The declining scientific impact of theses: Implications for electronic thesis and dissertation repositories and graduate studies |
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Authors: | Vincent Larivière Alesia Zuccala Éric Archambault |
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Affiliation: | (1) Observatoire des sciences et des technologies (OST), Centre interuniversitaire de recherche sur la science et la technologie (CIRST), Université du Québec à Montréal, CP 8888, Succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec, H3C 3P8, Canada;(2) Rathenau Instituut, Den Haag, The Nederlands;(3) Science-Metrix, Montréal, Québec, Canada;(4) Graduate School of Library and Information Studies, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada |
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Abstract: | Although the writing of a thesis is a very important step for scientists undertaking a career in research, little information
exists on the impact of theses as a source of scientific information. Knowing the impact of theses is relevant not only for
students undertaking graduate studies, but also for the building of repositories of electronic theses and dissertations (ETD)
and the substantial investment this involves. This paper shows that the impact of theses as information sources has been generally
declining over the last century, apart from during the period of the ‘golden years’ of research, 1945 to 1975. There is no
evidence of ETDs having a positive impact; on the contrary, since their introduction the impact of theses has actually declined
more rapidly. This raises questions about the justification for ETDs and the appropriateness of writing monograph style theses
as opposed to publication of a series of peer-reviewed papers as the requirement for fulfilment of graduate studies. |
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