A Topical Model for Iranian LIS Theses and Dissertations

Developing the topical model of Iranian LIS theses and dissertations to help current and future students in topic selection and prevention of repetitive works. Methodology/Approach: Library and Delphi methods were utilized for this research. A study of previous research as well as subject coverage of LISTA databases resulted in identifying 6 main classes: librarianship, bibliometrics, information retrieval, information management, cataloging and classification. Then, in order to determine subdivisions for the 6 classes, Persian Subject headings, LCSH, UNESCO Thesaurus, ASFA (The Persian cultural Thesaurus), NEMA (another Persian Thesaurus), as well as Dewey and LC classification schemes were consulted. Iranian postgraduate LIS students should consider the present map in selecting their topics. To avoid repetition, professionals and students are advised to pay attention to this map.