Domain analysis in information science Eleven approaches – traditional as well as innovative

• Published in: Journal of documentation Vol. 58; no. 4; pp. 422 - 462
• Main Author: Hjorland, Birger
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald 01.01.2002; Emerald Group Publishing Limited
• Subjects: Bibliographic literature; Bibliographies; Discourse Communities; Documentation; Exact sciences and technology; Information and communication sciences; Information processing and retrieval; Information Science; Information science. Documentation; Information Scientists; Information Seeking; Information Services; Information sources; Information systems; Knowledge; Languages for Special Purposes; Legal research; Librarians; Library and information science; Library associations; Library catalogs; Library Personnel; Miscellaneous; Opinions; Physicians; Reference Materials; Reference services; Science; Sciences and techniques of general use; Social sciences; Specialists; Subject analysis; Teaching Methods; Use Studies; Information science; Research field; Special librarian; Specialized information; Domain knowledge; Analysis; Method; Knowledge worker
• ISSN: 0022-0418; 1758-7379
• DOI: 10.1108/00220410210431136

What kind of knowledge is needed by information specialists working in a specific subject field like medicine, sociology or music? What approaches have been used in information science to produce kinds of domain‐specific knowledge? This article presents 11 approaches to domain analysis. Together these approaches make a unique competence for information specialists. The approaches are: producing literature guides and subject gateways; producing special classifications and thesauri; research on indexing and retrieving specialities; empirical user studies; bibliometrical studies; historical studies; document and genre studies; epistemological and critical studies; terminological studies, LSP (languages for special purposes), discourse studies; studies of structures and institutions in scientific communication; and domain analysis in professional cognition and artificial intelligence. Specific examples and selective reviews of literature are provided, and the strengths and drawbacks of each of these approaches are discussed.