Abstract
This study analyses the citations of Masters Theses on Sociology at the University of Peradeniya submitted from 1995 to 2012 to determine the format and age of materials used and most frequently cited journals. The citation analysis method was used as the data collection method and the citations were extracted from the title pages and reference lists of each of the theses. Data obtained from 12 masters theses were examined in June, 2013. The study found that 56% of cited items were monographs followed by 22% were journals, 8.5% were reports, 4% were web resources and 3.7% were conference proceedings. This is contrary with other citation analysis, which found that journals are the most frequently used format. The study also revealed that nine journal titles are the most frequently cited journals by sociology graduates. The study indicated that the average age of materials used was 10- 20 years. The findings and implications of the research for collection development have been discussed. This study could serve as a collection development tool that can be used as a model for the library to identify the primary sources for acquisitions and also as a guide for collection maintenance. Journal of the University Librarians Association, Sri Lanka, Vol. 17, Issue 2, January 2013, Page 88-103 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/jula.v17i2.6647
Highlights
Citation analysis is a branch of bibliometrics that examines the citations found in publications such as journal articles and books (Georgas and Cullars, 2005)
Common approaches in the literature are to analyze faculty publications or graduate student theses for a particular department at a particular institution
This study analyzed 12 Masters Theses on Sociology which were submitted to the Main Library, University of Peradeniya during the period of 1995 to 2012
Summary
Citation analysis is a branch of bibliometrics that examines the citations found in publications such as journal articles and books (Georgas and Cullars, 2005). Common approaches in the literature are to analyze faculty publications or graduate student theses for a particular department at a particular institution. Items cited in students’ dissertations show the resources they used in their dissertation writing This type of analysis can yield valuable insights into local citing trends, such as types and number of documents cited, age of citations, and changes in citation patterns over time (Ashman, 2009). Faculty research interests may be identified from lists of faculty publications, faculty handbooks, and faculty requests for material purchase .But research needs of graduate students can be more difficult to understand. Analysis of dissertation and thesis reference lists is one approach used to measure library use by graduate students, who are traditionally frequent and heavy library users. Dissertations clearly indicate the needs of graduate students and indicate the research specialties of the faculty and department as a whole
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