Content analysis was performed on the top six core journals for 1990 in library and information science to determine the extent of research in the field. Articles (n=186) were examined for descriptive or inferential statistics and separately for the presence of mathematical models. Results show a marked (14%) increase in research for 1990, including a sharp rise in the use of descriptive statistics, and a slight decrease in the use of inferential statistics since 1985. While the highest inferential use was shown by "College and Research Libraries," the highest use of descriptive statistics, mathematical models, and overall research appeared in the "Journal of the American Society for Information Science" (JASIS). The conclusion is made that library and information science as a discipline continues to move rapidly forward in building a theoretical framework, with library science providing the empirical data to information science to develop theoretical models. (13 references) (8 tables/figures) (Author/DB)