A method for building core journal lists in interdisciplinary subject areas

Date01 October 1998
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000007179
Published date01 October 1998
Pages477-488
AuthorJeffrey D. Kushkowski,Kristin H. Gerhard,Cynthia Dobson
Subject MatterInformation & knowledge management,Library & information science
Journal of Documentation, Vol. 54, No. 4, September 1998
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DOCUMENTATION NOTE
A METHOD FOR BUILDING CORE JOURNAL LISTS IN
INTERDISCIPLINARY SUBJECT AREAS
JEFFREY D. KUSHKOWSKI
kushkows@iastate.edu
KRISTIN H. GERHARD
kgerhard@iastate.edu
CYNTHIA DOBSON
cdobson@iastate.edu
Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011
This paper describes a simple method for developing a list of core
serials in a particular subject field by analysing article citations in
electronic indexes. The Simple Index Method overcomes the difficul-
ties in building a core list for serials in interdisciplinary fields by
using multiple indexes which cover various aspects of the subject.
This method permits the collection development librarian to develop
a core list when standard bibliographies or specific indexing and
abstracting tools are lacking and to tailor that list to the needs of the
local situation.
1. INTRODUCTION
The evaluation of serial collections in interdisciplinary fields is a challenging task
for collection development librarians. The content of interdisciplinary fields is
broad, research methodologies vary widely, specialisation in particular subfields
is common, and bibliographic control may be weak [1]. When reference resources
such as standard bibliographies or specific indexing and abstracting tools are
lacking for a particular subject field, librarians must find new ways to identify
core serials.
In a previous paper, we discussed in detail the complexities of collection eval-
uation for interdisciplinary areas, noting that traditional evaluation measures
applied in traditional ways will not sufce. We concluded that the development of
new evaluation methods is an essential task that deserves the attention of collec-
tion development librarians [1, p. 283]. In this paper we describe the Simple
Index Method (SIM), a quantitative method which enables librarians to develop
core lists in specific subject areas using multiple electronic indexes. We demon-
strate the use of this method by constructing a core journal list in the established
interdisciplinary field of industrial relations.
To use SIM successfully, a librarian needs knowledge of subject terms that
describe the topic being studied and access to electronic databases which index
articles on that topic. Possible uses of SIM-produced core lists include the
identification of journals for purchase in interdisciplinary fields or sub-fields
and the evaluation of existing collections in a given area.
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Journal of Documentation, vol. 54, no. 4, September 1998, pp. 477–488

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