How Barred is the NIR Nearby Universe? An analysis using 2MASS
  We determine a firm lower limit to the bar fraction of 0.58 in the nearby universe using J+H+Ks-band images for 134 spirals from 2MASS. With a mean deprojected semi-major axis of 5.1 kpc, and a mean deprojected ellipticity of 0.45 this local bar sample lays the ground work for studies on bar formation and evolution at high redshift. 
K. Menendez-Delmestre, K. Sheth, N. Scoville, T. Jarrett, E.   Schinnerer, M.W. Regan, D. Block