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1 – 10 of over 3000Amalia Mas-Bleda and Mike Thelwall
The purpose of this paper is to assess the educational value of prestigious and productive Spanish scholarly publishers based on mentions of their books in online scholarly syllabi…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the educational value of prestigious and productive Spanish scholarly publishers based on mentions of their books in online scholarly syllabi.
Design/methodology/approach
Syllabus mentions of 15,117 books from 27 publishers were searched for, manually checked and compared with Microsoft Academic (MA) citations.
Findings
Most books published by Ariel, Síntesis, Tecnos and Cátedra have been mentioned in at least one online syllabus, indicating that their books have consistently high educational value. In contrast, few books published by the most productive publishers were mentioned in online syllabi. Prestigious publishers have both the highest educational impact based on syllabus mentions and the highest research impact based on MA citations.
Research limitations/implications
The results might be different for other publishers. The online syllabus mentions found may be a small fraction of the syllabus mentions of the sampled books.
Practical implications
Authors of Spanish-language social sciences and humanities books should consider general prestige when selecting a publisher if they want educational uptake for their work.
Originality/value
This is the first study assessing book publishers based on syllabus mentions.
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Keywords
Direct, administer, manage. All of these are words applied to those who lead libraries, and they are usually applied interchangeably. But not only do they have unique definitions…
Abstract
Direct, administer, manage. All of these are words applied to those who lead libraries, and they are usually applied interchangeably. But not only do they have unique definitions, they each carry a distinct implication for library managers and the organizations they lead. “Direct” means to provide a forward-thinking grounding for action in an organization (and this word’s meaning is most closely synonymous with “lead”). “Administer” suggests dispensing or carrying out, for instance, policy. The word is in some ways distant from the creation of policy or direction. “Manage” frequently is limited to the performance or overseeing of tasks on a daily basis. None of these words is false or pejorative when applied to the library, but each is limited in some important ways. The genuine work of guiding actions in libraries is actually an iterative balance of all three of the functions denoted by these words. If the terms are conflated in the everyday usage of our profession, from where does the confused usage come? Is understanding of the aforementioned balance common in practice? How clearly is the range and complexity of action communicated in educational programs? (Terminology presents some problems; for ease of expression and reading, the whole complex of action will be referred to as management, understanding that the usage here encompasses all requisite connotations.)
Daniel Torres-Salinas, Juan Gorraiz and Nicolas Robinson-Garcia
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the capabilities, functionalities and appropriateness of Altmetric.com as a data source for the bibliometric analysis of books in…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the capabilities, functionalities and appropriateness of Altmetric.com as a data source for the bibliometric analysis of books in comparison to PlumX.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors perform an exploratory analysis on the metrics the Altmetric Explorer for Institutions, platform offers for books. The authors use two distinct data sets of books. On the one hand, the authors analyze the Book Collection included in Altmetric.com. On the other hand, the authors use Clarivate’s Master Book List, to analyze Altmetric.com’s capabilities to download and merge data with external databases. Finally, the authors compare the findings with those obtained in a previous study performed in PlumX.
Findings
Altmetric.com combines and orderly tracks a set of data sources combined by DOI identifiers to retrieve metadata from books, being Google Books its main provider. It also retrieves information from commercial publishers and from some Open Access initiatives, including those led by university libraries, such as Harvard Library. We find issues with linkages between records and mentions or ISBN discrepancies. Furthermore, the authors find that automatic bots affect greatly Wikipedia mentions to books. The comparison with PlumX suggests that none of these tools provide a complete picture of the social attention generated by books and are rather complementary than comparable tools.
Practical implications
This study targets different audience which can benefit from the findings. First, bibliometricians and researchers who seek for alternative sources to develop bibliometric analyses of books, with a special focus on the Social Sciences and Humanities fields. Second, librarians and research managers who are the main clients to which these tools are directed. Third, Altmetric.com itself as well as other altmetric providers who might get a better understanding of the limitations users encounter and improve this promising tool.
Originality/value
This is the first study to analyze Altmetric.com’s functionalities and capabilities for providing metric data for books and to compare results from this platform, with those obtained via PlumX.
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The purpose of this paper is to determine whether a sufficient number of e‐books is available in science streams from different publishers to satisfy the need of an academic…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine whether a sufficient number of e‐books is available in science streams from different publishers to satisfy the need of an academic library to develop an e‐book collection based on its collection development policy. This study aims to identify e‐book equivalents for print books acquired by Central Science Library, University of Delhi.
Design/methodology/approach
This study provides the in‐depth quantitative analysis according to title‐by‐title selection of e‐books from various international publishers compared to the recommended books for different science courses of the University of Delhi. The study was conducted following that of Price and McDonald which shows that around 30 per cent of print books have e‐book equivalents. The data collected were analyzed by using a simple method of calculation and percentages were calculated to interpret the results of the study.
Findings
The results show that only about 17per cent of print books have e‐book equivalents available from different publishers, fulfilling only 9‐15 per cent of the requirements of most of the courses – something that does not match the library's collection development policy.
Research limitations/implications
The present study is based on the books recommended in the curriculum of different science courses of the University of Delhi for the academic year 2009‐2010. According to subject‐wise distribution of e‐books variation of about 2 per cent in the findings occurred, as some books are mentioned in the curriculum of more than one course. This study provides some constructive suggestions which may help librarians to explore ways to spend the budget for collection development of e‐books in a more appropriate way.
Originality/value
As this paper is based on in‐depth quantitative analysis of availability of e‐books according to need of a particular academic library, generalization about availability of e‐books cannot be made. However, it contributes to trace the growth of e‐books and suggests some alternatives to develop e‐book collection. Further studies can be done for different library settings to find out their need for and availability of e‐books.
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Alesia A. Zuccala, Elea Giménez-Toledo and Ginevra Peruginelli
This paper aims to conduct a comprehensive analysis to evaluate the current situation of journals, examine the factors that influence their development, and establish an…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to conduct a comprehensive analysis to evaluate the current situation of journals, examine the factors that influence their development, and establish an evaluation index system and model. The objective is to enhance the theory and methodologies used for journal evaluation and provide guidance for their positive development.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses empirical data from economics journals to analyse their evaluation dimensions, methods, index system and evaluation framework. This study then assigns weights to journal data using single and combined evaluations in three dimensions: influence, communication and novelty. It calculates several evaluation metrics, including the explanation rate, information entropy value, difference coefficient and novelty degree. Finally, this study applies the concept of fuzzy mathematics to measure the final results.
Findings
The use of affiliation degree and fuzzy Borda number can synthesize ranking and score differences among evaluation methods. It combines internal objective information and improves model accuracy. The novelty of journal topics positively correlates with both the journal impact factor and social media mentions. In addition, journal communication power indicators compensate for the shortcomings of traditional citation analysis. Finally, the three-dimensional representative evaluation index serves as a reminder to academic journals to avoid the vortex of the Matthew effect.
Originality/value
This paper proposes a journal evaluation model comprising academic influence, communication power and novelty dimensions. It uses fuzzy Borda evaluation to address issues related to the weighing of single evaluation methods. This study also analyses the relationship of the three dimensions and offers insights for journal development in the new media era.
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Kyle M.L. Jones and Amy VanScoy
The purpose of this paper is to reveal how instructors discuss student data and information privacy in their syllabi.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to reveal how instructors discuss student data and information privacy in their syllabi.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors collected a mixture of publicly accessible and privately disclosed syllabi from 8,302 library and information science (LIS) courses to extract privacy language. Using privacy concepts from the literature and emergent themes, the authors analyzed the corpus.
Findings
Most syllabi did not mention privacy (98 percent). Privacy tended to be mentioned in the context of digital tools, course communication, policies and assignments.
Research limitations/implications
The transferability of the findings is limited because they address only one field and professional discipline, LIS, and address syllabi for only online and hybrid courses.
Practical implications
The findings suggest a need for professional development for instructors related to student data privacy. The discussion provides recommendations for creating educational experiences that support syllabi development and constructive norming opportunities.
Social implications
Instructors may be making assumptions about the degree of privacy literacy among their students or not value student privacy. Each raises significant concerns if privacy is instrumental to intellectual freedom and processes critical to the educational experience.
Originality/value
In an age of educational data mining and analytics, this is one of the first studies to consider if and how instructors are addressing student data privacy in their courses, and the study initiates an important conversation for reflecting on privacy values and practices.
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Sandra A. Rogers and Gurupreet K. Khalsa
The syllabus serves as a plan that can be utilized for discussing course (re)design. The Online Community of Inquiry Syllabus Rubric© (OCOISR) was developed for collaborators to…
Abstract
The syllabus serves as a plan that can be utilized for discussing course (re)design. The Online Community of Inquiry Syllabus Rubric© (OCOISR) was developed for collaborators to review online course plans for continuous improvement. It assesses the potential to engender cognitive presence (CP), social presence (SP), teaching presence (TP), and learner support (LS) in online college courses based on interactive treatments. In one case study, two raters with advanced degrees in instructional design and online teaching experience reviewed 31 online syllabi across disciplines to determine their potential for producing an online community of inquiry. They achieved a good degree of consistency among measurements, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.821, p < 0.001, and 95% CI [0.40, 0.932]. Raters found above-average CP, moderate SP, and basic TP. These results mirrored that of the previous case study at a different institution. Other findings included basic educational technology use in both cases. The lead author, serving as the college’s instructional designer, provided course-specific recommendations to instructors based on their syllabi review for action research. This chapter describes the use of the OCOISR© to maximize student–student, student–teacher, and student–content planned engagement for improved online learning experiences.
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Melissa Beuoy and Katherine Boss
The purpose of this paper was to develop a rubric based on the ACRL framework to analyze departmental syllabi for opportunities to scaffold information literacy instruction. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to develop a rubric based on the ACRL framework to analyze departmental syllabi for opportunities to scaffold information literacy instruction. The rubric provided a replicable method of gathering and analyzing data using course syllabi to enable instruction librarians to strategically embed information literacy instruction within a disciplinary curriculum.
Design/methodology/approach
This study examined 231 syllabi from three departments at a large American university. The authors developed and normed a rubric based on ACRL’s 2015 Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education and coded the syllabi for the presence of these six themes using a three-indicator scale: not present, implied or explicitly stated. Cohen’s kappa calculations for interrater reliability was 0.92, which indicates that the raters had a high level of agreement and that the rubric could be a reliable instrument to replicate this sort of study.
Findings
The analysis revealed numerous opportunities for targeted, curriculum-integrated instruction in each department at the undergraduate and graduate levels. It also offered disciplinary insights on the Framework within and across each program. Thesedata can be used to inform conversations with program administrators about scaffolding information literacy interventions across a curriculum.
Originality/value
This study contributes a new instrument with which to analyze syllabi for information literacy outcomes to develop curricular maps and conduct strategic instructional outreach. The data demonstrated that the rubric is reliable and could be used to replicate this study in a variety of programs or institutions. Authors have presented at Library Instruction West, July 2018.
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Katherine Boss and Emily Drabinski
The purpose of this research paper was to establish a replicable method of gathering and analyzing data using course syllabi to enable instruction librarians to strategically…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research paper was to establish a replicable method of gathering and analyzing data using course syllabi to enable instruction librarians to strategically embed information literacy instruction within a disciplinary curriculum.
Design/methodology/approach
A set of syllabi from the School of Business was evaluated for information literacy learning outcomes and library use requirements using a set of rubric-based content analysis questions. The questions were normed prior to coding to ensure reliability, and interrater reliability was established using two measures: the per cent agreement method and Krippendorff’s alpha.
Findings
The results revealed strategic opportunities for scalable, curriculum-integrated instruction in the School of Business: a group of 28 courses that could be targeted for in-depth instruction, and eight courses whose outcomes could be met through more tailored instruction focused on information access skills.
Originality/value
The reported research study provides a method for evaluating holistic information literacy outcomes in course syllabi, an improvement on prior syllabus analysis projects. Additionally, the reliability of the data means that the study design may be replicated in a variety of institutional contexts.
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