Intellectual structure and subject themes in information systems research: A journal cocitation study

Abstract

Information Systems (IS) is a discipline in which research and practice are closely intertwined. IS is also closely related to and overlapping several other disciplines, including Information Science. Thus, IS provides an excellent case for examining the interplay of research and practice in a rapidly changing discipline. We explore the intellectual structure and subject themes in Information Systems (IS) research for 1990 to 1999 through the identification and analysis of the field's core journal literature. A core journal list of 100 titles was created and examined with journal cocitation analysis (JSA). JSA demonstrates that IS is a coherent discipline with research ranging from technology‐oriented software and hardware to the application of IS in business and organizations. Journals are grouped into seven subject clusters: computer science, computer networking, computer engineering, information science, software engineering, human‐computer interaction, and management information systems. Information Science journals occupy a bridging position between technically oriented and application‐focused clusters. ASIST publications, JASIST, ARIST, and PASIS, figure prominently in the Information Science cluster.