Journal bibliometric analysis: a case study on the Journal of Documentation

Purpose – This study aims to explore the journal bibliometric characteristics of the Journal of Documentation (JOD) and the subject relationship with other disciplines by citation analysis. Design/methodology/approach – The citation data were drawn from references of each article of JOD during 1998 and 2008. Ulrich's Periodicals Directory , Library of Congress Subject Heading, retrieved from the WorldCat and LISA database were used to identify the main class, subclass and subject of cited journals and books. Findings – The results of this study revealed that journal articles are the most cited document, followed by books and book chapters, electronic resources, and conference proceedings, respectively. The three main classes of cited journals in JOD papers are library science, science, and social sciences. The three subclasses of non‐LIS journals that were highly cited in JOD papers are Science, “Mathematics. Computer science”, and “Industries. Land use. Labor”. The three highly cited subjects of library and information science journals encompass searching, information work, and online information retrieval. The most cited main class of books in JOD papers is library and information science, followed by social sciences, science, “Philosophy. Psychology. Religion.” The three highly cited subclasses of books in JOD papers are “Books (General). Writing. Paleography. Book industries and trade. Libraries. Bibliography,” “Philology and linguistics,” and Science, and the most cited subject of books is information storage and retrieval systems. Originality/value – Results for the present research found that information science, as represented by JOD , is a developing discipline with an expanding literature relating to multiple subject areas.