Subject Trends in Library and Information Science: An Analysis of MPhil Theses
Keywords:
Library and Information Science, Bibliometric Analysis, MPhil Theses, Research Trends, Subject Analysis, Information Literacy, Digital Libraries, Social Media, Artificial Intelligence, Knowledge Management, Research Productivity, PakistanAbstract
The study examines trends in the subject of Library and Information Science by studying the LIS MPhil theses written in Pakistan. It analyzes the theme, research settings, tools and technologies to comprehend the changing landscape of research. Content analysis is adopted to identify subject themes. The research relies on thesis metadata retrieved at university repositories and justified using relevant scholarly literature. Titles of the theses were analyzed and themes were developed manually and through the use of qualitative analysis software. Thematic analysis reveals that conventional directions (academic libraries, information services, and user studies) continue to be dominant, and a significant shift to user-centered and technology-based research is evident. New directions are information literacy, electronic space, and interdisciplinary issues like health information. Technological trends focus on the increased significance of social media and digital libraries and pay minimum attention to more advanced technologies, like artificial intelligence. The disparities in the region are still high; researchers conducted research in large provinces and cities, which points to the lack of research activity towards less populated and less advanced regions and cities. The paper shows that the research in LIS from Pakistan is gradually shifting to modernization, and digital orientation.
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