Using Citation Analysis to Pursue a Core Collection of Journals for Communication Disorders

Citation analysis is used to identify a core collection of journals in communication disorders that provide 80% of the sample’s article citations. The bibliometric concept of “success-breeds-success” is reviewed, and its application to this sample of journals is quantified. The special problems of defining a core collection in a multidisciplinary field are discussed. Data is also provided on the types of publications cited, and the age distribution of cited journals

Impact of Full Text on Print Journal Use

The availability of full text journal articles online affects patrons\u27 use of the library\u27s print journal collection. This case study of a liberal arts college library collection quantifies the change in print journal use from 1996 to 2003. Variables that affect print journal use are discussed, highlighting college student needs and behaviors. Validity and reliability of journal use studies is investigated, and the use of Coefficient of Variance is described as a tool to measure the reliability of journal use counts. Results show that overall use of the print collection decreased by 52 percent. Use of print journals also available in full text showed a greater decrease in use than journals not available online. Changes in use for each of the academic disciplines represented at the college are reported

Life Spans of Library Journal\u27s Best Magazines of the Year

An annual column published in Library Journal reviews the best new magazines of the previous year. Despite being chosen for their quality, a portion of them fail at a rate described in this study. Reasons for failure and characteristics of ceased titles are described, as are difficulties in determining end dates from records in OCLC, Ulrich’s and the Serials Directory. This study reveals that OCLC records had not been closed for thirty percent of the ceased periodicals. A list of successful and widely held “best of” magazines is appended

How Much Do Core Journals Change over a Decade?

This study replicates the method of identifying core journals in the field of communication disorders published in the January 2001 issue of Library Resources and Technical Services to determine the degree to which the ranked list changed after ten years. Two measures are used to assess the reliability of rankings over time: Spearman’s rho rank correlations among the citing journals and coefficients of variation among cited journals. Rank correlations of groups of journals can mask important changes in rank for individual titles, so characteristics of the journals with the greatest movements in rank over a decade are explored. Major findings are that the discipline’s literature grew substantially over the decade, and the core journals remained stable over ten years (r s= 0.73). Coefficients of reliability calculated for journals that changed dramatically in rank suggest that approximately one-third of observed change in ranks is due to random variability in works cited

Failure Rates and Publication Status: Periodicals Reviewed in Library Journal (1980-2005) and Database Accuracy

The primary purpose of this study is to describe the life spans of periodicals reviewed in LJ from 1980 to 2005. Two secondary research questions that emerged from the prior study are more thoroughly investigated here. One is, “How accurately are end dates recorded in WorldCat, EBSCO’s Serials Directory, and Ulrichsweb?” (The rationale behind selecting these three databases and the process of using them for data collection are described below in Methodology). A second is, “How well does cooperative cataloging work to maintain accurate end dates for periodicals?” The author found in the prior study of LJ’s “Best Magazines of the Year” that records had not been closed in OCLC for almost 30% of ceased periodicals

Using Basic Quality Tools to Improve Production Yields and Product Quality in Manufacturing

As the U.S. and world economies emerge from years of recession, the hardwood flooring market is currently enjoying strong growth. With this growth come new challenges for hardwood flooring manufacturers. Strong competition from foreign markets and rising log prices are reducing product margins and forcing companies to think lean, while improving product quality. QEP Wood Flooring division, who struggled through the worst of the U.S. economic down turn is now regaining ground as a strong competitor in the hardwood flooring market. This turnaround is due to internal changes to decrease waste and increase product quality. This is accomplished by using the quality control department as a tool to aid manufacturing. To accomplish these changes, QEP implemented the use of quality tools and employee awareness training; as a result QEP increased overall product quality and yields while reducing customer claim pay outs

How to add the Turnitin originality report presentation to a Brookes Virtual course

Designed for VLE course designers only, this document explains how to create a link in the VLE that points to Lindsay Williams' video presentation about Turniti

Insights from Educational Psychology Part 5: Learning as a Social Act

Educational psychologists have developed several theories on how individuals learn via interactions with others. Prominent ideas that apply to reference librarianship and teaching information literacy are the theory of social constructivism, social-cognitive theory, and socio-cultural theory. These theories’ emphasis on the social aspect of learning underscore why collaborative learning within diverse groups can lead to deeper and broader learning. Techniques for effectively scaffolding student learning are introduced. We highlight the key role of collaboration for students to develop the ability to transfer knowledge, and the Guided Reciprocal Peer Questioning technique for developing that ability is described

Insights from Educational Psychology Part 4: Academic Self-Concept and Emotions

Students’ emotions are closely tied to their self-esteem, self-concept, and feelings of self-efficacy. Academic self-concept is specific to the educational context, so a student may be engaged in some academic pursuits but not connect to others. Disidentification from an academic pursuit usually causes withdrawal of effort. Anxiety is the emotion that has received the most attention from educational psychologists and librarians, but students also experience surprise, curiosity, enyoyment, confusion, frustration, and boredom. Confusion can be beneficial to learning if it is resolved before one feels overly frustrated

Using Program Slicing to Identify Faults in Software

This study explores the relationship between program slices and faults. The aim is to investigate whether the characteristics of program slices can be used to identify fault-prone software components. Slicing metrics and dependence clusters are used to characterise the slicing profile of a software component, then the relationship between the slicing profile of the component and the faults in that component are then analysed. Faults can increase the likelihood of a system becoming unstable causing problems for the development and evolution of the system. Identifying faultprone components is difficult and reliable predictors of faultproneness not easily identifiable. Program slicing is an established software engineering technique for the detection and correction of specific faults. An investigation is carried out into whether the use of program slicing can be extended as a reliable tool to predict fault-prone software components. Preliminary results are promising suggesting that slicing may offer valuable insights into fault-proneness