Global research on information literacy: a bibliometric analysis from 2005 to 2014

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the literature published on information literacy (IL) from 2005 to 2014 and reveal the key aspects of IL publication trends. Design/methodology/approach The study analyses the literature indexed in Web of Science database on IL from 2005 to 2014 and used the required bibliometric measures to analyse specific aspects of publishing trends. Findings The findings of the study reveal that increase in literature on IL from 2005 to 2014 was noticed. A high amount of annual growth of literature on IL is observed for the year of 2007, 2008 and 2011. “Pinto, M” and the “University of Granada, Spain” was productive author and institute. Journal of Academic Librarianship was the most productive journal, with 97 articles being published for the period. USA was the most contributing country. “Digital divide”, “media literacy”, “pedagogy”, “higher education” and “critical thinking” were current research topics in the IL domain. Originality/value The paper is very useful for researchers to learn about trends in the literature on IL, as well as possible areas for further research, and it provides the names of the most productive authors, organizations and countries, along with the most popular IL keywords.