The Influence of Information Availability on Citations of Theses and Dissertations in Library and Information Science
Date Issued
2008
Date
2008
Author(s)
Tsai, Tien-I
Abstract
The rapid development of the Internet and the growth of electronic resources have exerted great impacts on the ways one obtains and uses information. The prevalence of the Internet has made information more widely available, and users can now have timely access to resources they need in a variety of ways. Researchers have emphasized the importance of information availability. As electronic resources continue to grow at a rapid rate, there have been more web citations in academic works, which leads to changing patterns in citations. Some researchers have investigated how citation patterns have changed from pre- to post-Internet age, and have pointed out that we may acquire a better understanding of citation patterns through different research methods. In light of these concerns, this study has three purposes: 1) to examine the meaning of information availability to graduate students when they cite sources in their works; 2) to compare the citation patterns in LIS theses and dissertations in the pre- and post-Internet age; 3) to analyze the patterns of web citation in theses and dissertations as well as the concerns of graduate students when citing electronic resources.his study includes citation analysis, citation checking and in-depth interviews to explore the influence of information availability on citations in theses and dissertations. The data comes from 246 theses and dissertations in the Department of LIS at National Taiwan University from 1987-88 to 2006-07 academic years. A stratified systematic sampling is employed by selecting 81 sample theses and dissertations from pre-Internet age (1987-88 to 1996-97) and post-Internet age (1997-98 to 2006-07). Meanwhile, 22 theses and dissertations, of which citations were checked, were also included to perform a citation analysis of 11,425 citations from a total of 103 theses and dissertations. In addition, citations of 33 theses and dissertations from the 2005-06 to 2006-07 academic years were checked with the NTU collection. Interviews were conducted with 17 volunteers who graduated within the most recent two academic years. esults of this study indicate that: 1) the Internet, personal collection, nearby libraries, and other informal channels are the preferred sources of information for graduate students when citing information in their thesis or dissertations; 2) graduate students tend to cite the most accessible information; 3) citations of theses and dissertations are mainly from journals and books in Chinese and English published within ten years; 4) in the post-Internet age, the number of citation has declined, the document type has become more diverse, and the currency has enhanced; 5) graduate students tend to cite electronic resources in print format, and thus the research may underestimate the total web citations; 6) graduate students are mainly concerned with the authority and academic credibility when citing information from the Internet.
Subjects
citation analysis
citing behavior
information availability
library and information science
local availability
theses and dissertations
web citation
Type
thesis
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