Looking for the core: preliminary explorations of iCaucus syllabi

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to perform an empirical analysis of existing "core" or "foundation" courses in iSchools to better understand what the community implicitly considers to be its foundational knowledge base. This paper presents a preliminary journal citation analysis of core syllabi from master’s programs in the iCaucus. Initial findings show journals from library science and information science dominate the field and only eight articles are cited by more than two courses. Finally, the disciplinary diversity of programs was calculated and visualized showing how interdisciplinarity is expressed across the iCaucus. The hope is that this initial report will help enroll additional collaborators, either as data providers or analysts, and stimulate a data-rich conversation about what we teach in core courses.