Research on Libraries and Distance Education: An Analysis of Articles Published 1999–2009

Abstract

This article reports on a content analysis of research articles focusing on library services in distance education published between 1999 and 2009. The study identified 472 articles on the topic and analyzed the citations, abstracts, and indexing to determine major topics, issues, and trends discussed; methodologies used; and major journals publishing in the field. The analysis revealed a pattern of increasingly diverse research methods used over time. The results are important to librarians, instructors, and administrators interested in distance education; to those who provide library services to distance education students and faculty; and to researchers in the field.

KEYWORDS:

• Library services
• distance education
• content analysis
• citation analysis
• research methodologies