Professional development is a crucial aspect of career growth and advancement for lecturers. It encompasses the continuous acquisition of new knowledge, skills, and competencies. Scholarly publishing plays a crucial role in advancing knowledge, disseminating research findings, and contributing to the academic community. However, despite the integral role of scholarly publishing in academic research and knowledge dissemination, there is a gap in understanding how lecturers perceive its influence on their professional development. It is against this background that this study examined the perception of scholarly publishing on professional development of lecturers in universities in Kwara State, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population for the study consisted of all lecturers in the selected universities in Kwara State, Nigeria. A structured questionnaire was used for data collection. Five (5) research questions were answered. Data analysis was done using the Statistical Products for the Service Solution (SPSS) version 27.0 Software. Findings revealed that the perception of scholarly publishing on professional development of lecturers in selected universities in Kwara State, Nigeria were career advancement, research productivity, knowledge sharing and increased visibility. Also benefits of scholarly publishing on professional development include enhanced professional reputation, staying current with advancements and trends, improved research, writing, and analytical skills, career promotion, and opportunities to collaborate with others. The study concludes that scholarly publishing significantly influences lecturers' enhanced professional reputation, gaining recognition and promotion, enhancing the learning experience for students, and personal growth and satisfaction. Based on the findings, it was recommended that lecturers should be supported to engage actively in scholarly publishing through reduced teaching loads and access to research support services, enabling them to contribute meaningfully to student learning and personal professional growth.
The COVID-19 pandemic represented a critical case for studying the rapid dynamics of research and its public dissemination during a global crisis. This study addresses the need for a comprehensive understanding of these changes by examining the thematic evolution of COVID-19 research and its social attention during the initial phase of the pandemic (2020–2021). A combined scientometric and Altmetric approach was utilized. Data, encompassing 16,422 articles indexed in PubMed and 1,751,396 social mentions (primarily from Twitter and news media) extracted via Altmetric.com, were analyzed. Keyword co-occurrence network analysis (using VOSviewer) and descriptive statistics were employed to identify thematic clusters, track their evolution, and measure the social reach of the publications. Findings revealed a significant shift in research priorities. Initially, the focus was concentrated on virology, clinical sciences, and public health. As the pandemic progressed, the thematic landscape broadened dramatically to encompass psychological, social, economic, and policy-related topics, signaling a shift from immediate biological concerns to broader societal impacts. Twitter emerged as the dominant dissemination channel, hosting the vast majority of social media mentions, underscoring its crucial role in health communication during the crisis. The network analysis confirmed these thematic shifts, highlighting the growing centrality of social science subjects over time. In conclusion, this thematic analysis serves as a predictive tool, illustrating how public health crises rapidly redefine research agendas, shifting them from fundamental medical science to interdisciplinary social issues. Policymakers and research managers can leverage these insights to establish interdisciplinary research strategies and enhance preparedness for future crises by anticipating the evolving socio-scientific needs.
The case study proposed a solution for real-time research data visualization for academic Institutions. It developed a model of an interactive, real-time research data-visualization dashboard for academic institutions, using the OpenAlex database API and open-source tools such as Python, Flask, and Plotly. It compares OpenAlex and Scopus to assess the coverage of open-access databases and their future impact, highlighting API-based features for data visualization. Flask is utilized to build a dashboard (Web application) with API URLs, while HTML and CSS organize the charts, tables, colors, etc., on the front end for data visualization. The publication data of the top 10 QS-ranked universities were analyzed using both Scopus and OpenAlex to evaluate OpenAlex's potential as a reliable data source for research assessment and for the present study. The tools and the framework designed offer significant advantages to information professionals and libraries in creating an interactive, real-time research data visualization dashboard. Using publication counts at the institutional level as the unit of analysis, the Pearson correlation coefficient showed that OpenAlex coverage is strongly aligned with that of Scopus. The flexibility of the OpenAlex API permits seamless visualization of statistics through charts and graphs. The charts are downloadable from the dashboard and can be further embedded in websites/blogs; they streamline the report preparation process and data presentation for researchers and administrators, saving valuable time and effort. A literature review and online observation indicate that this research introduces a framework and dashboard, and that these services are not visible on any academic institution's website, making this idea novel. Although prior research has compared Scopus and OpenAlex, the novelty of this study lies in assessing their coverage based on publication data from the world’s top-ranked universities. Information professionals, libraries, and educational institutions can use the framework to develop real-time research-visualization dashboards. The study also supports academics in making informed decisions when choosing between proprietary and open-access databases and their APIs.
Chatbots are becoming a new norm for consumer engagement across various business fields. There is growing evidence that Gen Z are embracing this new technology to fulfill their need for immediate gratification. In this article, we check the reasons for the continuance intention of chatbots by Gen Z and the mediating role of user experience and trust on continuance intention of chatbots by Gen Z. Analysis of data from 355 Gen Z respondents demonstrates a significant positive mediating effect of user trust and user experience on continuance intention of chatbots. This study complements the existing stream of knowledge on AI technology adoption, chatbot services, cognitive absorption, user experience, trust, and continuance intention. In addition, the findings of this research are beneficial to marketers, technology managers, and business analysts.
Data visualization technology has been gaining increasing attention in higher education institutions. The University needs to examine how well multidisciplinary students use data visualization technology for their tasks, to gain a deeper understanding of the nature of these tasks and the need for appropriate data visualization support. The primary objective of this study is to identify the critical factors influencing the use of data visualization among multidisciplinary students, with a focus on enhancing their data visualization literacy. This study adopted the Task-Technology Fit (TTF) model to examine how the correspondence between data visualization characteristics and specific visualization tasks influences multidisciplinary students' data visualization literacy. This research first conducted interviews, observations, and a survey to identify the functions of data visualizations that support multidisciplinary students in interpreting and extracting useful information. The exploratory study identifies seven data visualization formats that reflect multidisciplinary students’ data visualization literacy skills. Then, this study introduced a research model and empirically examined the proposed hypotheses using structural equation modeling. The analysis results demonstrate that both task and technology factors have a significant positive influence on TTF in the context of data visualization usage. These results confirm that TTF and utilization directly influence performance. These results support the notion that aligning technology with task requirements can effectively enhance multidisciplinary students' data visualization literacy skills. This paper provided insights into designing more effective, targeted training sessions to improve data visualization literacy among interdisciplinary students.
Highlights • The results serve as a valuable asset for the strategic planning of VR in academic libraries.• The results pertain to the redefinition of the strategic role of librarians within academic libraries• The provision of robust digital assets to academic libraries constitutes one of their significant strengths.• Identifying potential threats and weaknesses enables academic library managers to implement VR from a more realistic perspective.AbstractThis research explores the potential for VR adoption in Iranian academic libraries through an exploratory SWOT analysis using a descriptive-analytical method. The study includes information science and knowledge specialists, librarians, engineers, and computer science specialists selected using the snowball method. Data collection methods include interviews and literature reviews. The findings suggest that virtual reality technology can support the curriculum's cognitive and behavioral goals, improve learner-learner-content interactions, enhance information literacy, and facilitate virtual visits to familiarize users with library services and resources. This study provides a forward-looking framework for how VR might reshape library services—if implemented with careful planning. The assessment of virtual reality technology's activities in Iranian academic libraries will help managers and investors make informed decisions. While virtual reality technology offers numerous opportunities, proper planning and management are needed to utilize it and address potential challenges effectively. Ultimately, this research can contribute to the innovation and development of academic libraries as multi-purpose and innovative institutions.
The rapid emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has significantly transformed various sectors, including Library and Information Science (LIS). This bibliometric study examines the 100 most cited articles on Artificial Intelligence in LIS, revealing the field's evolution, key themes, and emerging trends. The analysis highlights a slow progression in AI-LIS research since the 1990s, followed by a significant acceleration after 2018. The findings underscore the shift from theoretical exploration to practical applications, particularly in domains like healthcare, while emphasizing the interdisciplinary nature of AI research in LIS. The study also explores global contributions, with the United States leading the field and emerging economies like China and India playing increasingly important roles. International collaborations between developed and developing countries are critical for addressing resource disparities, fostering capacity-building, and promoting equitable knowledge exchange. This study provides valuable insights into the current state of AI in LIS.
Information management (IM) involves coordinating, utilizing, and controlling information within organizations. Over time, it has evolved to encompass various definitions and perspectives, reflecting its importance in organizational productivity, decision-making, success, and information enhancement. This study aims to comprehensively analyze the conceptual structure of information management and explore newly emerged and highly considered topics in theory and practice. By examining its core dimensions and multidimensional nature, the research seeks to uncover distinct clusters and main topics through the bibliometric analysis of keyword co-occurrence in related publications. The research data consists of 14,740 publications obtained from the Web of Science. The analysis is conducted using VOSviewer and biblioshiny, which are tools for bibliometric analysis. This study identifies five main sub-domains within information management: health information and technology management, big data management, research data management, data management systems, and information technology management. Trend analysis reveals the emergence of influential topics such as COVID-19, blockchain, smart contracts, artificial intelligence, and digital twins, reflecting the field’s rapid technological evolution. Citation analysis highlights that medical informatics, smart contracts, digital twins, and supply chain management are among the most impactful topics based on normalized citation rates. Furthermore, a notable thematic shift is observed from traditional information management practices toward more technical, systemic, and interdisciplinary approaches, particularly within health informatics and big data ecosystems. The findings underscore the dynamic and evolving nature of information management, emphasizing its increasing reliance on advanced technologies, the integration of diverse disciplinary perspectives, and the growing importance of ethical data governance frameworks. By mapping thematic clusters, this study offers valuable insights for researchers, scholars, managers, and decision-makers, helping them identify emerging trends, focus on key areas of interest, and plan future research directions. The findings also provide useful guidance for ontology engineers and developers of knowledge organization systems (KOSs), supporting the design and refinement of ontologies related to information management.
This research aims to develop and analyze the web-based database of the Knowledge Management System (KMS) in small, micro, and medium-sized handicrafts. The research flow comprised nine steps: Identification of Research Objectives, Literature Review, Identification of Data Requirements, Database Scheme Design, Database Implementation, KMS Application Development, Integration and Customization, Testing and Evaluation, and Analysis and Interpretation. The research begins with a literature review and visits MSME locations to conduct interviews, observations, and surveys to collect data for the KMS database. In the development phase, the web-based KMS also facilitates easier access to information and the management of a company's operations, thereby overcoming challenges posed by access constraints and physical distance. The contribution of this research is the provision of a web-based database for the knowledge management system of MSMEs Reog Ponorogo, including product, order, customer, staff, and report management, which can support better decision-making.
This study examines the privacy practices of Malaysian public libraries by evaluating their compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Using a qualitative content analysis approach, privacy statements from 15 major public libraries—including the National Library and 14 State Public Libraries—were assessed against 11 GDPR-based privacy criteria. The results reveal substantial variation in compliance. While all libraries (100%) disclosed data collection practices and policy changes, critical aspects such as privacy breach notification (0%), data aggregation (0%), protection of children’s privacy (6.7%), and privacy settings (6.7%) were largely neglected. The highest-performing library met 81.8% of the criteria, while the lowest scored just 18.2%. These findings highlight a significant gap between current practices and international standards. The study recommends that Malaysian public libraries revise their privacy policies to address deficiencies in user control, data security, data retention, and breach response, thereby aligning more closely with global best practices and safeguarding patron privacy more effectively.
The current study examines the status of scientific outputs on infertility treatment indexed in PubMed and evaluates these outputs on social media using altmetric indicators from 2015 to 2024. This research was conducted using a descriptive-analytical approach. To assess the status of scientific articles on infertility treatment using citation analysis, articles indexed in PubMed from 2015 to 2024 were collected, and their citation counts on Google Scholar were extracted. Subsequently, the effectiveness of these articles in social networks was considered using the altmetrics approach. In this section, the attention given to the papers was measured using the Altmetrics Bookmarklet. Finally, the data were analyzed using SPSS software. Of 1,204 articles retrieved from the PubMed database, 493 documents (42%) were mentioned in social media. During this period, attention to these articles has grown, with fluctuations, averaging 21.24 citations per article. Additionally, in the referenced articles by Iranian researchers, Mendeley accounted for the largest share with 482 articles (77.97%). Master's students had the highest share of referencing articles on Mendeley (38.10%). The United States accounted for 31.7% of the tweets related to articles by Iranian researchers, holding the largest share of retweets on platform X. The subject areas of medicine had the highest share of references on Mendeley at 18.3%. Furthermore, the correlation coefficient between the citation index and the Altmetric score was 0.27 and significant (P<0.05). Considering the positive role of social media in increasing the visibility and citation of scientific articles in the infertility treatment, showed that less than half of the articles by Iranian scholars in the infertility treatment have received attention on social media, it can be concluded that it is essential for researchers, academic institutions, and organizations supporting researchers to actively engage on various social media platforms to enhance the visibility of their publications and, consequently, increase the citation of these resources.
The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of the motivation of employees of automotive companies on their knowledge sharing with regard to the mediating role of the organizational trust variable. In this study, a sample of 384 employees from Iran's automotive industry was selected using simple random sampling. The tool used to collect information from the samples was a questionnaire. Additionally, the questionnaire was analyzed using SPSS 25 and the structural equation modeling software SmartPLS V3. The findings show that both internal and external motivation significantly affect knowledge sharing (both knowledge-sharing behavior and intention), and the effects of these motivations were nearly equal and moderate. The research results showed that the independent variables (extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation, and organizational trust) accounted for 57% of the variance in the knowledge-sharing variable among automobile manufacturing employees. Also, the experimental results of this study showed that the organizational trust variable has the role of a (partial) mediating variable in relation to the effect of employees' external motivation on their knowledge sharing. According to the research results, motivational factors (internal and external) are effective in increasing organizational knowledge sharing by increasing the organizational trust of employees. Therefore, it is necessary for practitioners, managers, and activists in the field of knowledge management at the country's automotive industry companies to provide a basis for improving organizational trust and knowledge sharing by increasing employee motivation.
Many librarians are assuming new roles in the provision of research data services. However, the emerging field of data librarianship-particularly the specific skills it requires—has not yet been clearly defined. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore the essential skills librarians need to effectively engage in research data management. In the present study, a meta-synthesis method was employed, following the seven-step framework proposed by Sandelowski and Barroso, to integrate data extracted from previous sources. Search terms were examined across titles, abstracts, keywords, and full texts of resources available in reputable academic databases. Ultimately, 26 credible sources-focusing on data librarians in the context of research data management-were selected for analysis. By analyzing these sources, nine main categories were identified: management and familiarity with data, information technology and information systems, behavioral and communication characteristics, legal and policy skills, research methods and project management, education and consulting, promotion and provision of services, subject knowledge and familiarity with the organization, education and library skill. Our study identifies the various essential skills required to enhance research data management in information centers-particularly within research and academic libraries-for librarians as well as students of Information Science and Knowledge Studies, who are regarded as the primary stakeholders in this domain.
The study aims to explore current trends in the research output of National Law Universities (NLUs) across the country. Efforts have been made to retrieve and analyze the number of publications, the most productive universities, international collaboration, active authors, co-authorships, author network analysis, and countries. A total of 847 publications are reflected in the Scopus database from 2013 to 2022, the research output trends are observed. Owing to the nature of the data, tools including Bibliometrix, VOSviewer, and MS Excel were used to study scientometric indicators. A number of publications showed a visible increase starting from early 2013 to 2017. Pellissery S with 28 publications, followed jointly by Das R. and Jayaram N., each contributing 16 publications. The National Law School of India University (with 203 publications) in Bangalore has been observed as the most productive institution. The findings of this study have implications for policymakers, academic administrators, and researchers within the NLUs. It will help identify the pros and cons of the current research ecosystem, guide resource allocation decisions, and foster interdisciplinary collaborations. Furthermore, the study can enhance the quality and relevance of legal research within the NLUs, thereby strengthening their position as leading institutions in law.
Finding relevant topics or extracting useful information from large corpora of data has been challenging for academics, and topic modeling, a machine learning algorithm, has emerged as an alternative technique for discovering the underlying semantic structure of large, unstructured collections of documents. Our objectives are to identify the topics covered in the corpus data, group them by topic, show the development of research across different aspects of LIS, and demonstrate the application and use of theories from other domains in the LIS domain. We use several open-source tools for topic modeling, such as LDA (Latent Dirichlet Allocation), Gensim, Jupyter Notebook, ASReview, and OpenRefine, to extract key topics from titles and abstracts. The results of this study are summarized into three main sets: identification of specific topics, word clouds, trends in subjects, and the use and applications of theories in this domain. The model may help policymakers, funding agencies, and the government understand the current and future state of research and take corrective actions to address gaps in the literature on expert systems and applications. It also helps library professionals, classificationists, and researchers identify relevant topics in unstructured long texts and reduce information overload by removing unnecessary research documents.
The study of Sociological aspects of information science, as the interplay of science and social structures, gained academic attention and popularity throughout the 1980s. Today, cyberspace, as a primary domain for information creation, dissemination, and consumption, is the subject of extensive sociopolitical research and analysis. Meanwhile, Cybersecurity is an emerging component of national security and continues to play a more crucial role in international relations. A vast body of literature has emerged on how politics and international relations are influenced by the emergence of cyberspace. This literature regards cybersecurity as a dimension of national security and considers its role in international relations. This article examines the relationship among cyberspace, national security, and geopolitics. It focuses on the United States of America as a cyber power to examine how cyber issues have been linked to the national security agenda and have informed decision-making in the country in the 21st century. This renders the entire work a case study and sheds light on the American approach to addressing the cyber threat in the Information Age. Relying on an extended version of the Copenhagen School and its theory of securitization, and using process-tracing as the research method, the author argues that, as an instance of the interaction between technology and geopolitics, the US cyber strategy in the Obama Administration involved a securitization process aimed at stabilizing America’s informational superiority. The process is then analyzed within a framework of the country's security priorities and information policy in the 21st century.
Information has a crucial role in the management of Phenylketonuria (PKU). This study aimed to investigate information acquisition and avoidance behavior among parents of children with PKU and determine the associated factors. This cross-sectional survey was conducted on 144 parents of children with PKU at a teaching hospital in Tehran, Iran. Information acquisition behavior and information avoidance were evaluated using the questionnaire. Information-seeking and scanning about PKU were reported by 132 (91.7%) and 45 (31.3%) parents, respectively. The primary sources for seeking information about PKU were physicians (99/132, 75%), informative websites (77/132, 58.3%), scientific websites (21/132, 15.9%), and friends and family (20/132, 15.2%). There was a significant relationship between information-seeking behavior and parents' educational level (P=0.03), which remained significant in multivariable analysis after controlling for confounding variables (95% CI: 0.05-0.90, P=0.03). Also, parents' online information-seeking behavior was associated with their age (P=0.03) and educational degree (P=0.008). Thirty parents (20.9%) avoided PKU information at least occasionally. Physicians and the Internet were the primary sources of information among parents of children with PKU. Although PKU is a non-acute disease, information avoidance was reported by the parents. Considering that avoiding information can lead to misunderstanding and disrupt the treatment process, physicians must pay attention to this issue.
Information culture reflects the core values, beliefs, and organizational attitudes toward the creation, use, and management of information. This study aims to identify the main components of information culture within university settings in the age of artificial intelligence, based on the views of information science experts. This is an applied study conducted using the reflexive thematic analysis method. The population consisted of faculty members from knowledge and information science departments at Iranian universities, selected through purposive sampling. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gather data, and the process continued until theoretical saturation was reached after interviewing 17 participants. Participant feedback was used to assess the validity of the research. Qualitative data analysis yielded 142 initial codes, grouped by semantic and conceptual similarities, resulting in 32 subthemes. These subthemes were then organized into four base themes that form the primary structure of the information culture framework proposed in this study. The four base themes of information culture are information management, information technology management, information values and norms, and communication and interaction practices. The findings provide an empirical benchmark for improving and expanding current models, and give scholars and university leaders a practical tool to evaluate and enhance information culture in the era of artificial intelligence within academic environments.
This study examines the alignment between the research domains of Iran’s highly cited scientists and the priorities outlined in the Science and Technology Roadmap. Additionally, it examines patterns of scientific collaboration, the h-index, and the quality of scholarly journals across various impact levels within prioritized research areas. This applied descriptive study employs a scientometric approach to analyze the research output of Iran’s highly cited scientists indexed in the Web of Science and Scopus databases. Data collection was conducted using Microsoft Excel, and statistical analyses—including independent t-tests, chi-square tests, and regression analysis—were performed using SPSS software. Findings indicate a significant alignment between the research activities of highly cited Iranian scientists and the priority areas defined in the Science and Technology Roadmap. Specifically, 78.6% of technology-related articles correspond with the roadmap’s strategic priorities, reflecting researchers’ attention to national needs and key challenges. Despite this strong alignment across technological fields, certain research areas remain underrepresented and warrant greater emphasis. Furthermore, the study finds that alignment with national priorities does not have a significant impact on researchers’ h-index or international collaborations. Given that governments play a pivotal role in policymaking and shaping national strategic documents, ensuring that scientific capabilities are directed toward addressing national demands is essential. Aligning research activities with national priorities is crucial for enhancing a country’s scientific impact and fostering sustainable development. This study identifies gaps in research focus and evaluates the extent to which the scientific contributions of Iran’s top 2% of highly cited researchers align with national strategic objectives.
The use of ChatGPT technology in educational settings has sparked substantial discussion within the academic community. This innovation has instigated significant transformations in the landscape of educational systems. This article undertakes a bibliometric analysis of research on ChatGPT in Education spanning 2022 to 2023, covering the period from ChatGPT's inception to the present day. The primary aim of this study is to conduct both quantitative and qualitative analyses of research trends in the application of ChatGPT in the field of Education. This comprehensive investigation encompasses document types, subject areas, notable researchers, scientific collaboration, top countries and institutions, influential papers, prominent journals, and emerging topics. The results reveal that the most popular review articles and the highest paper counts were observed across document types. Within the subject area, ChatGPT emerged as the most prominent topic in education. Researchers from the UK and the Netherlands stood out prominently.Regarding the number of authors, articles authored by a single writer were the most abundant. Among the leading countries, the United States ranked first. The most prolific institute was in India, and the most impactful was in the UK. The leading journal was Nature, and the top article was also published there.
