LIS Research 1965-2025: a content analysis of topics and methods in journal articles

Bibliometric Analysis of Library and Information Science Theses in the National Library of Sri Lanka

Bibliometric analysis is crucial to grasp scholarly communication trends, thematic changes and knowledge organization within a field. The present study aims to examine the research trends in Library and Information Science (LIS) by analyzing the post-graduate theses stored in the National Library of Sri Lanka (NLSL). The main objectives are to explore trends in the subject, development of themes, distribution of languages, institutional involvement and time-based patterns in LIS research production. This study differs from the previous ones which followed descriptive statistical approach, as it studies the salient research themes in Sri Lankan LIS scholarship using keyword frequency analysis, title-word analysis, sub-topic categorization and keyword co-occurrence analysis. The methodology that was followed was quantitative bibliometric. A total of 73 doctoral theses, gathered from the NLSL collection between 1985 and March 2025, were analyzed. Institutional records and Koha library management system were used to get data. Analytical tools which were used were descriptive statistics, thematic categorization, title-word analysis, keyword co-occurrence mapping and trend analysis. The results indicate that English is the main language of research – almost four fifths of the theses are in English and Sinhala comes after that with a small share, while Tamil is not used in the theses at all. Thematic analysis reveals that the traditional LIS areas of university libraries, library services and collection management have been well represented, while emerging areas like digital libraries, research data management, artificial intelligence applications, information systems and knowledge management are poorly represented. The results of the analysis of the co-occurrence of keywords show that there is a strong thematic relationship between the conventional library service themes and the integration of technological themes and interdisciplinary themes is not high. It is concluded that, the research in LIS in Sri Lanka has not been evenly developed thematically, hasn't diversified much and doesn't pay enough attention to new research directions in the global arena. The research has added value to LIS field by offering a national level thematic bibliographical mapping of the LIS theses and the identification of the main research gaps from which the future academic and policy directions will arise.

Mapping Library and Information Science Research in Sri Lanka: A Bibliometric Study of the Sri Lanka Library Review (2020–2025)

Bibliometric studies play an important role in evaluating the growth, structure and scholarly output of academic journals. The present study is a bibliometric survey of the Sri Lanka Library Review (SLLR), a journal published by the Sri Lanka Library Association, between 2020 and 2025. The study analysed 55 full research articles and two abstracts published in twelve issues. The main indicators examined were annual publication output, authorship and collaboration patterns, article length, reference use, language of publication, institutional affiliation and readership on the Sri Lanka Journals Online (SLJOL) platform. The findings show that SLLR maintained a regular publication record during the study period, with an average of approximately nine research articles per year. Single-authored publications accounted for 52.63% of the total output, while multi-authored publications accounted for 47.37%, resulting in a Degree of Collaboration of 0.47. Most articles were between 16 and 20 pages in length, and the majority cited between 11 and 30 references. English was the dominant language of publication (68.42%), followed by Sinhala (19.30%) and Tamil (12.28%). Article view data indicated measurable readership through SLJOL, with most articles receiving between 200 and 399 views during the data collection period. The University of Colombo was the highest contributing institution. The findings demonstrate that SLLR is an important national journal for Library and Information Science research in Sri Lanka and has the potential to further strengthen its scholarly visibility, research collaboration and multilingual contribution.

A bibliometric mapping of global research trends and future directions in entrepreneurial training

Digital discourse research in linguistics (2010-2025): A bibliometric and content analysis

This study integrates bibliometric visualization with content coding to clarify the development, knowledge structure, and research gaps of digital discourse studies, offering directions for future interdisciplinary inquiry.

A 20-year evolution study of digital music communication (2004-2024): Knowledge mapping and bibliometric analysis based on SCI/SSCI/A&HCI

Artificial intelligence has exerted a profound impact on the music industry, with digital music communication emerging as its representative core topic. To fill the research gap in comprehensive bibliometric reviews of this field, this study searched for SCI/SSCI/A&HCI-indexed articles on the theme of “digital music communication” from early 2004 to late 2024, screened literature following PRISMA standards, and finally obtained 173 sample articles. Using bibliometric tools VOSviewer and CiteSpace, this study conducted a comprehensive knowledge mapping analysis based on publication quantity, journal distribution, core authors, and hot topics. The visualized bibliometric analysis and review results aim to provide references for researchers and practitioners in related fields. The results show that research in this field has entered a mature stage, with fluctuating growth in the number of publications. The United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia are the main research forces, but a stable author collaboration network and journal system have not yet been formed. Research hotspots focus on three clusters: the sociocultural impact of digital music technology, educational applications of digital media, and information communication literacy. The development context has gone through a three-stage evolution from basic exploration of information literacy to technical education applications, and then to multi-field integration of socioculture.

Bibliometric Analysis of the B Corp Movement: Implications for Researchers in Türkiye

This study aims to map the intellectual and conceptual landscape of the B Corp movement within the scientific literature through a quantitative bibliometric analysis. Utilising the Web of Science (WoS) Core Collection database, the research analyses 108 peer-reviewed articles published between 2007 and 2025. Data visualisation and network analysis, including co-authorship and keyword co-occurrence, were performed using the VOSviewer software. The results show that the number of publications has been growing exponentially since 2011, and the majority of the articles are in the business and management field. A total of 282 keywords were evaluated, and “B Corp” (total link strength: 315) and “Corporate Social Responsibility” (total link strength: 92) were identified as central conceptual pillars. The most cited influential work is by Julie Battilana and Alnoor Ebrahim, with 728 citations. Geographic concentration is still strong in the USA and Europe, but research on emerging economies, such as Türkiye, where there are presently 15 certified B Corps, is critically lacking. The results show a conceptual move from general corporate responsibility to specific issues of 'social impact' and 'employee ownership'. The paper concludes with a research agenda for future research that can help bridge the gap between global norms and local institutional contexts, particularly for researchers in Türkiye.