Analysis
"An analysis is a critical evaluation, usually made by breaking a subject (either material or intellectual) down into its constituent parts, then describing the parts and their relationship to the whole." (Wikipedia, 2005a). For an interdisciplinary overview see the full entry in Wikipedia.
In Library and Information Science is analysis also used in many different ways. The Online Dictiomnary for Library and Information Science (ODLIS) presents the following entries":
"analytical
bibliography
The comparative and historical study of book as physical objects, including the
methods and techniques of book production and their influence on texts.
Synonymous with critical bibliography. Analytical bibliography has three main
branches:
Historical bibliography - the history of books and their methods of production
Textual bibliography - the relationship between the text as conceived by the author and the text in published form
Descriptive bibliography - detailed account of the physical characteristics of books
analytical entry
An entry in a library catalog for a part of a work (chapter in a book) or an
entire work (story, play, essay, or poem) contained in an item, such as an
anthology or collection, for which a comprehensive entry is also made.
Analytical entries are made under the author, title, and subject of the part and
include a reference to the title of the work containing the part. Because
preparation of analytical entries is time-consuming, the level of bibliographic
description provided in a catalog depends on the administrative policy of the
library and its assessment of local needs. Synonymous with analytics. See also:
analytical note.
analytical note
The statement in an analytical entry indicating the relationship of the work, or
part of a work, to the more comprehensive work of which it is a part, for
example, giving the title of an anthology containing a short story, play, essay,
or poem.
analytic classification See: hierarchical classification.
analytics See: analytical entry. " Reitz
(2004).
Another use of the term is in analytic-synthetical classification (cf.,
Facet and
facet analysis; Ranganathan) in which the
universe of knowledge is divideded into facets (analysis) and then combined to
describe the content of the single document by a synthesis of the facets.
Conceptual analysis is a methods that is used, for example, in the construction
of thesauri.
"Analytic research" is an expression that is sometimes understood as opposed to "empirical research".
Literature:
Reitz, J. M. (2004). ODLIS —Online Dictionary for Library and Information Science Western Connecticut State University.
Wikipedia. (2005). Analysis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analysis
Wikipedia. (2005b). Synthesis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesis
Birger Hjørland
Last edited: 09-02-2007