ethical. In the end, are implications for business ethics, religious and non-religious leaders on how to view the impact of beliefs on consumer ethical behaviors. Originality/value This is one of the first few studies investigating the impact of atheism on consumer ethics. The results of this study further extend the knowledge of study in consumer ethics by comparing consumers’ religiosity and atheism.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-16
Author(s):  
Leonor Gaspar Pinto ◽  
Paula Ochôa

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to discuss emerging practices in open evaluation, namely, the concept of co-evaluation and how research on evaluation developed within information science can contribute to enhance stakeholders and citizens’ involvement in open science. Design/methodology/approach A meta-evaluative and transdisciplinary approach – directed toward the intersection between information science, evaluation, competences management, sustainability transitions management and participatory methodologies – provided the basis for the identification and subsequent reflection on the levels of stakeholder participation embedded into ISO 16439’s (2014) methods for assessing the impact of libraries and on the domains and competences to be mobilized for (co)evaluation. The contributions of Engaged 2020 Action Catalogue, as well as several taxonomies of evaluator competences and the Council of Europe’s (2016) conceptual model of competences for a democratic culture were particularly relevant for this (re)construction process. Findings Two results of the line of research carried out since 2012 at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities of the Universidade NOVA de Lisboa (Portugal) can significantly contribute to improve stakeholders’ participation in Open Science: ISO 16439’s systematization of methods and procedures for assessing the impact of libraries and the (co-)evaluation competency framework. Originality/value This paper presents the transdisciplinary concept of co-evaluation and examines the current epistemological challenges to science by analyzing the general tendency to openness through the lens of research on evaluation and participatory methods developed within information science.


2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-302
Author(s):  
Esther Charlotte Moon

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how changes in K-12 educational delivery methods in the USA impacts students as 1:1 device programs become a required tool for learning. This change produces gaps in knowledge and understanding of the digital environment and exposes minors to risk. Mandatory technology integration by school districts places the ethical responsibility on school districts to prepare students to use the digital environment to mitigate risk. Design/methodology/approach The author’s literature review focused on the impact of personal device integration in education on students. The author surveyed teachers in the district on what they perceived as risk to students accessing the digital environment and what they believe creates value in digital citizenship instructional content. The author also gathered information while serving on the school district technology steering committee and digital citizenship working group. Findings Mandatory 1:1 device programs used for learning provide unlimited access to the digital environment. This technology integration creates digital knowledge gaps in understanding among students and exposes them to risk or dangers such as loss of privacy, psychological harms and engaging in or being a victim of illegal online activities. School districts are responsible for providing a remedy to close this gap and mitigate risk by developing learning content resources for teachers. Social implications As 1:1 device programs continue to grow in school districts in the USA, it is essential for students to learn to apply protocols and understand norms of the digital world. Providing a digital citizenship curriculum in a format such as a Google Site will offer educators access to instructional content that teaches students to apply protocols, understand norms of the internet and social media and foster critical thinking to analyze power structures, biases and recognize manipulation online. Student must learn how to apply rules that challenge assumptions behind the digital content they see, and they must be able to identify and resolve digital practices and behaviors that are problematic, so they are prepared to participate in a digital society. Originality/value This perspective may be relevant to school districts contemplating personal device integration, providing insight into how 1:1 device use impacts students and develops an ethical position for creating digital citizenship resources for teachers.


2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (6) ◽  
pp. 606-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anders Pehrsson

Purpose The study draws on the resource-based view and the contingency view of strategy. The purpose of this paper is to contribute to international strategy literature by extending the current understanding of foreign subsidiary’s competitive strategy in terms of cost leadership and product differentiation. Design/methodology/approach Hypotheses concern associations between corporate support building on product and skills relatedness and subsidiary strategies. Also, it is hypothesized that strategies are due to the type of local competitive intensity. The hypotheses were tested on wholly owned subsidiaries of Swedish industrial firms in Germany, the UK and the USA. Findings Product and skills relatedness between the subsidiary and the corporate core unit are positively associated with the subsidiary’s emphasis on cost leadership. Also, a positive association was found between skills relatedness and product differentiation, and extensive competitive intensity strengthens the relationship. Research limitations/implications The study specifies what business relatedness is needed for a subsidiary’s competitive strategy; skills relatedness is more important than product relatedness; the type of local competitive intensity is important; corporate support and local strategy operate simultaneously. Practical implications Management is advised to implement a foreign subsidiary’s competitive strategy by recognizing the mechanisms identified in this study. Originality/value In a unique way, the study captures the role of corporate support of a foreign subsidiary’s competitive strategy relying on business relatedness and the importance of aligning the strategy with competitive intensity.


2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (7) ◽  
pp. 1329-1346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Huang ◽  
Julie Fitzpatrick

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of donation amount and framing on financial products, this research investigates consumers’ attitudes and behaviors toward cause-related credit cards with different donation sizes and framing types. Design/methodology/approach This research investigates consumers’ perceptions of green credit cards using two experiments with a between-subject design (n =297) and a mixed design (n =238), respectively. All the participants, recruited from a major state university in the USA, are undergraduate students who use credit cards. Findings A medium-size donation optimizes the outcome of a cause-related credit card offer. Moreover, a donation framed as cash rewards has stronger effects on a consumer’s perception and consequent reactions to the “green” credit cards than an annual percentage rate framing. Finally, consumers with high levels of environmental concern and propensity to volunteer have stronger intention to adopt and are more likely to recommend the proposed credit card. Originality/value Building upon the theories of social exchange and symbolic interaction, this research is the first to provide empirical evidence regarding the application of volunteerism and perceived consumer effectiveness for financial institutions and their cause-related marketing campaign partners in selecting suitable environmental causes.


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