The relationship between research method and visual display: a study of conference proceedings in the field of knowledge organization

Introduction. Research method refers to how to conduct research, how to measure progress, and what constitutes success. Visualisation has become the platform for communicating research findings according to Friedman and Smiraglia. Knowledge organization aims to organize knowledge and many researchers employ visualisation in their findings. So, what was the relationship between research methods and visual display when researchers presented their findings? Method. All conference proceedings of the International Society of Knowledge Organizationfrom 1990 to 2010 are examined, including 256 visualisations found in the 609 articles. A random sample of 50 visualisations is then analysed to determine the relationship between the research method and the type of visualisation used to display it. Analysis. Content analysis, correlation analysis and predictive analysis are used to examine the relationship between research method and visual display. Results. No relationship was shown between research method and the type of visualisation used due to the personalization of research methods and visualisation patterns that each researcher used in his/her research manuscript. Conclusions. While visualisation has become a common platform, no discernible chronological pattern emerges of how the type of visualisation use changes over time.