Aspects of Authorship in Journal Special Issues: An Experience from DESIDOC Journal of Library and Information Technology

In the spirit of introspection, present study bibliometrically analyses 59 special issues comprising of 346 scholarly articles of DESIDOC Journal of Library and Information Science (DJLIT). To investigate the metrics of author inclusiveness of special issue publications, present study examines authorship pattern, nature of authorship, trend and type of collaboration along with some demographic attributes like seniority, gender and professional rank/positions. Subsequent analysis focuses on prolific contributors, degree of collaboration, collaborative index, geographical and institutional diversities. The study shows sustainable growth of special issues with domination of senior/ veteran authors from national research institutions around New Delhi. Dominance of single authors (with nominal senior – senior collaboration) is attributed to less author diversity in this specialty. Author base is mostly endowed with blend of senior academia and LIS practitioners (having senior signing pattern) besides stray participations of specialized professionals. Study, therefore recognizes the fact that LIS special issue literatures are dominated by eminent and veteran authors, which eventually help to elevate scholarship, visibility and reputation of the source journal.

Keywords: Author inclusiveness, Bibliometric analysis, DESIDOC journal of library and information science, DJLIT, Journal special issues.