Reviewing the literature in the IS field: Two bibliometric techniques to guide readings and help the interpretation of the literature

Abstract

In this article, we show how to apply profitably bibliometric analysis in IS research as a way to help review and highlight patterns in the literature, and complement traditional methods to do so. This approach can help guide researchers to interpret a more traditional literature review by highlighting important texts to investigate in priority and more partic-ularly. We propose specifically to use two techniques in a complementary manner, co-cita-tion analysis of references and bibliographic coupling analysis of documents, which are described while highlighting the main methodological steps and relevant issues. We illus-trate and demonstrate the value of the complementary use of both techniques in a dense and well-established research domain within the IS field: Strategic alignment