[Purpose/significance] Research methods play a critical role in any scholarly research. It is important to identify major research methods utilized in library and information science (LIS) research, and get familiar with them so that researchers can choose and employ them properly in their investigations.[Method/process] Based on a content analysis of close to 2000 scholarly documents in LIS as well as related publications on research methods, this study explores the naming of research methods and identification of major LIS research methods with a focus on how to understand, select and use them in scholarly endeavors.[Result/conclusion] Research methods should be named after data collection techniques instead of data analysis techniques. Major research methods used in LIS include experiment, questionnaire, theoretical approach, content analysis, interview and bibliometrics. Each method has its own features. Thus, the selection and use of methods in LIS research should be not only done by research questions and method characteristics but also taken into consideration of the dos and don'ts associated with each research methods. For the same reason, more than one method generally should be selected and utilized in a single study in order to cancel out the limitations of each chosen method and ultimately ensure the quality of research.
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