초록

Abstract

In recent years, the changes in information technology have been so dramatic and the rate of changes has increased so much that information science research rigorously evolves with the passage of time and proliferates in diverging research directions dynamically. The aims of this study are to provide a global overview of research trends in information science and to trace its changes in the main topics over time. The study examined the topics of research articles published in JASIST between 1985 and 2009 and identified its changes during five 5 year periods. The study found that the most productive area has consistently been ‘Information Retrieval’, followed by ‘Informetrics’, ‘Information Use and Users’, ‘Network and Technology’, and ‘Publishing and Services’. Information retrieval is a predominant core area in Information Science covering computer-based handling of multimedia information, employment of new semantic methods from other disciplines, and mass information handling on virtual environments. Currently Informetric studies shift from finding existing phenomena to seeking valuable descriptive results and researchers of information use have concentrated especially on information-seeking aspects, so adding greater sophistication to the relatively simple approach taken in information retrieval.