A study on statistical methods used in six journals of library and information science

Abstract

Purpose

Quantitative methods, especially statistical methods, play an increasingly important role in research of library and information science (LIS). For different journals, the uses of statistical methods vary substantially due to different journal scopes and aims. The purpose of this paper is to explore the characteristics of statistical methodology uses in six major scholarly journals in LIS.

Design/methodology/approach

Research papers that used statistical methods from the six major journals were selected and investigated. Content analysis method, descriptive statistical analysis method, and temporal analysis method were used to compare and analyze statistical method uses in research papers of the investigated journals.

Findings

The findings of this study show that there was a clear growth trend of statistical method uses in five of the investigated journals; statistical methods were used most in The Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology and Information Processing & Management; and the top three most frequently used statistical methods were t-test, ANOVA test, and χ2-test.

Originality/value

The findings can be used to better understand the application areas, patterns, and trends of statistical methods among the investigated journals and their statistical methodology orientations in research studies of LIS.

Citation

Zhang, J., Zhao, Y. and Wang, Y. (2016), "A study on statistical methods used in six journals of library and information science", Online Information Review, Vol. 40 No. 3, pp. 416-434. https://doi.org/10.1108/OIR-07-2015-0247