Publication Analysis
About the publication
Title: Library and Information Research
ISSN: 1756-1086 (Online)1
Website: http://www.lirgjournal.org.uk/lir/ojs/index.php/lir
Purpose, objective, or mission:
“LIR has the following objectives:
– To provide an overview of LIS research activity and developments worldwide;
– To publish research in such a way that it is accessible to, and usable by, the LIS community;
– To publish LIS research (including informal or in-house research) by practitioners;
– To publish practical case studies that illustrate best practice;
– To encourage reflective and evidence-based practice;
– To publish papers resulting from LIRG annual awards and prizes;
– To promote the use and understanding of quality research methods;
– To raise awareness of new tools, books and funding opportunities for research;
– To comment, and provide a forum for comment, on the state of LIS research.
LIR’s strap line is Research Into Practice in Information and Library Services (RIPILS). Any contributions falling within this remit and meeting one or more of the objectives specified above are welcome.”2
Target audience: This publication is written by and for members of the Library and Information Research Group, as well as all parties interested in current research topics in library and information science.3
Publisher: Library and Information Research Group, a Special Interest Group of CILIP.4
Peer reviewed? Only refereed research articles are peer-reviewed.5
Type: LIS scholarly.6 Although most manuscripts submitted to the journal are not peer-reviewed, all submissions involve LIS research of some type.7
Medium or mode of distribution: Online only.8
Content: The journal covers a wide variety of research topics, including the values and ethics within librarianship, institutional ethnography, qualitative research in LIS, etc.9
Frequency of publication: Three times a year. 10
About the publication’s submission guidelines
Location of submission guidelines: http://www.lirgjournal.org.uk/lir/ojs/index.php/lir/about/submissions#authorGuidelines
Types of contributions accepted: Refereed research articles, opinion pieces, case studies, book reviews, reports on conferences, etc.11
Submission and review process:Length depends on the type of submission, although the maximum word count for any submission is 7,000 words. Manuscripts should be formatted according to a template available at the “Author Guidelines” page.12 Free registration is required for authors who wish to submit articles for consideration.13 All manuscripts must be unpublished and submitted in Microsoft Word or RTF format.14
As for the review process, refereed research articles are reviewed by a minimum of two double-blind peer reviewers.15
Editorial tone: Formal, scholarly, very technical.16
Style guide used: APA-style references.17
Conclusion: Evaluation of publication’s potential for LIS authors
Library and Information Research is an excellent publication for LIS researchers, including students. Graduate students who have taken a research methods course, for instance, could adapt one of their papers to meet the journal’s standards. Additionally, as an open-source journal, Library and Information Research has the potential to reach a large audience. Its status as a “research into practice”18 journal allows authors to present both new information and future possibilities through long and short articles.
Audience analysis
About the publication’s readers
Publication circulation: The publication is an open-access, online-only journal,19 and thus, circulates daily. An estimate of circulation numbers is unavailable.
Audience location and language or cultural considerations: The journal is produced in the UK,20 so more likely than not, a large percentage of readers will be British. Readers will be more likely to use British English than American English.21 However, since the journal is open access22 it’s safe to assume it enjoys readership worldwide. Due to its international reach, colloquialisms and unexplained cultural references should be omitted.
Reader characteristics: Readers will likely work in libraries or other research institutions in some capacity. Since Library and Information Research has such a strong focus on research, readers will favor objectivity over opinion, except when a piece is specifically intended to be opinion-based.23
Knowledge of LIS subject matter: Readers must possess a high level of LIS subject matter knowledge to appreciate all the journal has to offer. Highly technical terms, e.g., phenomenography, are common, so it’s safe to assume that readers have graduate or post-graduate-level knowledge.24
Conclusion: Analysis of reader characteristics and their potential impact on authors
Readers of Library and Information Research will expect meticulous attention to detail and in-depth knowledge of LIS research. Although not required for publication, readers will appreciate authors with professional and scholarly experience in LIS research, as well as those who have a background in sociological issues, e.g., social equality. Additionally, readers will expect writing to be technical and free of unnecessary fluff.
Last updated: February 27, 2018
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