The Characteristics Associated with Perceived Quality in Schools of Library and Information Science

Abstract

The purpose of the present study is to determine, by building a model that predicts a judgment of perceived quality, what the profession means by "perceived quality of schools of library and information science." The study examines quantifiable characteristics of two groups of library schools: those ranked in both of Herbert S. White's perception studies and those not ranked in both. Multiple regression and discriminant analysis were used to build a model that showed clear differences between the two groups of schools. On the basis of several variables that define aspects of a program's size, finances, age, leadership, and rigor, the analysis showed that ranked and unranked schools form two mutually exclusive groups whose membership can be predicted with better than 98 percent accuracy. It also showed the perceived quality of a school's master's degree (M.L.S.) program is associated with the following variables, listed in decreasing order of importance: the half-life of the school's doctoral graduates, its budget and outside income, its age, its faculty's productivity, and the number of its students.