Publication Date

2-19-2025

Description

A bibliometric analysis was conducted over the bibliographies of astronomy and geology doctoral dissertations written between 1970 and 2020 in order to review the document types that are utilized and cited. An investigation was made of various cited reference ages and how cited references in dissertations have evolved with the advent of electronic resources and preprint services. Our study examined 50 astronomy and 50 geology dissertations with 10 dissertations selected from each decade (n = 100). Results measured included 13,475 total references and the study found that references to journal articles increased, and book citations have decreased in both disciplines. Dissertation bibliometric studies have been completed in many larger disciplines such as chemistry, engineering, physics, and mathematics. This study is focused on astronomy and geology, which has not had as many evaluations performed. Statistical analysis of how cited references have changed over time are discussed as well as the nuances of both disciplines.

Journal

Science & Technology Libraries

Volume

44

Issue

4

First Page

342

Last Page

356

Open Access

Link to OA full text

DOI

10.1080/0194262X.2025.2467684

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