[Original posting on this topic appeared in COLLDV-L no. 1871 and is
reproduced below; the responses follows it.]
From: "Gerry Mckiernan" <GMCKIERN_at_gwgate.lib.iastate.edu>
I am greatly interested in learning about any studies or current
projects that utilize local university theses as a knowledge-base
for focused collection development.
I am particularly interested in any analysis of departmental thesis
that determine the specific literature needs of a university department
based upon a content analysis of the theses completed by its graduates.
Such analysis may have been made
of the subject headings assigned to the theses, if assigned, and/or a
separate content analysis of abstracts in the UMI DAI CD-ROM (or other
electronic format) or paper product.
[I see institutional theses as a significant resource that would add
important imformation for a departmental Research Interest Profile (RIP)
that I have envisioned in an Agent-based Collection
Development system]
As Always, Any and All citations, comments, contributions,
queries, questions, etc., etc., etc., are Most Welcome!
Gerry McKiernan
Theoretical Librarian
and
Curator, CyberStacks(sm)
Iowa State University
Ames IA 50011
gerrymck_at_iastate.edu
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~CYBERSTACKS/
========================================================================
(1) From: Margaret Sylvia <acadmarg_at_STMARYTX.EDU>
Oddly enough, I wrote my own thesis using other peoples' theses as as basis
for getting information regarding collection development and published the
results with a colleague in College and Research Libraries.
(Sylvia, M., & Lesher, M. (1995). What journals do psychology graduate
students need? Citation analysis of thesis references. College and
Research Libraries, 56(4), 313-318.)
I didn't do a content analysis but concentrated purely on citations of
journal titles in the bibliographies. I'll be interested in seeing the
success of this method.
Margaret Sylvia Assistant Director for Technical Services
St. Mary's University Associate Professor
Academic Library 210-436-3441 ext. 1320
One Camino Santa Maria fax: 210-435-3782
San Antonio, TX 78228-8608 acadmarg_at_stmarytx.edu
==========================================================================
(2) From: Joy Thomas <jthomas3_at_csulb.edu>
I did an analysis of psychology theses produced here, but not in the
manner you describe. Mine was based on a count of journals cited. If
you're interested, it was published as
"Graduate Student Use of Journals; A Bibliometric Study of Psychology
Theses." Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian 12(1):1-7.
I am presently working on a similar study with Social Work theses.
--
Joy Thomas
Social Sciences Librarian
California State University, Long Beach
562 985-7817
Received on Fri Nov 13 1998 - 09:42:57 EST