The State of Art for Library and Information Science Research Trends in the Middle East: An Exploratory Analysis

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Dokuz Eylul University Rectorate Information Center

2 Knowledge and Information Science, Behavioural Science, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran

3 Information Science, Faculty of Computing and Information Technology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

4 Business and Management, International Relations Office, Alsancak, İzmir, Turkey

Abstract
 This study examines scientific productivity in Middle Eastern (ME) countries within the discipline of Library and Information Science (LIS) for the entire period for which data is available, 1979-2023. The productivity of ME countries in all document types was only 1.49% under the LIS research area. Although academic productivity has increased considerably over the years, the contribution of ME researchers to global LIS discourse remains limited. The five most productive ME countries in LIS are Turkey (23rd), Iran (26th), Israel (31st), Saudi Arabia (42nd), and United Arab Emirates (46th). While Israel ranks the highest for international collaboration, institutions in Iran and Turkey are more likely to cooperate at national levels. Articles in the field of LIS were found to be highly related to computer science (f: 1894), business economics (f: 612), and health-related research fields (f: 206). In addition, knowledge management, social media, academic libraries, information retrieval, Internet, e-government, and bibliometrics were the most intensively studied topics. The study is crucial to appreciate the general situation of the LIS field in a region containing cities that have hosted the largest libraries in history (such as Alexandria and Beytü'l-Hikme). The Middle East has an important heritage for library and information science and this study’s findings open the discussion of how the region can perform better. Policymakers and those developing higher education policies in the region should emphasize infrastructure development, public awareness, education, research and academic programs, international and regional cooperation, policy, and support for collaboration and sharing.
 
 

Keywords

Subjects


Abdelghaffar, H. & Hassan, L. (2016(. The use of social networks in achieving e-democracy in the Arab spring countries. International Journal of E-Adoption (IJEA), 8(2), 17-33. https://doi.org/10.4018/IJEA.2016070102
Akyüz, Z. C. & Correia, R. A. (2017). A bibliometric analysis of high impact research in the Middle East using champion works. International Information & Library Review, 49(1), 11-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/10572317.2016.1227194
Aladwani, A. M. & Palvia, P. C. (2002). Developing and validating an instrument for measuring user-perceived web quality. Information & Management, 39(6), 467-476. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-7206(01)00113-6
Alalwan, A. A., Dwivedi, Y. K. & Rana, N. P. (2017). Factors influencing adoption of mobile banking by Jordanian bank customers: Extending UTAUT2 with trust. International Journal of Information Management, 37(3), 99-110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2017.01.002
The State of Art for Library and Information…
IJISM, Vol. 22, No. 4 October-December 2024
142
Alijanianzadeh, M. & Saboury, A. S. (2014). A Survey of scientific publication by the Islamic Azad University from beginning to February 2013. International Journal of Information Science and Management, 12(1), 1-10. Retrieved from https://ijism.isc.ac/article_698204_0e6b255d9efc669b7d519adc80b8af7a.pdf
Alinezhad Chamazkoti, F. & Mirhaghjoo Langerudi, S. (2024). Scientometric Analysis and Co-authoring Patterns and Citations of Articles in Iranian and Turkish Journals Indexed in WoS. Journal of Scientometrics, 9(2), 413-444. https://doi.org/10.22070/rsci.2022.14765.1513 [in Persia]
Arafat, S. & Ashoori, E. (2019(. Search foundations: Toward a science of technology-mediated experience. Massachusetts: MIT Press.
Atapour, H., Hamdipour, A. & Shenavar, N. (2022(. Measuring Research Productivity of LIS Departments in the Middle East. International Journal of Information Science and Management, 20)2(, 35-53. https://dorl.net/dor/20.1001.1.20088302.2022.20.2.3.8
Atılgan, D. (1991). Education and library. Turkish Librarianship, 5(2), 69-72. Retrieved from http://www.tk.org.tr/index.php/TK/article/view/1233/1227 [in Turkish]
Ayal, M. & Seidman, A. (2009). An empirical investigation of the value of integrating enterprise information systems: the case of medical imaging informatics. Journal of Management Information Systems, 26(2), 43-68. https://doi.org/10.2753/MIS0742-1222260203
Baysal, J. (1987). New Concepts, Tools, Methods in Librarianship. İstanbul: İstanbul Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi. Retrieved from https://cdn.istanbul.edu.tr/file/JTA6CLJ8T5/738F7932EDDE471E9EB5DB6CBC4B673F [in Turkish]
Bazm, S., Bazm. R. & Sardari, F. (2019). Growth of health literacy research activity in three Middle Eastern countries. BMJ Health Care Inform, 26, e000027. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjhci-2019-000027
Bronstein, J. (2007). Current trends in library and information studies curricula around the world: Looking for the user-centred approach. Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, 5(2/3), 59 -78. https://doi.org/10.1108/14779960710837579
Cuba, N. (2015). Research note: Sankey diagrams for visualizing land cover dynamics. Landscape and Urban Planning, 139, 163-167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2015.03.010
CWTS (2023). Leiden University, The Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS). Retrieved from https://www.cwts.nl/
Damar, M. (2022). How do Iranian and Turkish researchers collaborate? Business intelligence based decision support tool for monitoring the scientific collaborations. Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences Journal (Online), 24(2), 684-707. https://doi.org/10.26745/ahbvuibfd.1102805
Damar, M., Seifi, L. & Alshaheen, R. (2023). Scientific productivity in the library and information science research area in Middle Eastern countries and what should we do better? In 2023 ASIS&T Mid-Year Conference (pp.1-5). Arizona, United States of America. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7804459
Dolin, R. H., Alschuler, L., Boyer, S., Beebe, C., Behlen, F. M., Biron, P. V. & Shabo, A. (2006). HL7 clinical document architecture, release 2. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 13(1), 30-39. https://doi.org/10.1197/jamia.M1888
Muhammet Damar / Leili Seifi / Sachi Arafat / Olgun Çiçek
IJISM, Vol. 22, No. 4 October-December 2024
143
Erfanmanesh, M. A., Didegah, F. & Omidvar, S. (2010). Research productivity and impact of Library and Information Science in the Web of Science. Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science, 15(3), 85-95. Retrieved from https://mjlis.um.edu.my/index.php/MJLIS/article/view/6944
Gazni, A., Sugimoto, C. R. & Didegah, F. (2012). Mapping world scientific collaboration: Authors, institutions, and countries. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 63(2), 323-335. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.21688
Ghanadinezhad, F., Osareh, F. & Ghane, M. R. (2023). Approaches and methods for predicting the trend of scientific outputs: Scoping review. Journal of Scientometrics, 9(1), 341-386. https://doi.org/10.22070/RSCI.2022.14777.1515 [in Persian]
Guzeller, C. O. & Celiker, N. (2019). Bibliometrical analysis of Asia Pacific journal of tourism research. Asia Pacific journal of tourism research, 24(1), 108-120. https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2018.1541182
Hamza, M. & Ghoneim, M. (2000). Alexandria Library, Egypt. Structural Engineering International, 10(4), 239-241. https://doi.org/10.2749/101686600780481437
Hanafizadeh, P., Behboudi, M., Koshksaray, A. A. & Tabar, M. J. S. (2014). Mobile-banking adoption by Iranian bank clients. Telematics and Informatics, 31(1), 62-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2012.11.001
Harrison, M. I., Koppel, R. & Bar-Lev, S. (2007). Unintended consequences of information technologies in health care--an interactive sociotechnical analysis. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association: JAMIA, 14(5), 542–549. https://doi.org/10.1197/jamia.M2384
Hosseini, E. & Erfanmanesh, A. (2015). Cross-time analysis of countries co-authorship networks in library & information science research. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal). 1316. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/1316
IASI (2023). Institute for system analysis and computer science "Antonio Ruberti" (IASI). Retrieved from https://www.iasi.cnr.it/new/research
Ibrahim, B. (2018). Arab Spring’s effect on scientific productivity and research performance in Arab countries. Scientometrics, 117(3), 1555-1586. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-018-2935-z
Igbaria, M., Zinatelli, N., Cragg, P. & Cavaye, A.L. (1997). Personal computing acceptance factors in small firms: A structural equation model. MIS Quarterly, 21(3), 279-305. https://doi.org/10.2307/249498
IletisimGov. (2022). UN changes Turkey's foreign language name. Retrieved from https://www.iletisim.gov.tr/turkce/dis_basinda_turkiye/detay/bm-turkiyenin-yabanci-dildeki-ismini-degistirdi#:~:text=T%C3%BCrkiye%2C%20Aral%C4%B1k%202021'den%20beri,yerine%20%22T%C3%BCrkiye%22yi%20kullan%C4%B1yor [in Turkish]
ISTIC (2023). The Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China. Retrieved from https://www.istic.ac.cn/html/1/529/558/index.html
Jabeen, M., Imran, M., Badar, K., Rafiq, M., Jabeen, M. & Yun, L. (2017). Scientific collaboration of Library & Information Science research in China (2012-2013). Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science, 22(2), 67-83. https://doi.org/10.22452/mjlis.vol22no2.5
The State of Art for Library and Information…
IJISM, Vol. 22, No. 4 October-December 2024
144
Johnson, C.A. (2007). Library and information science education in developing countries. The International Information & Library Review, 39(2), 64-71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iilr.2007.02.011
Karahanna, E. & Straub, D.W. (1999). The psychological origins of perceived usefulness and ease-of-use. Information & management, 35(4), 237-250. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-7206(98)00096-2
Karayalçın, Y. (1957). Our library and bibliography issues. Turkish Librarianship, 6(3), 61-81. Retrieved from http://www.tk.org.tr/index.php/TK/article/view/2126/2094 [in Turkisk]
Karnieli-Miller, O., Strier, R. & Pessach, L. (2009). Power relations in qualitative research. Qualitative Health Research, 19(2), 279-289. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732308329306
Keseroğlu, H. S. (2005). The essence of the library: Knowledge in prehistoric times. Turkish Librarianship, 19(3), 297-307. Retrieved from http://www.tk.org.tr/index.php/TK/article/view/113/113 [in Turkish]
Khajouei, R., Zahiri Esfahani, M. & Jahani, Y. (2017). Comparison of heuristic and cognitive walkthrough usability evaluation methods for evaluating health information systems. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 24(1), 55-60. https://doi.org/10.1093/jamia/ocw100
Köklü, E. (2009). The relationship between museum, archive, library materials and cataloging. Doctoral Thesis, Istanbul University, Institute of Social Sciences, Department of Information and Document Management. Retrieved from http://nek.istanbul.edu.tr:4444/ekos/TEZ/44372.pdf [in Turkish]
Lu, L. & Thies, C. G. (2013). War, rivalry, and state building in the Middle East. Political Research Quarterly, 66(2), 239-253. https://doi.org/10.1177/1065912912448538
Lucidchart (2023). What is a concept map? Retrieved from https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/concept-map
Lund, B. D. (2020). Who really contributes to information science research? An analysis of disciplinarity and nationality of contributors to ten top journals. Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science, 25(3), 15-29. https://doi.org/10.22452/mjlis.vol25no3.2
Maamari, B. E. & Zein, H. E. (2014). The impact of social media on the political interests of the youth in Lebanon at the wake of the Arab spring. Social Science Computer Review, 32(4), 496-505. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439313512777
Mansour, E. (2012). The role of social networking sites (SNSs) in the January 25th revolution in Egypt. Library Review, 61(2), 128-159. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242531211220753
Mortezaie, L. & Naghshineh, N. (2002). A comparative case study of graduate courses in library and information studies in the UK, USA, India and Iran: Lessons for Iranian LIS professionals. Library Review, 15(1), 14-23. https://doi.org/10.1108/00242530210413904
Maurya, S. K., Akhandanand, S. & Ngurtinkhuma, R. K. (2019). Contribution of library and information science research in scientific research of Middle East countries: A scientometric assessment. KIIT - Journal of Library and Information Management, 6(2), 194-203. http://dx.doi.org/10.5958/2455-8060.2019.00025.9
Nadi-Ravandi, S. & Batooli, Z. (2022). A 10-year (2010-2019) scientometrics assessment of Iranian and Turkish scholarly outputs based on Scopus database. Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science, 27(3), 21-47. https://doi.org/10.22452/mjlis.vol27no3.2
Muhammet Damar / Leili Seifi / Sachi Arafat / Olgun Çiçek
IJISM, Vol. 22, No. 4 October-December 2024
145
Nettleton, D. (2014). Chapter 6‐Selection of variables and factor derivation. In Morgan Kaufmann Commercial data mining: Processing, analysis and modeling for predictive analytics projects (pp.79-104). https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-416602-8.00006-6
Safahieh, H. & Khosravi, M. (2020). Investigating the scientific participation of Iranian postgraduate students in the field of knowledge and information science based on the data of the Islamic World Science Citation Center (ISC). Scientometrics Research Journal Bi-Qualterly Journal of Shahed University, 6(2), 230-247. https://doi.org/10.22070/rsci.2020.4439.1291 [in Persian]
Saric, J., Utzinger, J. & Bonfoh, B. (2018). Research productivity and main publishing institutions in Cote d'Ivoire, 2000-2016. Globalization and Health, 14, 88. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-018-0406-1
Seifi, L. (2021). Status of Scientific production of University of Birjand in Web of Science during 2000-2018. Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal), 5977. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/5977
Sharma, J. (2018). Research productivity of library and information science faculty: A bibliometric study of select Universities of Punjab and Chandigarh. Journal of Advancements in Library Sciences, 5(2). 80–86. https://doi.org/10.37591/joals.v5i2.682
Shukla, A. & Maurya, S. K. (2018a). Performance of scholarly communications of LIS in global perspectives: A Scientometrics Assessment. Library Progress (International), 38(2), 199-210. https://doi.org/10.5958/2320-317X.2018.00021.1
Shukla, A. & Maurya, S. K. (2018b). Research performance of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries in library and information science: A scientometric analysis. COLLNET Journal of Scientometrics and Information Management, 12(1), 73–81. https://doi.org/10.1080/09737766.2017.1354478
Siddique, N., Ur Rehman, Sh., Shakil Ahmad, Sh., Abbas, A. & Ajmal Khan, M. (2023). Library and information science research in the Arab World: A bibliometric analysis 1951–2021. Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, 72(1/2), 138-159. https://doi.org/10.1108/gkmc-06-2021-0103
SPRU (2023). University of Sussex, SPRU-science policy research unit. Retrieved from https://www.sussex.ac.uk/business-school/people-and-departments/spru
Sun, J. & Yuan, B. Z. (2020). Bibliometric mapping of top papers in Library and Information Science based on the Essential Science Indicators Database. Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science, 25(2), 61-76. https://doi.org/10.22452/mjlis.vol25no2.4
Tripathi, M., Kumar, S., Sonker, S. K. & Babbar, P. (2018). Occurrence of author keywords and keywords plus in social sciences and humanities research: A preliminary study. COLLNET Journal of Scientometrics and Information Management, 12(2), 215-232. https://doi.org/10.1080/09737766.2018.1436951
UKRI (2023). United Kingdom research and innovation. Retrieved from https://www.ukri.org/
Uzun, A. (2002). Library and information science research in developing countries and Eastern European countries: A brief bibliometric perspective. International Information and Library Review, 34(1), 21-33. https://doi.org/10.1006/iilr.2002.0182
Valderrama-Zurián, J.C., García-Zorita, C., Marugán-Lázaro, S. & Sanz-Casado, E. (2021). Comparison of MeSH terms and KeyWords Plus terms for more accurate classification in medical research fields. A case study in cannabis research. Information Processing & Management, 58(5), 102658. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ipm.2021.102658
The State of Art for Library and Information…
IJISM, Vol. 22, No. 4 October-December 2024
146
Wellisch, H. H. (1981). Ebla: The world's oldest library. The Journal of Library History (1974-1987), 16(3), 488-500. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25541212
Williams, R. (2011). The Cold War in the Middle East: Regional conflict and the superpowers 1967–73. Cold War History, 11(2), 289-290. https://doi.org/10.1080/14682745.2011.569166
Yıldız, N. (1985). Ancient libraries. Istanbul: Marmara University Publications. [in Turkish]
Zakaria, M. Sh. (2015). Scholarly productivity of Arab librarians in Library and Information Science journals from 1981 to 2010: An analytical study. IFLA Journal, 41(1), 70-79. http://doi.org/10.1177/0340035215570556
Zeinoun, P., Akl, E. A., Maalouf, F.T. & Meho, L. I. (2020). The Arab region’s contribution to global mental health research (2009–2018): A bibliometric analysis. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 182. https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffpsyt.2020.00182
Zhang, J., Yu, Q., Zheng, F., Long, C., Lu, Z. & Duan, Z. (2016). Comparing keywords plus of WOS and author keywords: A case study of patient adherence research. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 67(4), 967-972. https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.23437
Zyoud, S. E. H., Al-Jabi, S. W., Sweileh, W. M. & Awang, R. (2014). A bibliometric analysis of toxicology research productivity in Middle Eastern Arab countries during a 10-year period (2003–2012). Health Research Policy and Systems, 12, 4. https://doi.org/10.1186/1478-4505-12-4
Volume 22, Issue 4
Autumn 2024
Pages 123-153

  • Receive Date 09 October 2023
  • Revise Date 28 September 2024
  • Accept Date 28 September 2024