A journal co-citation analysis of library and information science in China

This paper aims to reveal the relationship and structure of library and information science (LIS) journals in China. 24 core LIS journals in China are selected and the relevant data of journal co-citation are retrieved from Chinese Journal Full-Text Database constructed by China National Knowledge Infrastructure during the period of 1999–2009. By calculating mean co-citation frequencies and correlation coefficients, we find that there is a strong relationship among LIS journals in China. Utilizing the methods of cluster analysis, multidimensional scaling analysis and factor analysis, we analyze the data of journal co-citation. LIS journals in China are divided into four clusters. The relatedness among journals is shown manifestly through their locations in the two-dimensional map. A three-factor solution is obtained with the factor loading of each journal. Finally, we interpret and discuss the results to get some conclusions and also expect to describe the network characters of journal co-citation in future research.