Programmatic text analysis can be used to understand patterns and reveal trends in data that would otherwise be difficult or impossible to uncover with manual coding methods. This work uses programmatic text analysis, specifically term frequency counts, to study nearly 10,000 chemistry thesis and dissertation titles from 1911-2015. The thesis and…

This discussion of the place of research in the field of library science notes empirical and scientific research; testing, analysis, and research design; theories and methodologies from other disciplines; the dilemma of quantification; library research needs; and the search for an audience. Twenty-six references are cited. (EJS)

It is easy to observe that meta-analysis is quickly establishing itself as useful tool of the social sciences. Perusal of representative journals confirms that meta-analysis has been applied in various ways to diverse literatures. It is imperative, therefore, that reviewers, publishers, consumers, and critics of these reviews be best informed…

Discusses the relationship between information science research and practice and briefly describes current research on 10 topics in information retrieval literature: vector processing retrieval strategy, probabilistic retrieval models, inverted file procedures, relevance feedback, Boolean query formulations, front-end procedures, citation…

Several bodies of literature that shed light on some aspects of the relationship between information technology (IT) and research practice in science and engineering are reviewed. Subjects include: (1) the importance of calculation in research endeavors; (2) productivity in science and technology; (3) the philosophical differences between science…

Offers a concise, abstract description of the scientific method different from the historical, philosophical, and case-study approaches, which lead to comprehension of this method. Discusses features of scientific models, dynamic interactions underlying scientific progress, ways that scientist successfully understand nature, mechanisms for…

An evaluation of four seventeenth and eighteenth century essays on optics revealed early trends in the evolution of scientific articles. The later articles showed a growing tendency to (1) separate practice from pure knowledge, (2) organize information around problems of knowledge and theory rather than around chronological events, (3) emphasize…

Offers definitions for four general categories of research--practical, bibliographical, scholarly, scientific--and discusses connections of research to librarianship, the introduction of scientific research methodology in librarianship, activities related to scientific research, users of research, faculty status, professional organizations and…

A broad range of well-structured problems--embracing forms of diagnosis, catalog selection, and skeletal planning--are solved in expert computer systems by the method of heuristic classification. These programs have a characteristic inference structure that systematically relates data to a pre-enumerated set of solutions by abstraction, heuristic…

Research in bilingual education remains underdeveloped, and despite 20 years of classroom experience, curricular and methodological refinements, and gains in student achievement, there is continued skepticism about its effectiveness. Contends there has been overreliance on simplistic and ill-designed evaluation research and urges instead basic…