The Brigham Young University Harold B. Lee Library installed a theft-detection system, the "Tattle Tape" system marketed by 3M Corporation, to counteract the theft of items from its collection. This research report describes a study that statistically estimated the loss rate for the entire collection and for various broad classes within…

This study describes the research articles published during 1980 in 41 core library journals and reports data for each source article: journal, research methodology, subject, total number of references, and number of references to journal articles. List of journals included in study and 12 tables are appended. (9 references) (EJS)

This study explores whether the installation of an electronic theft detection device has an effect on the library user's attitudes about booktheft and examines opinions and attitudes on booktheft motivations and potential solutions to the problem. Basic questions posed by the study are: Do the same pressures exist for the whole user population?…

A study examined the error rate of the "University of California Union Catalog Supplement," a 47 volume, computer produced book catalog of the materials cataloged by the nine University of California campuses during the years 1963-67. The study attempted not only to determine the rate and nature of errors, but also to develop a…

Library performance criteria used by managers in 62 academic, special, and public libraries are analyzed to measure the extent to which criteria proposed in the literature are actually used, to identify types of criteria in use, and to develop guidelines for future criterion selection. (Author)

Analyzes 595 articles in 21 core library instruction journals published between 1977 and 1991 to test the theory that the number of research studies in bibliographic instruction is increasing. Research articles were classed by research method employed, subject studied, and library type. Results showed that the number of research articles increased…

This study develops a three-stage model of the question-answering process and investigates several potential sources of extraneous variability. Discussion includes implications of findings concerning what it means to "use" library materials and services, adverbs used as response category labels, and subject's responses as predictors of…

Describes three methods of sample size determination, each having its use in investigation of social science problems: Attribute method; Continuous Variable method; Galtung's Cell Size method. Statistical generalization, benefits of cell size method (ease of use, trivariate analysis and trichotyomized variables), and choice of method are…

A survey on the use of journals at the Soreq Nuclear Research Center Library was conducted to determine whether the allocation of the largest share of the total library budget to journal subscriptions is justified, and which journals are in low use and could thus be discontinued. The findings, including criteria developed for defining core…

Describes a study that examined three major international library science journals to investigate the nature and trends of library and information science research in Africa from 1990 through 1992. Highlights include status of authors, gender, affiliation, country, types of research, types of cited documents, subjects covered, and most cited…

Relevance of sociological theory and methodology to research in librarianship is discussed, noting findings from citation analysis developed from bibliographic database search (type of work and number of citations; most frequently cited authors, journals, and books; and rank order of sociological journals cited). Twenty-two references and journals…

This study examines and compares the purpose, content, and form of the problem statement by researchers in disciplines other than library and information science (LIS). Their assessments of the attributes of a problem statement were compared to the literature and an evaluation of problem statements evidenced by researchers within LIS. (Contains 16…

This report examines the 1984 library and information science literature in order to characterize, analyze, and evaluate the published research of the field. The subjects and methods of research, types of libraries studied, and analytical techniques used are examined; a "core" journal group of 91 sources is established; and the amount…

A study conducted to determine if integrated shelving in a curriculum resources center made a difference to users in terms of finding more resources and using more audiovisual aids found that audiovisual and print materials use seemed to be influenced less by integrated shelving than by ease of access. (MBR)

Introduces Q-analysis, a methodology for investigating a wide range of structural phenomena that defines structures in terms of relations between members of sets and reveals their salient features by using techniques of algebraic topology. Applications relevant to librarianship and information science are reviewed and present limitations…