Analysis of Bibliography on Specific Learning Disability in India

Abstract

Aim: This study attempts a comprehensive qualitative and quantitative analysis of un-annotated bibliographic listing of books and citations compiled on specific learning disability published by researchers in India. Method: An online and offline survey covering ISSN journals and ISBN marked books available in print or electronic media was compiled, coded, categorized, and classified by title, theme, year, journals, and names of author/s. Results: The bibliographic search yielded 450 research articles drawn from 196 national and international journals of Indian origin and 29 book titles on the topic of learning disability and/or its equivalents covering themes related to their nature-characteristic (N: 184; 40.89%), therapy-intervention (N: 115; 25.56%), causes-correlates (N: 57; 12.67%), screening-assessment-identification (N: 52; 11.56 %), and epidemiology-prevalence (N: 42; 9.33%).  A decade wise timeline analysis shows an increasing trend in the quantum of publications on learning disability by almost four times from the base years of <=1990s to the contemporary period, along with corresponding shift in the increased use of the term ‘learning disability’ in preference for other older terms (p:<0.05). Conclusion: On the whole, there seems to be much unused information available about learning disabilities in the country, which now lies widely scattered. Limitations & Recommendation: Although no claim is made that the bibliographic listing is all inclusive, it is recommended that the first step is to have an information gathering mechanism, creation of a dynamic repository, or archival system with retrieval systems in place for prospective researchers on a subject matter of great importance  within the country.