"From the examination of the social and cognitive institutionalisation of the LIS research field in the studied countries we can find some explanations for the differences in topics and research methods used in the reported research. The social aspects of the structuring of education and research and the degree of organisation of the community differ widely from country to country. There have also been recent changes whose effects we would expect to have an impact on LIS research. There has been an enormous expansion of LIS education in China and now efforts are going to maintaining its quality. In Australia and the United Kingdom in the late 1980s and early 1990s all professional LIS education was established in universities with the consequences of increasing the academic culture for teachers and students, and professorships, research posts, doctoral programs and other hallmarks of a mature academic speciality. In general it seems that in countries with a more developed social structure in LIS in terms of integration into the universities, research is more oriented towards general information problems and basic research. In Finland, especially, LIS has a longer tradition in research and research education at the university level than in other countries. This is reflected in the cognitive features of the research, also in trends in LIS research in these countries."