Library and information science research in the Arab World: a bibliometric analysis 1951–2021
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/GKMC-06-2021-0103 |
| Published date | 24 November 2021 |
| Date | 24 November 2021 |
| Pages | 138-159 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Information behaviour & retrieval,Information in society,Information literacy,Library & information services |
| Author | Nadeem Siddique,Shafiq Ur Rehman,Shakil Ahmad,Akhtar Abbas,Muhammad Ajmal Khan |
Library and information science
research in the Arab World: a
bibliometric analysis 1951–2021
Nadeem Siddique
Gad and Birgit Rausing Library, Lahore University of Management Sciences,
Lahore, Pakistan
Shafiq Ur Rehman
Institute of Information Management, University of the Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
Shakil Ahmad
Central Library, Prince Sultan University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Akhtar Abbas
Gad and Birgit Rausing Library, Lahore University of Management Sciences,
Lahore, Pakistan, and
Muhammad Ajmal Khan
Deanship of Library Affairs, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University,
Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Abstract
Purpose –This study aims to investigate the research productivity of library and information science
(LIS) authors affiliated with the 22 countries of the Arab League. It also identifies the top countries,
organizations, authors, journals, natures of collaboration, and frequently used keywords in LIS research
in the Arab world.
Design/methodology/approach –Bibliometric methods were used to evaluate the research
performance of the authors affiliated with library organizations in the Arab region. The Elsevier Scopus
database was selected for data retrieval. A comprehensive search strategy was adopted to retrieve 863
publications contributed by LIS authors affiliated with the Arab countries. VOS viewer, Biblioshiny,
BiblioAnalyitics,Microsoft Access and Microsoft Excel were usedfor data visualization and analysis.
Findings –This paper presents the dynamics and the state of the LIS research in the Arab region
published between 1951 and 2021. The results of the study have highlighted an upward trend in the
growth of the publications, especially in the past four years. The largest number of studies were
published in the year 2020. The country-wise analysis ranked Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as the top LIS
research producing countries with five and four researchers, respectively. The Kuwait University, the
King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals and the Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University
were the three most productive organizations. Academic libraries, social media, bibliom etrics,
information-seeking behavior, information literacyand knowledge management were identified as the
major areas of interest for the researchers. Internet and openaccess were topics that had gained recent
popularity, while the digital library, research data management, green librarianship, link dat a, cloud
computing, library leadership, library automation and artificial intelligence were identified as areas
requiring further attention. Furthermore, the single-author pattern was found to be the most pre ferred
pattern.
The author at number 3 would like to thank Prince Sultan University for their support.
GKMC
72,1/2
138
Received16 June 2021
Revised29 September 2021
Accepted19 October 2021
GlobalKnowledge, Memory and
Communication
Vol.72 No. 1/2, 2023
pp. 138-159
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2514-9342
DOI 10.1108/GKMC-06-2021-0103
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/2514-9342.htm
Practical implications –The findings of this study wouldhelp prospective researchers in choosing the
neglected areas of research that require further investigation. They would also help policymakers in
identifyingfactors that need more attention and allocationof research funds.
Originality/value –To the best of the authors’knowledge, this is the first comprehensive bibliometric
study that presentsa holistic picture of the LIS research in the Arab region.
Keywords Arab league library, Arab league LIS research, Arab world-bibliometric,
Arab world-LIS publishing, Arabian Peninsula-LIS, GCC-LIS
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
This research study was conductedto evaluate the state of library and information science
(LIS) research in the Arab World. The “Arab World”generally refers to a group of 22
countries comprising of Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait,
Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia,
Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen (The World Bank, 2021a). The
current population of the region is estimated to be approximately 444.81 million which is
approximately 5.6% of the world’s total population. It has nearly doubled from the
estimated 216.9 million in 1990. Interestingly, only eight countries, Egypt, Algeria, Sudan,
Iraq, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Syria, make up 80% of this population (Arab
Development Portal, 2021). The GDP per capita of the Arab league is $6,171. Qatar, United
Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia are the top five countries in terms of
GDP per capita in the region (Statista, 2021). The overall literacy rate of the Arab World is
85% and Bahrain, Lebanon, Libya and the United Arab Emirateshave the highest literacy
rate among all countriesin the region (The World Bank,2021a, 2021b).
Given the state of the global economy, the Arab World,which is made up of traditionally
oil-rich countries, has made concerted efforts to reduce its dependency on oilexports. They
have tried to address issues relatedto unemployment and stagnant economies by educating
and training the Arab youth in professions that allow them to fulfill local and global job
market needs. Many countries such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Qatar,
Morocco, Tunisia and Lebanon have been active in this regard (Masri and Wilkens, 2011;
Waterbury, 2019).
As a part of their move away from pureoil economies, these countries have made efforts
to encourage education and research in the region and expand their respective scientific
research portfolios. Research is essential for the development of any society; therefore, the
developed countries are continually engaged in the endeavor. LISdeal with the acquisition,
storage, retrieval and dissemination of such research. Therefore, no one can deny the
importance of the LIS field for the development of any country and region. Likewise, the
measurement of productivity and impact of such research has become essential for
policymakers to plan and adopt the best scientific policies (Maurya et al.,2019). In this
regard, many bibliometric studies have been conducted to investigate various disciplines,
countries and regions.Although a review of the literature showed some useful studies on the
state of research in different disciplines, such as medical and health sciences, in the Arab
World, there has been no such study on LIS research contributed by the Arab World LIS
researchers. Thisstudy is, therefore, has been conducted to fill this gap.
Literature review
Bibliometrics techniquesare famous for measuring the productivity and impact of scientific
literature in almost all disciplines.They use quantitative and statistical methods to illustrate
Library and
information
science
research
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