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wide range of courses year 2001 2002. The syllabi present a different view on archival
programs and content from that of the course listings.
The analysis of the syllabi forms a key part of our investigation. Our examination of
the introductory syllabi employed two very different approaches. First, we analyzed the topics
covered and then we employed citation and network analysis to the readings in each of the
introductory courses.
Topical Analysis Example: "Introduction" Syllabi
We collected 33 syllabi for introductory courses, representing over half of the 62
courses being taught in both history departments and library and information schools. Using a
variation on content analysis methodology, we analyzed the syllabus and the weekly topics
across the syllabi. This was done by reading through each syllabus in its entirety, noting the
weekly topics covered, verifying the intent of the topics through the readings, and examining any
additional course description in the syllabus. The process involved the identification of both
manifest and latent content. For example, the identification of the topical categories was
sometimes straightforward. These manifest categories might be "appraisal," "arrangement and
description," or "history of the archival profession." More latent topics might be functional
analysis (which would have been identified as appraisal) or provenance (which was considered
to be core archival theory). Based on the content we found, we developed working definitions of
some general topical categories, `Archival concepts' for example included the definitions of a
record, an archives or archivists as well as comparisons between archives and libraries. `Archival
theory' included provenance, original order or fonds, while `special formats' referred to non-
