Determination of the Life Process of the Subjects of Masters and Doctoral Dissertations in Library and Information Science based on the Records Available in the ProQuest Database During 2006-2010

Sharafi, Ali; Nourmohammadi, Hamzeali

Determination of the Life Process of the Subjects of Masters and Doctoral Dissertations in Library and Information Science based on the Records Available in the ProQuest Database During 2006-2010

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Ali Sharafi

Hamzeali Nourmohammadi

Abstract

Aim: This research aimed to find the life process of dissertations and theses in Library and Information science in the ProQuest database.
Method: This research is a descriptive survey based on content analysis. Statistical population included the 222 dissertations and theses registered in the ProQuest database from 2006 to 2010. 10 main categories and 17 subcategories assigned for content analysis of the subjects based on the subject scheme of ISTA databases. Data collected by checklists and analyzed by Excel and SPSS software.
Findings:Results showed that "librarianship" as a subject with 63 hits (28.37), information retrieval with 52 hits (23.42), appeared in most titles of dissertations and theses, and the longest life processes of subjects was that of librarianship and information retrieval. Also, the number of dissertations has grown from 2006 to 2010. Most of the theses produced were in 2010 with 75 titles, while the lowest number was 12 titles in 2006.
Conclusions: Distribution of subject does not follow a logical trend during years in dissertations. Emphasis was put on old subjects. Therefore, should be encouraged to select up-to-date subjects based on the current needs of the nations.

Keywords

Subjects

Life Process

dissertations

Content Analysis

Library and Information Science