Early Years of the Journal of Learning for Development: A Combination of Bibliometrics and Thematic Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56059/jl4d.v6i2.331Keywords:
Journal analysis, bibliometrics, content analysis, citation analysisAbstract
The paper analyses the contributions to Journal of Learning for Development (JL4D) from volume one to five using bibliometrics and content analysis techniques. Analysing the 91 papers in various categories of JL4D, the paper identifies authorship pattern, topics covered, research methods used, types of documents used in citations, core journals and the median age of citations to JL4D. The finding of the study reveals that JL4D has created a niche for itself as a specialised research journal focusing on innovations in learning contributing to development.References
Arao, L. H., da Costa Santos, M. J. V., & Guedes, V. L. S. (2017). The half-life and obsolescence of the literature science area: A contribution to the understanding the chronology of citations in academic activity. Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Libraries, 4(3), 603-610.
Avramescu, A. (1980). Coherent information energy and entropy. Journal of Documentation, 36(4), 293-312.
Baggaley, J. (2014). Bridging fields at a critical time. Journal of Learning for Development, 1(1). Retrieved from http://jl4d.org/index.php/ejl4d/article/view/12/16
Berge, Z., & Mrozowski, S. (2001). Review of research in distance education. American Journal of Distance Education, 15(3). 5-19.
Bond, M., Zawacki-Richter, O., &Nichols, M. (2019). Revisiting five decades of educational technology research: A content and authorship analysis of the British Journal of Educational Technology. British Journal of Educational Technology, 50(1), 12–63.
Bozkurt, A., Akgun-Ozbek, E., Yilmazel, S., Erdogdu, E., Ucar, H., Guler, E., ... & Dincer, G. D. (2015). Trends in distance education research: A content analysis of journals 2009-2013. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 16(1). Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/1953
Christensen, S., Andrews, C., Harris, S., Lloyd, A., Turley, C., & West, R. (2015). Interactive Learning Environments, 2004-2013. Educational Technology, 55(5), 43-48.
Cline. G. S. (1982). College and research libraries: Its first forty years. College and Research Libraries, 43(3): 208-32.
Cronin, B. (1984). The citation process: The role and significance of citations in scientific communications. London: Taylor Graham.
Davis, P., & Cochran, A. (2015). Cited half-life of the journal literature. Retrieved from https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1504/1504.07479.pdf
Fanelli, D., & Larivière, V. (2016). Researchers’ individual publication rate has not increased in a century. Plos One, 11(3): e0149504. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0149504
Garfield, E. (1970). Citation indexing for studying science. Nature, 227, 669-671.
Google Scholar (n.d.). Journal of Learning for Development. Retrieved from https://scholar.google.ca/citations?user=aKsSsbkAAAAJ&hl=en
Gross, P.L.K., & Gross, E.M. (1927). College libraries and chemical education. Science, 66(1713), 385–389.
Harzing, A. (2007). Publish or perish. Retrieved from http://www.harzing.com/pop.htm
Hirsch, J. E. (2005). An index to quantify an individual's scientific research output. Proceedings of the National academy of Sciences, 102(46), 16569-16572. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1283832/pdf/pnas-0507655102.pdf
Jo, S. J., Jeung, C.-W., Park, S., & Yoon, H. J. (2009). Who is citing whom: Citation network analysis among HRD publications from 1990 to 2007. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 20(4), 503–537.
Journal of Learning for Development (JL4D) (n.d.). Website. Retrieved from http://jl4d.org/index.php/ejl4d/about/editorialPolicies#focusAndScope
Kanwar, A. (2014). Foreword. Journal of Learning for Development, 1(1). Retrieved from http://jl4d.org/index.php/ejl4d/article/view/37/14
Katz, J. S., & Martin, B. R. (1997). What is research collaboration? Research Policy, 26(1), 1-18.
Langton, M., Manwaring, K., Fry, L., & West, R. (2015). Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 2003-2012. Educational Technology, 55(1), 44-48.
Latchem, C. (2014). Informal learning and non-formal education for development. Journal of Learning for Development, 1(1). Retrieved from http://jl4d.org/index.php/ejl4d/article/view/6/6
Lee, Y., Driscoll, M. P., & Nelson, D. W. (2004). The past, present, and future of research in distance education: Results of a content analysis. American Journal of Distance Education, 18, 225–241.
Marín, V. I., Duart, J. M., Galvis, A. H., & Zawacki-Richter, O. (2018). Thematic analysis of the International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education (ETHE) between 2004 and 2017. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 15(8). Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41239-018-0089-y
McInnis, R. (1982). 'Do metaphors make good sense in teaching strategy?' In C. Oberman & K. Strach (Eds.), Theories of bibliographic education: Designs for teaching, (pp. 47-74). New York: Bowker.
Minnick, J. (2017). A closer look at cited and citing half-lives. Retrieved from https://clarivate.com/blog/science-research-connect/research-management/a-closer-look-at-cited-and-citing-half-lives/
Mishra, S. (1997). A critical analysis of periodical literature in distance education. Indian Journal of Open Learning, 6(1), 39-53.
Mishra, S. (1998). Distance education research: A review of its structure, methodological issues and priority areas. Indian Journal of Open Learning, 7(3), 267-82.
Mishra, S. (2002). Ten years of Indian Journal of Open Learning. Indian Journal of Open Learning, 11(2), 279-290.
Mott, S., Ward, C., Miller, B., Price, J., & West, R. (2012). British Journal of Educational Technology, 2001–2010. Educational Technology, 52(6), 31–35.
Okubu, Y. (1997). Bibliometric indicators and analysis of research systems: Methods and examples (STI working paper series). Paris: OECD.
Parish, A. J., Boyack, K. W., & Ioannidis, J. P. (2018). Dynamics of co-authorship and productivity across different fields of scientific research. PloS one, 13(1), e0189742. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0189742
Patra, S.K., Bhattacharya, P., & Verma, N. (2006). Bibliometric study of literature on bibliometrics. DESIDOC Bulletin of Information Technology, 26(1), 27-32.
Price, D.J. de Solla (1970). Citation measures of hard science, soft science, technology and nonscience. In C.E. Nelson & D. Pollack (Eds.), Communication among scientists and engineers, (pp. 3-32). Lexington: Lexington Books.
Pritchard, A. (1969). Statistical-Bibliography or bibliometrics? Journal of Documentation, 25(4), 348-349.
Rice, R.E., Borgman, C.L., Bednarski, D., & Hart, P.J. (1989). Journal-to-journal citation data: Issues of validity and reliability. Scientometrics, 15(3–4), 257–282.
Royal Society (1981). A study of the scientific information system in the United Kingdom. London: Royal Society.
Subramanyam, K. (1983). Bibliometric studies of research collaboration: A review. Journal of Information Science, 6(1), 33-38.
Tait, A. (2014). Editorial. Journal of Learning for Development, 1(1). Retrieved from http://jl4d.org/index.php/ejl4d/article/view/39/20
Tait, A. (2016). From the Emeritus Editor… Journal of Learning for Development, 3(2), 3-6. Retrieved from http://jl4d.org/index.php/ejl4d/article/view/151/133
Tripathi, M., & Kanungo, N. (2010). Information use pattern of researchers in Open and Distance Education: An analysis of citations of Indian Journal of Open Learning. Indian Journal of Open Learning, 19(3), 183-198.
West, R. (2016). Insights from the Journal Analysis Series: What we have learned about educational technology research. Educational Technology, 56(1), 41-45. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/44430441
Zaugg, H., Amado, M., Small, T. R. & West, R. E. (2011). Educational technology research journals: ETR&D2001–2010. Educational Technology, 51(5), 43–47.
Zawacki-Richter, O., & Anderson, T. (2011). The geography of distance education - Bibliographic characteristics of a journal network. Distance Education, 32:3, 441-456
Zawacki-Richter, O., & Latchem, C. (2018). Exploring four decades of research in Computers & Education. Computers & Education, 122, 136–152. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2018.04.001
Zawacki-Richter, O., & Naidu, S. (2016). Mapping research trends from 35 years of publications in distance education. Distance Education, 37(3), 245–269. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/01587919.2016.1185079
Zawacki‐Richter, O., & von Prümmer, C. (2010). Gender and collaboration patterns in distance education research. Open Learning, 25(2), 95-114.
Zawacki-Richter, O., Alturki, U., & Aldraiweesh, A. (2017). Review and content analysis of the international review of research in open and distance/distributed learning (2000–2015). The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 18(2), 1–26. Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/2806
Zawacki-Richter, O., Anderson, T., & Tuncay, N. (2010). The growing impact of open access distance education journals: A bibliometric analysis. International Journal of E-Learning & Distance Education, 24(3). Retrieved from http://www.ijede.ca/index.php/jde/article/view/661/1210
Zawacki-Richter, O., Bäcker, E. M., & Vogt, S. (2009). Review of distance education research (2000 to 2008): Analysis of research areas, methods, and authorship patterns. The International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 10(6), 21-50. Retrieved from http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/741
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Accepted 2019-05-07
Published 2019-07-18
Contents of the 
