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Academic genealogy as an indicator of interdisciplinarity: An examination of dissertation networks in Library and Information Science

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  • Cassidy R. Sugimoto
  • Chaoqun Ni
  • Terrell G. Russell
  • Brenna Bychowski

Abstract

Interdisciplinarity has been studied using cognitive connections among individuals in corresponding domains, but rarely from the perspective of academic genealogy. This article utilizes academic genealogy network data from 3,038 PhD dissertations in Library and Information Science (LIS) over a span of 80 years (1930–2009) to describe interdisciplinary changes in the discipline. Aspects of academic pedigree of advisors and committee members are analyzed, such as country, school, and discipline of highest degree, to reveal the interdisciplinary features of LIS. The results demonstrate a strong history of mentors from fields such as education and psychology, a decreasing trend of mentors with LIS degrees, and an increasing trend in mentors receiving degrees in computer science, business, and communication, among other disciplines. This work proposes and explores the use of academic genealogy as an indicator of interdisciplinarity and calls for additional research on the role of doctoral committee composition in a student's subsequent academic career.

Suggested Citation

  • Cassidy R. Sugimoto & Chaoqun Ni & Terrell G. Russell & Brenna Bychowski, 2011. "Academic genealogy as an indicator of interdisciplinarity: An examination of dissertation networks in Library and Information Science," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 62(9), pages 1808-1828, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jamist:v:62:y:2011:i:9:p:1808-1828
    DOI: 10.1002/asi.21568
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    Cited by:

    1. Shiji Chen & Clément Arsenault & Yves Gingras & Vincent Larivière, 2015. "Exploring the interdisciplinary evolution of a discipline: the case of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 102(2), pages 1307-1323, February.
    2. Rossi, Luciano & Freire, Igor L. & Mena-Chalco, Jesús P., 2017. "Genealogical index: A metric to analyze advisor–advisee relationships," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 564-582.
    3. Rossi, Luciano & Damaceno, Rafael J.P. & Freire, Igor L. & Bechara, Etelvino J.H. & Mena-Chalco, Jesús P., 2018. "Topological metrics in academic genealogy graphs," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 1042-1058.
    4. Meijun Liu & Sijie Yang & Yi Bu & Ning Zhang, 2023. "Female early-career scientists have conducted less interdisciplinary research in the past six decades: evidence from doctoral theses," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-16, December.
    5. Rafael J. P. Damaceno & Luciano Rossi & Rogério Mugnaini & Jesús P. Mena-Chalco, 2019. "The Brazilian academic genealogy: evidence of advisor–advisee relationships through quantitative analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 119(1), pages 303-333, April.
    6. Cristóbal Urbano & Jordi Ardanuy, 2020. "Cross-disciplinary collaboration versus coexistence in LIS serials: analysis of authorship affiliations in four European countries," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 124(1), pages 575-602, July.
    7. Fu, Zhongmeng & Cao, Yuan & Zhao, Yong, 2024. "Identifying knowledge evolution in computer science from the perspective of academic genealogy," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 18(2).
    8. Debarshi Kumar Sanyal & Sumana Dey & Partha Pratim Das, 2020. "gm-index: a new mentorship index for researchers," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 123(1), pages 71-102, April.
    9. Timothy D. Bowman & Andrew Tsou & Chaoqun Ni & Cassidy R. Sugimoto, 2014. "Post-interdisciplinary frames of reference: exploring permeability and perceptions of disciplinarity in the social sciences," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 101(3), pages 1695-1714, December.
    10. Mignon Wuestman & Koen Frenken & Iris Wanzenböck, 2020. "A genealogical approach to academic success," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(12), pages 1-16, December.
    11. Jianhua Hou & Bili Zheng & Yang Zhang & Chaomei Chen, 2021. "How do Price medalists’ scholarly impact change before and after their awards?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(7), pages 5945-5981, July.
    12. Klebel, Thomas & Traag, Vincent, 2024. "Introduction to causality in science studies," SocArXiv 4bw9e, Center for Open Science.
    13. Steven Cooke & Jesse Vermaire, 2015. "Environmental studies and environmental science today: inevitable mission creep and integration in action-oriented transdisciplinary areas of inquiry, training and practice," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 5(1), pages 70-78, March.
    14. Pertti Vakkari & Yu-Wei Chang & Kalervo Järvelin, 2022. "Largest contribution to LIS by external disciplines as measured by the characteristics of research articles," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(8), pages 4499-4522, August.
    15. Wuestman, Mignon & Wanzenböck, Iris & Frenken, Koen, 2023. "Local peer communities and future academic success of Ph.D. candidates," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(8).

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