Certain characteristics of iSchools compared to other LIS programs

This dissertation compares 17 iSchools and 36 other LIS schools that offer the ALA-accredited Master’s degree program according to certain characteristics. The study compiles quantitative and qualitative data on 32 variables and sub-variables drawn from the schools’ web sites, ALISE 2010 Statistical Report, and Elsevier’s SCOPUS database. The variables include size of FTE faculty, size of FTE ALA Master’s degree enrollment, total school income, total school external income, types of courses in the ALA Master’s program, types of research degrees held by full-time professorial faculty, quantity of research by full-time professorial faculty, the range of journals in which faculty research was published, and the level of journal cocitation among the full-time professorial faculty. Statistical analysis of the data using t-tests and logistic regression tests reveal significant differences between the iSchools and the other LIS schools that offer the ALA Master’s degree. This dissertation raises more questions than it answers, but it does lay a foundation of basic information about iSchools and other LIS programs that will contribute to the search for a precise iSchool identity.Ph. D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Robert Wedgewort