Malaysian Journal of Library and Information Science

Scholarly manuscript assessment: Scientific journal editor desk evaluation

Erikson Saragih — 2024-08-30

Rejection of submitted articles during the editorial review process can be discouraging for authors.
This study investigates the factors affecting manuscript acceptance and rejection by journal editors
and proposes targeted training to enhance acceptance rates at the editorial review stage. Data were
collected through online questionnaires from 42 international journal editors, interviews with five
editors, and focus group discussions with graduate students. The findings reveal that editors
consider six key criteria when deciding whether to accept manuscripts for peer review: originality,
uniqueness, scope, appropriateness, relevance, and significance. Commonly rejected sections include
the abstract, methods, and results. Insights from editor interviews and focus groups with early-career
researchers shed light on the reasons for manuscript rejection and highlight specific sections
with higher rejection rates. The study recommends that new researchers undertake courses in
scientific writing to better understand editors' evaluation criteria and improve their chances of
acceptance.

Dynamic interactions of research, publication, researchers, institutions, and countries: A Quintuple Helix model perspective on research impact

Mudassar Arsalan — 2024-08-30

This review paper introduces and explores the Research Impact Quintuple Helix Model, a comprehensive framework designed to analyse and enhance the impact of research across societal, economic, and environmental dimensions. Unlike traditional models focusing on sectoral collaboration for innovation and economic development, this model integrates five critical elements - Research, Publication, Researchers, Institutions, and Countries - offering a holistic approach to understanding research impact. The study systematically examines the dynamic interactions among these elements, emphasising their collective role in fostering collaborative synergies, interdisciplinary research, and effective resource allocation. By aligning research activities with broader societal needs and environmental considerations, the model aims to extend the scope of research impact beyond academic achievements, highlighting the importance of policy alignment, societal engagement, and sustainable practices. Key comparisons with the standard Helix models demonstrate the unique contributions of the research impact quintuple helix model, illustrating its potential to address specific challenges in maximising research benefits. The paper identifies strategic collaborations and policy implications that could significantly enhance the societal benefits of research, advocating for a structured integration of the model’s elements into research and policy-making processes. The review concludes by recognising limitations in the existing literature and calling for empirical studies to validate and refine the model. Future research should incorporate quantitative methods to measure the impact effectively, aiming to transform theoretical insights into actionable strategies for a sustainable and impactful research ecosystem.

Empirical comparative study of similarity indexes in scientometrics co-authorship analysis

Hamid Bouabid — 2024-08-30

Similarity indexes are widely used in the field of scientometrics either in co-words, co-citations, bibliographic coupling, or co-authorship, and very recently in link prediction and system recommender. Despite the rich literature on the comparison of various indexes very rarely a consensus is being reached on the appropriateness of a specific one. This paper aims to enhance empirical understanding of similarity indexes within the context of co-authorship networks, which are widely used and highly relevant in scientometrics. The objective is to assist scientometricians in better analyzing co-authorship networks and selecting the most suitable similarity index for their studies. The research examines two types of co-authorship networks - one with low density at the individual level and another with high density at the country level - using five commonly applied similarity indexes: Jaccard, Salton, Dice-Sorenson, Pearson, and Association Strength. The study confirms that, as theoretically expected, the Salton index follows a concave increasing function of the Jaccard index, with Jaccard values consistently lower, regardless of network density. The concave shape of the curve is more pronounced in the case of low dense network. A linear function is found between Dice-Sorenson and Salton. Additionally, Pearson is observed to be 'orthogonal' to Jaccard, Salton, and Dice-Sorenson, indicating a lack of direct correlation. In contrast, Association Strength behaves differently: in a high-density network, it is 'orthogonal' to Jaccard, Salton, and Dice-Sorenson and shows no correlation with Pearson. However, in a low-density network, Association Strength displays the opposite behavior.

Exploring the influence of regional economic pillars on library service equity in Indonesia

Andjar Prasetyo — 2024-08-30

This study investigates how various factors - innovation capabilities, labour market conditions, health, business dynamics, ICT adoption, and market size - affect the distribution of library services across 34 provinces in Indonesia. Using multiple linear regression analysis, the study found that overall, these factors significantly influence library service distribution (F = 10.558, p < 0.001, R² = 0.701). Specifically, higher innovation capabilities, better health conditions, and greater ICT adoption positively impact the availability of library services. Conversely, challenges in the labour market, fluctuating business dynamics, and larger market size are associated with reduced library service distribution. The findings highlight the critical role of health and technology policies in promoting fair access to library services throughout the country.

Automated gender identification vs. manual review: Gender assignment of editorial board members in Information and Library Science Journals

Yiming Liu — 2024-08-30

In recent years, computer programmes that automatically assign gender based on a person’s name and country of affiliation have been increasingly used in gender studies of authors of scientific publications. This study aims to compare the results generated by the automated genderize.io programme with those obtained through manual gender identification. To assess the accuracy of genderize.io, the gender of Editorial Board Members (EBMs) from 84 journals in the field of Information and Library Science was analysed. The comparison revealed discrepancies: genderize.io incorrectly classified 80 out of 1,419 men as women, and 124 out of 2,580 women were misidentified as men. Additionally, genderize.io classified the gender of 123 EBMs as unknown. While the manual method achieved a 99.15 percent accuracy rate, genderize.io had a slightly lower accuracy of 91.51 percent. There was, however, strong agreement between the two methodologies (Cohen's Kappa = 0.829, p < 0.001). Genderize.io exhibited a 7.71 percent inaccuracy rate, particularly underestimating the number of women. The study concludes that while automated software like genderize.io is effective for large-scale analyses and useful for library and information professionals, manual review is recommended for smaller studies to ensure higher accuracy.

Exploring the role of library managers in supporting female professionals: Perspectives from Punjab Pakistan

Qurat Ul Ain Saleem — 2024-08-30

The primary aim of this study was to explore the role of immediate managers in fostering a congenial workplace environment for female library professionals. This research is based on qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews with female library professionals employed in universities recognised by the Higher Education Commission in Punjab, Pakistan. The findings revealed that most managers offer constructive feedback to their subordinates, which the participants noted had a positive impact, enhancing both efficiency and work performance. They also reported that their managers encouraged female employees to share their opinions and introduce new ideas. Furthermore, the study elaborated on the participants' suggestions to help managers improve the congeniality of the workplace environment. These findings are valuable for raising awareness among management and authorities regarding the expectations of subordinates from their managers. Additionally, the results can inform the development of policies aimed at creating a healthy and productive work environment that benefits both employees and the organisation.