A co-word analysis of library and information science in China

This study aims to reveal the intellectual structure of Library and Information Science (LIS) in China during the period 2008-2012 utilizing co-word analysis. The status and trends of LIS in China are achieved by measuring the correlation coefficient of selected keywords extracted from relevant journals in the Chinese Journal Full-Text Database. In co-word analysis, multivariate statistical analysis and social network analysis are applied to obtain 13 clusters of keywords, a two-dimensional map, centrality and density of clusters, a strategic diagram and a relation network. Based on these results, the following conclusions can be drawn: (i) LIS in China has some established and well-developed research topics; (ii) a few emerging topics have a great potential for development; and (iii), the research topics in this LIS field are largely decentralized as a whole, where there are many marginal and immature topics.