This literature review examines nine studies within a seven-year time period (1990-1996) concentrating on the use and users of government-produced information. Parallels are drawn in current status of knowledge, but limitations are pointed out in what is becoming an abandoned form of research in government documents librarianship. (Author/AEF)

Examines the definition of journal coverage overlap in abstracting and indexing services during the past 30 years of research and expands the definition using a matrix of dissimilarity values. Multidimensional scaling analysis is applied to graphically demonstrate this definition and a naive secondary tool selection algorithm is presented. (43…

Posits a positive association between an academic department's publishing output and (1) whether its coursework requires library use; (2) how frequently its faculty require their classes to take library tours; (3) its faculty's belief that library tours contribute to students' developing useful library skills; and (4) students' ability to use the…

Uses citation data to examine the pattern of diffusion in the academic literatures of the sciences, social sciences, and the arts and humanities. Identifies a mathematical model which describes this pattern, and notes that this model, unlike linear models, describes the processes of both adoption and disadoption of an innovation. (MM)

The institutional affiliations of authors of all articles published in six social work journals between 1989 and 1993 were tabulated to produce a ranking of the colleges and universities whose faculty are making the most substantive contributions to the social work literature. Results are compared with those of two previous studies covering…

To help college teachers assist students in approaching reference materials to obtain citations, basic points that students should identify within citations are specified, and useful classroom techniques and materials are suggested. Common errors in search strategies are also noted. Some suggestions are made for selection of indexes for searching.…

Increasing subscription prices and the number of journals available make it difficult for libraries to supply all needed material for scholarly research. Bibliographic citations in graduate students' theses and dissertations, cost-per-use statistics, and shelving statistics were used for psychology journal selection in the St. Mary's University…

Presents a number of brief reports on the latest trends and current circumstances surrounding African American progress in higher education. Discussions include an analysis of financial barriers, Harvard's push for diversification, academic citation systems and black scholarship, and the 1993 court ruling on Dr. Leonard Jeffries and Afrocentrism.…

Reports on findings from a citation analysis of publications of university molecular-biology faculty that examined materials cited in published articles to determine the nature of information used in their research. Ranked lists of cited journals provide implications for library services, collection development, and the potential for electronic…

Analysis of 9,442 headings assigned by the Library of Congress to bibliographic records disclosed errors and obsolete elements involving MARC coding, terminology in main headings and subdivisions, application of subdivisions, and in mechanical elements. Awareness and understanding of patterns of errors and obsolescence in subject headings should…

Purpose of this study was to examine whether data collected locally by biology faculty at a large research university may provide a better indicator of journals they value than data compiled over a broad geographic area, to relate those journal issues cited by faculty to the holdings of the library, and to determine how faculty access articles…

The articles published in four prominent distance education journals between 1997 and 2002 were categorized and the references cited were tallied. The study provides an opportunity to examine research topics, methods, and citation trends. The results can be used to review current research trends and to explore potential research directions.…

In the Western academic tradition the literature review is seen as an essential first step toward legitimate research. Literature reviews, however, are also standard in many other scholarly publishing and proposal formats, whether as material included within the text or as provided in footnotes. The literature review serves to establish the…

In an era of spiraling costs, librarians must carefully assess literature use among their patron groups when making decisions on selection, deselection, and storage of journals. A citation analysis was conducted using a group of 52 papers submitted by research physicians at the Summa Health System (Akron, Ohio) for a research award competition…

Describes a study which demonstrates that unintended logical connections within scientific literature, which potentially reveal new knowledge, are unmarked by reference citations or other bibliographic clues. Citation analysis of two separate literatures in biomedicine that have a logical link is used to support this hypothesis. (Author/CLB)