Are Library and Information Science Journals Becoming More Internationalized? A Longitudinal Study of Authors' Geographical Affiliations in 20 LIS Journals from 1981 to 2003

This paper examines journal publications in the field of library and information science (LIS) to assess the level of internationalization in their publications authorship pattern. The international production and communication of scholarly knowledge is crucial to the growth of a discipline. Recent advancement in communication technology and the rise of globalization have led to the hope of a more balanced flow of scientific knowledge. Nevertheless, scholars also cautioned the possibility of a global digital divide and a widening knowledge gap. This study analyzed the geographical affiliations of authors in 20 international LIS journals to track the longitudinal changes in LIS authorship pattern. Findings suggest an increase in the internationalization of LIS authorships over the years. However, the LIS authorship distribution was still highly uneven in 2003 (Gini coefficient = 0.95). Economic power is still found to be a moderate predictor of publication performance. The findings of this study suggest that, at the moment of the writing, there is still room for the LIS field to be more internationalized. Further research is needed to identify the barriers in international scholarly communication and to explore the implications of such a communication pattern on scientific development and global equality

Are Library and Information Science Journals Becoming More Internationalized? A Longitudinal Study of Authors' Geographical Affiliations in 20 LIS Journals from 1981 to 2003

This paper examines journal publications in the field of library and information science (LIS) to assess the level of internationalization in their publications authorship pattern. The international production and communication of scholarly knowledge is crucial to the growth of a discipline. Recent advancement in communication technology and the rise of globalization have led to the hope of a more balanced flow of scientific knowledge. Nevertheless, scholars also cautioned the possibility of a global digital divide and a widening knowledge gap. This study analyzed the geographical affiliations of authors in 20 international LIS journals to track the longitudinal changes in LIS authorship pattern. Findings suggest an increase in the internationalization of LIS authorships over the years. However, the LIS authorship distribution was still highly uneven in 2003 (Gini coefficient = 0.95). Economic power is still found to be a moderate predictor of publication performance. The findings of this study suggest that, at the moment of the writing, there is still room for the LIS field to be more internationalized. Further research is needed to identify the barriers in international scholarly communication and to explore the implications of such a communication pattern on scientific development and global equality

Modeling the impact of individuals’ characteristics and library service levels on high school students’ public library usage : a national analysis

Information behavior (IB) and public library usage studies seldom simultaneously analyze individual-level characteristics and community-level information service factors. Thus, it is uncertain whether changes in community-level factors, such as an increase in public library funding and service level, make a difference in an individual's library usage after differences in personal characteristics are accounted for. Applying the person-in-environment (PIE) framework designed to integrate individual agency and sociostructural factors in IB research, this study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the factors influencing a student's frequency of public library usage for schoolwork, leisure, and Internet access. It mapped and merged a nationally representative survey of 13,000 U.S. 12th graders with census tract data and public library statistics. The SEM findings indicate that school information environment, frequency of school library use, race/ethnicity, and home computer availability were among the top three factors affecting public library usage for schoolwork, leisure, and Internet access. More importantly, library service levels had a positive impact on students’ library usage in terms of frequency of use. Specifically, even after personal differences such as each student's socioeconomic status and achievement motivation were controlled for, higher service levels in the student's neighborhood public library contributed to more frequent library usage. The findings pinpoint the benefits for individual-level IB study to incorporate etic measures of community-level factors. The findings also suggest that continuous effort to fund high levels of public library services—particularly in disadvantaged areas—is worthwhile. Such efforts should be encouraged

Demographic differences in International students' information source uses and everyday information seeking challenges

International students are a sizeable user group of academic libraries. However, their everyday life information seeking (ELIS) behavior is seldom studied. This hinders the planning of information services and information literacy training. In light of this gap, this study surveyed 112 international students in a U.S. public university on: (1) how frequently respondents used 11 information sources; (2) how difficult it was to find information in various domains; and (3) how much their ELIS was affected by various information seeking problems. Differences between gender-study level categories and problem solving styles were tested using ANOVAs. The study found that Web search engines, social networking sites, new friends, printed resources, and traditional mass media were the top sources for ELIS. Six everyday information domains (e.g., legal, financial, and personal development information) ranked more difficult to find than academic information. Non-credible, irrelevant, and outdated information were found to be the top problems. There were more statistically significant problem solving style differences (especially on the Problem Solving Confidence subscale) than gender-study level differences. Notable gender-study level differences were still found. Male undergraduate students, for example, were more affected by their reluctance to ask personal questions. Lastly, the implications to information literacy education were discussed.Accepted versio

Longitudinal Trends in Internationalisation, Collaboration Types, and Citation Impact: A Bibliometric Analysis of Seven LIS Journals (1980-2008)

Journal publication is a core avenue for sharing research in the LIS field. Effective scholarly communication is beneficial to the growth of a discipline. Bibliometrics research shows that articles in prestigious international journals are predominantly those of authors based in a few nations, however. Papers from authors outside the established nations are likely to be cited less often. This study analysed the longitudinal changes in geographical patterns of authorship, collaboration types, and factors affecting the citation impact of seven top LIS journals over a period of 29 years. In addition to data from all nations, this paper includes specific findings relating to Asian countries. Analysis of 8,140 papers shows that the internationalisation level in the sample set has increased in terms of number of nations represented and in a decreasing Gini coefficient. The presence of Asian nations such as Taiwan and Singapore as top contributing countries is particularly notable in the past 10 years. Domestic collaboration is found to be the dominant type of authorship pattern. In terms of citation impact as measured by citation counts, logistic regression was used to test the effects of author continent, country income level, collaboration type, publication year, and number of authors. Papers from lower-income countries or from Asian or European authors are found less likely to be ‘more cited.’ International and domestic collaboration had a positive relation with citation counts. A practical implication is that authors may consider international collaboration as a way to increase the visibility and impact of their research. Nevertheless, the reasons behind such differential citation impact require more exploration. Invisible colleges, the strengths of weak ties, and the geographic scope of a paper are some factors to be further examined. It is hoped that more research can help identify and overcome barriers in scholarly communication so as to achieve a genuine internationalisation of science

Evaluating usability and efficaciousness of an E-learning system : a quantitative, model-driven approach

Using an e-learning system as a case example of complex information systems, we tested a conceptual framework that expands upon the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and incorporate measures of self-efficacy. A survey instrument was developed to gather large samples of users' perceptions on system usability and usefulness. Advanced statistical tests such as structural equation modeling were carried out. The paper concludes with a discussion on efficacy of evaluation techniques and design implications for e-learning systems

Analysing the effects of individual characteristics and self-efficacy on users' preferences for system features in relevance judgment

Introduction. The design of information systems has traditionally focused on algorithmic relevance. While scholars have called for a user-centred perspective on relevance, less is known about what system features are important in supporting subjective relevance judgment of different individuals. Method. Drawing from Kuhlthau's information search process and Norman's task completion model, an integrated model conceptualising information seeking on two levels (process and sub-task) were developed. Two hundred and seventy-seven users were surveyed on system features they considered important at various stages of an information seeking task. Analysis. Descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis were used to group system features. The relationships between system feature preference and individual characteristics were tested using multiple regressions. Results. The top features were identified and factor analysis resulted in a seven-factor solution. Except for sex, the multiple regression analyses found statistically significant relationships between individual characteristics such as self-efficacy in information seeking and respondent's system feature preference. Conclusions. Information systems design will benefit from understanding users' varying information seeking self-efficacy and their needs for features supporting subjective relevance judgment. With its strong tradition of studying diverse human behaviour, the information behaviour field has much to offer a user-centred and context-aware approach to information system design.Published versio

Impacts of Social Media Usage on the Outcomes of Students' Everyday Life Information Seeking

ABSTRACT University students' social media use for everyday life information seeking (ELIS) opens up opportunities for seeking information from weak ties, but it may exacerbate issues such as information overload. Currently, it is unclear whether social media use affects the outcome of ELIS. The current study surveyed undergraduate and graduate students to test whether the frequent uses of (a) social networking sites (SNS), (b) microblogs, (c) social question and answer sites (Social Q&A), and (d) Web search engines affect (a) level of satisfaction with the quality of ELIS results and (b) level of difficulty in ELIS. Gender and study level were included as control variables. ANOVA tests of the 1,144 responses found that the frequent use of SNS, microblogs, and Web search engines each had significant effects on ELIS satisfaction level. Frequent microblog use had a significant effect on ELIS difficulty. Interestingly, the effects of SNS, microblogs, and Web search engine usage showed a U-shaped relationship. The heavy-users as well as non-users of social media experienced higher level of satisfaction and lower level of difficulties. It was the occasional users who were more troubled, as were underclassmen and master's students. These user groups could benefit from more social media information literacy training. The current study shows that social media use does make a difference in ELIS. Future studies may further test the influence of social media use on specific types of ELIS problems

How are we the same or different : information needs and barriers of domestic and international students

The study sought to (1) investigate whether international students differ from domestic students in their information needs and barriers encountered, and (2) test the relative importance of students' domestic/international status against their gender and level of study. A survey was used to collect data from international and domestic undergraduate and graduate students in a US public university. The study collected 1259 responses. Regression analysis was used for analyzing the data. International and domestic students were found to be similar in their top-ranked needs (e.g., career information) and barriers (e.g., irrelevant and non-credible information). Compared to their gender and level of study, students' domestic/international status resulted in fewer significant differences in their needs and barriers. However, for the areas where domestic/international status was significant, its effect size was often prominent. Differences between domestic and international students are more notable in the barriers than in the information needs. Based on the findings, six propositions were developed. The implications for research and practice are discussed