(Non-)use of Foucault’s Archaeology of Knowledge and Order of Things in LIS journal literature, 1990-2015
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a close, detailed analysis of the frequency, nature, and depth of visible use of two of Foucault’s classic early works, The Archaeology of Knowledge and The Order of Things, by library, and information science/studies (LIS) scholars.
Design/methodology/approach
The study involved conducting extensive full-text searches in a large number of electronically available LIS journal databases to find citations of Foucault’s works, then examining each citing article and each individual citation to evaluate the nature and depth of each use.
Findings
Contrary to initial expectations, the works in question are relatively little used by LIS scholars in journal articles, and where they are used, such use is often only vague, brief, or in passing. In short, works traditionally seen as central and foundational to discourse analysis appear relatively little in discussions of discourse.
Research limitations/implications
The study was limited to a certain batch of LIS journal articles that are electronically available in full text at UCLA, where the study was conducted. The results potentially could change by focussing on a fuller or different collection of journals or on non-journal literature. More sophisticated bibliometric techniques could reveal different relative performance among journals. Other research approaches, such as discourse analysis, social network analysis, or scholar interviews, might reveal patterns of use and influence that are not visible in the journal literature.
Originality/value
This study’s intensive, in-depth study of quality as well as quantity of citations challenges some existing assumptions regarding citation analysis and the sociology of citation practices, plus illuminating Foucault scholarship.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author thanks the UCLA LIS faculty members on his thesis committee – Leah Lievrouw, Anne Gilliland, and Jonathan Furner – and the editor and anonymous reviewers of Journal of Documentation.
Citation
Dewey, S.H. (2016), "(Non-)use of Foucault’s
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited