16 A Comparative Study of Italian and Spanish Research in Library and Information Science

There is a long-standing tradition of collaboration in the Italian and Spanish library and information science (LIS) community that includes a wide range of activities such as joint meetings, conferences, and exchange of students and teachers. Despite this, research collaboration is not strong. The purpose of the study described in this chapter is to explain the characteristics of LIS research methods in Spain and Italy and develop a theory to improve global collaboration and innovation in LIS research. The methodology used a four-stage comparative approach. The first stage involved analysing research methods of studies published in the core LIS Journals in Spain and Italy in 2019. In the second stage, the research team interpreted the LIS research characteristics in both countries, analysing the internal and social organisation of the discipline. In the third and fourth stages, the researchers compared and contrasted the collected data, applying a constructivist approach to evaluate a theory that could be used to improve the quality of LIS research nationally and possibly internationally. This chapter provides an over­view of the research methods applied in the core LIS journals in Spain and Italy and discusses the impact of the cognitive and social organisation of LIS research nation­ally and comparatively. It includes insights on assessing the theory to improve global collaboration for LIS research.