LIS Research 1965-2025: a content analysis of topics and methods in journal articles

Abstract

The paper analyses the research in Library and Information Science (LIS) in 2025 and the evolution of LIS research longitudinally from 1965 to 2025. The study employs a quantitative intellectual content analysis of articles published in ∼30 scholarly LIS journals, following the design by Jarvelin and Vakkari (2022). In content analysis, articles are classified using a multi-dimensional faceted classification covering topical content and methodology. The classification schedules and the journal set are held stable through the years. The classification serves as an explicit definition of the scope of LIS. The study indicates that the trend of diminishing focus in LIS on Library and information (L&I) services has accelerated, while scientific and professional communication (S&PC) has become the most popular topic. Information storage and retrieval (IS&R) has lost its earlier strong position toward the end of the analysed period. LIS research is methodologically increasingly varied since survey, scientometric methods, experiment, case studies and qualitative studies have all gained in popularity. Consequently, LIS may have become over the years more versatile in the analysis of its research objects. As concrete evidence of change, in all 41% of top-journal articles fell outside LIS topics in 2025. This reflects changing research paradigms and publisher interest. Among quantitative intellectual content analyses of LIS research, the study is unique in its scope: length of analysis period (60 years); width (5 dimensions covering topical content and methodology) and depth (the annual batch of ∼30 scholarly journals).