Author = Ali Akbar Khasseh
Information and Knowledge Management

Co-Authorship Network Analysis of Knowledge Organization Articles in Iran

Volume 12, Issue 43, Spring 2025, Pages 175-210

https://doi.org/10.22054/jks.2021.60647.1435

Omid Alipour, Faramarz Soheili, Soraya Ziaei, Ali Akbar Khasseh

Abstract 1.Introduction
Knowledge organization is an old but fundamental topic in library and information science. The importance of knowledge organization is not limited to the fact that knowledge must be organized; otherwise, it cannot be retrieved and reused. Knowledge organization must be updated regularly to reflect the progress of human knowledge; therefore, changes are inevitable. Hence, it can be said that knowledge organization has become more important, diverse, and widespread in today's world. Published research often describes only specific aspects, which only provides a partial picture of the landscape of knowledge organization research. In fact, it is difficult for researchers to gain a comprehensive view of the field by reviewing such articles. This is possible by using scientometric tools. To promote the progress of scientific research and its publication, collaborations between researchers should be examined. Co-authorship, as one of the most formal manifestations of scientific collaboration, is an activity in which two or more authors participate in the production of science together. The expansion, specialization, and complexity of science in all fields have made it impossible for researchers to master not only all sciences, but also all topics in their field of expertise. Given this on the one hand, and the growth of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary sciences and research on the other, researchers are forced to collaborate with other people. This has led to co-authorship and its growth and expansion. By analyzing co-authorship networks, the social characteristics of the knowledge structure at different levels such as individuals, organizations, sectors, and countries can be revealed. It is expected that the results of this study will help experts in this field to understand the structure of the scientific collaboration community and identify its active authors. This will allow them to quickly decide on emerging issues, trends, and key scientists. The results of this study will also play an important role in future policy-making in knowledge organization and will provide better insight into the authors and co-authorship network in this field. In light of the above, this paper examines the co-authorship structure of Persian knowledge organization articles using centrality indices.

Literature Review

As mentioned, scientometrics can provide a clear view of the changes in the field under study and can be of great help in this regard. Various studies have been published on various topics with the focus of examining co-authorship networks. In this section, due to the large number of published studies, a list of some of them will be presented. The first group examines national or regional co-authorship collaborations. For example, Hong and Hwang (2017) examined co-authorship networks of faculty and students in humanities and social sciences journals in South Korea. In the second category, researchers have examined the extent of scientific collaboration between universities, centers, and institutions at the national and international levels. Fujita et al. (2018) also examined co-authorship networks in physics and biology in organizational research. The third group of co-authorship studies is related to scientific collaborations in a specific subject area. In this type of research, the extent of national and international collaboration of researchers in a specific subject area or discipline at the national and international levels has been examined. Gonzalez-Valente, Santos, and Arencibia (2019) also examined the social structure of co-authorship in knowledge management in their study. Fan, Li, and Lu (2020) also examined co-authorship networks in the tourism industry. The fourth group of co-authorship studies examines the extent of scientific collaborations within a specific journal or journals. Kim et al. (2017) examined the co-authorship network of articles in the Journal of the Korean Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Zheng et al. (2017) examined the co-authorship network of the Annals of the American Geographical Society.

Methodology

This research is an applied type that has been done with the approach of scientometrics and analysis of social networks. The research data were selected from 106 keywords of his knowledge organization in the title field, which were selected after consultation with subject matter experts in this field; Together with all the articles published in selected journals of information science and epistemology indexed in the Islamic World Science Citation Center from 1378 to 1398. Finally, the retrieved records were limited to research papers, conference papers, and review papers and limited to the subject of the Library and Information field. Out of 1482 authors who were involved in the publication of 1410 articles, 168 with at least 4 articles were analyzed using UCINET software. After that, a square matrix of dimensions 168 by 168 was formed, and finally, the co-authorship network was drawn based on the centrality indicators. Bib Excel software was used to draw the matrix, and NetDraw software was used to draw the co-authorship network.

Results

Results indicated that the average number of authors per article is 1.05. Analysis of data related to co-authorship analysis indicates the two-author approach as the most common approach in knowledge organization (35.17%), and the three-author approach (26.80%) is in the next rank. Dr. Rahmatollah Fattahi (56 articles), Dr. Morteza Kokabi (44 articles) and Dr. Yaghoub Norouzi (39 articles) have the highest number of articles in knowledge organization, respectively. Also, the co-authorship of Dr. Rahmatollah Fattahi and Dr. Mehri Parirokh (10 articles) won the top rank. In the study of centrality indicators, Dr. Rahmatollah Fattahi gained the top scores in the Degree Centrality, Closeness Centrality, Betweenness Centrality, and Eigen vector, respectively.

Discussion

Results indicated that the average number of authors per article is 1.05. Analysis of data related to co-authorship analysis indicates the two-author approach as the most common approach in knowledge organization (35.17%), and the three-author approach (26.80%) is in the next rank. Dr. Rahmatollah Fattahi (56 articles), Dr. Morteza Kokabi (44 articles), and Dr. Yaghoub Norouzi (39 articles) have the highest number of articles in knowledge organization, respectively. Also, the co-authorship of Dr. Rahmatollah Fattahi and Dr. Mehri Parirokh (10 articles) won the top rank. In the study of centrality indicators, Dr. Rahmatollah Fattahi gained the top scores in the Degree Centrality, Closeness Centrality, Betweenness Centrality, and Eigen vector, respectively.

Conclusion

According to the results of the present study, it seems that prominent researchers in the field of knowledge organization, despite being productive, have not been able to play a significant role in the formation of the co-authorship network in this field.

Interactive Retrieval

Personality Characteristics of Librarians and its Relationship with Digital Literacy Skills in Public Libraries of Kermanshah Province

Volume 11, Issue 38, Winter 2024, Pages 179-207

https://doi.org/10.22054/jks.2023.70682.1543

Mehri Shahbazi, Faramarz Soheili, Nasrin Gahvareh, Ali Akbar Khasseh

Abstract 1. Introduction
Public libraries are among the essential pillars of a democratic society, serving as symbols of social progress and civil pride in the pursuit of lifelong learning. As these libraries cater to various segments of society, trained and knowledgeable personnel, referred to as librarians or information specialists, play a crucial role in identifying and meeting users' information needs. In line with their responsibilities towards different societal groups, they must adapt their service delivery methods concurrently with societal advancements. Today, with recent technological advancements, achieving this requires librarians to primarily possess digital literacy.

2. Literature Review
Given recent technological advancements, it has been established that primarily, librarians must possess digital literacy skills. On the other hand, previous research indicates that most managers believe a precise understanding of personality traits is crucial in management science because individuals' personality structures significantly influence their perception, evaluation, and response to the environment (Rostami et al., 2009). One of the most effective and comprehensive theories proposed regarding personality is the Five-Factor Model by Costa and McCrae (1992). According to this theory, the personality structure comprises hierarchical dimensions of Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. Conscientiousness, or Dutifulness, is at the highest level and can be broken down into lower-level facets or traits. Additionally, studies show that digital literacy skills correlate with various managerial dimensions, highlighting the significance of identifying the personality structure of human resources, particularly in organizations. According to White (2002), personality traits can be utilized to predict behaviors and job performance of individuals. Since public libraries are among the centers that, in comparison to other types of libraries, serve as crucial informational hubs to various segments of society, they are considered one of the most significant cultural bases. Therefore, in this regard, the personality of librarians can undoubtedly be influential. Their manner of interaction can play a pivotal role in attracting users to libraries. Therefore, this research aims to determine the relationship between personality traits and digital literacy skills among librarians in public libraries of a practical nature, employing a survey method.

3. Methodology
Data collection involved using two questionnaires: the McCrae and Costa personality traits questionnaire and the digital literacy skills questionnaire. The statistical population of this research comprised 170 librarians from public libraries in Kermanshah province, with a sample size of 118, determined using Morgan's table. Data analysis was performed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the SPSS software.

4. Results
The correlation coefficient between personality traits and digital literacy skills was positive and equal to 0.48, indicating a moderate correlation between these two variables. Furthermore, the correlation coefficients between the personality traits of Neuroticism, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Openness to Experience, and Conscientiousness with digital literacy skills were positive, and based on the regression line slope in the scatterplot, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism had the greatest to least impact on this relationship, respectively.

5. Discussion
The results of the present study revealed that the most influential trait in digital literacy is neuroticism. Perhaps one of the major reasons for the significant relationship between neuroticism and digital literacy is the presence of strong and face-to-face interactions with visitors, high motivation, and attention to career advancement. It's possible that one of the reasons many librarians gravitate towards digital literacy skills is to find relief from obsessive thoughts, anxiety, and life stresses. Another reason could be that the virtual world serves as an escape for librarians from stress, fear, and life difficulties. Therefore, it can be said that personality traits, particularly neuroticism, predict librarians' use or non-use of digital literacy skills. Consequently, individuals high in neuroticism may be attracted to and develop a habit of acquiring digital literacy skills due to the presence of these traits and their inability to cope with such problems, seemingly helping them overcome feelings of loneliness, boredom, and inadequacy.

6. Conclusion
In conclusion, the findings of this research provide a clear representation of the relationship and role of librarians' personality traits in digital literacy skills. It is essential for librarians to become aware of their weaknesses in terms of digital literacy skills and take the initiative to enhance their knowledge in this area. Digital literacy skills undoubtedly assist librarians in this regard. If librarians lack sufficient digital literacy skills, they will not be able to provide better services to users based on modern search techniques and information retrieval methods.

Information Retrieval in Iran: a Scientometric Study and Scientific Visualization

Volume 9, Issue 33, Winter 2023, Pages 1-36

https://doi.org/10.22054/jks.2022.64246.1476

Ali Akbar Khasseh, Heidar Mokhtari, Mahere Asheghi Moaf

Abstract Nowadays, bibliometrics has been an interdisciplinary field with all scientific fields as its scope. The present study is related to the scientometric study of articles in information retrieval produced in Iran from the beginning of the topic in Persian papers to 2019. This research was an applied research which has been done using scientometric techniques such as citation analysis and co-word analysis. The data required for this research have been extracted from the "Islamic World Science Citation" database. The statistical population was 395 articles in the field of information retrieval, which was analyzed using "BibExcel," "VOSviewer," and " Excel" software packages. Some inconsistencies in author names and keywords have been tried to be unified. There was an increasing trend in published papers and received citations. Highly-cited and most influential authors in the field are well-known in the field. "Rahmatullah Fattahi" is in the first place with 11 articles and 16 citations. 77.72% of the articles have been authored in groups (two or more authors) and the two-authored approach with 154 articles has the most co-authorship approach. Six hundred twenty-six authors participated in writing the articles, which were repeated 923 times in various articles. The largest co-authorship network consists of 27 nodes (authors). "Najla Hariry," "Farideh Osareh," and "Saeed Rezaei Sharifabadi" have the highest score in terms of the centrality of rank, intermediate, and closeness among other researchers, respectively. The keywords "information retrieval," "search engines" and "internet" were the most frequently used keywords in the field of information retrieval. The word pairs of "recall - retrieval accuracy" and "Internet - search engines" were the first and second most frequent pairs of co-occurring-word pairs, respectively. Thematic clustering of articles in this field indicates the existence of eight subject clusters: "search, processing and evaluation information," "Storage and retrieval in information systems," "information behavior," "indexing," "information management and Scientometrics," "search engines," "precision and recall" and "information literacy." Co-authorship network showed that authors in the field tended to author with collaborating each other. Considerable items on information retrival have been published in Persian The acceptance of the co-authorship approach in the production of scientific works in information retrieval indicates the willingness of authors to write co-authored research. However, considering that 54.9% of the authors of this study did not receive the H index, the authors should make more efforts to produce quality articles. The largest cluster of this research is the "search, processing and evaluation information" cluster, which indicates the importance of this issue in information retrieval, and the smallest cluster is the "information literacy" cluster, which needs further research in this research field. The study helps authors identify hot topics and highly-considered subjects in information retrieval and provide a pattern for conducting scientometric analyses in similar fields.