ProQuest Analysis of Best-Selling Dissertations and Theses

I found this while visiting the Proquest Information and Learning site. Interestingly, DL dissertations dominated the top ten seller list for doctoral dissertations.

“ANN ARBOR, Mich., December 19, 2005 -- ProQuest Information and Learning's annual analysis of the best-selling dissertations and theses shows that business research was the most sought after by scholars and libraries worldwide in 2004. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (PQDT) databases contains more than 1.8 million titles. While the database records dissertations from hundreds of academic disciplines, this year's top ten dissertations are all about business - with such topics as knowledge management, E-learning, and leadership earning spots on the list.”

http://www.il.proquest.com/division/pr/05/20051219.shtml

Touro University, Nova Southeastern, UoP, and Walden dominated the dissertation best seller list. Heck, I was really surprised to see that my dissertation made the top ten. I’m looking for that big royalty check now <smile>.

Actually, it is good to see evidence that research and dissertations from DL schools like Touro, Nova, Walden, UoP…etc are receiving elevated levels of interest and visibility in academia. As a Touro University graduate, I’m also pleased to see Touro place in two of the top ten positions, which is quite good considering that the first wave of Touro’s doctoral graduates completed their programs and began submitting approved dissertations to UMI in 2003.

I have to believe this says something positive about credible DL programs and research.

Tom

 

This is interesting news - but I'm not totally sure how to interpret it. The article doesn't say who the purchasers are. DL programs tend to have much higher enrollment than traditional programs. If, for example, students are viewing each others work as examples - that's fine, but not really the kind of visibility that DL needs.

A better measure is to look at citation indexes. If DL dissertations and subsequent publications are quoted by others doing scholarly work - then their work is really having an impact.

One quick way to check is this:

1. Go to Google Scholar (scholar.google.com)

2. Enter your name

3. Note the number of type of "citations" that show up.

There are other ways to do this as well, notably the ISI Web of Science. Unfortunately, ISI doesn't give full coverage to fields like business.

Regards - Andy

 

Re: Re: ProQuest Analysis of Best-Selling Dissertations and Theses

Andy,

I appreciate your points, and indeed publications in top journals are highly relevant and provide good visibility for research and schools. Many references from these types of publications are what we see frequently indexed on Google Scholar. However, I’m not quite so ready to discard the significance, importance or relevance surrounding the type (kind) of visibility for DL schools that can be obtained via UMI/Proquest.

According to Proquest these dissertations and areas of research were the most frequently sought after and purchased by “scholars and libraries” out of the 1.8 million dissertations/theses listed in the UMI/Proquest database. In my opinion this clearly says something about the level of interest, importance and visibility of these dissertations and areas of research concentration from DL programs.

I’m not precisely clear surrounding your point that DL programs tend to have a much higher enrollment than traditional programs or its related effect, so I’ll cover the following assumptions that I’ve made:

1. If you mean that UoP, Walden…etc produces many more dissertations than traditional schools, then I see your point in terms of a higher probability that one or more of their dissertations would make the top ten. However, Touro had only 40 or so dissertations submitted to Proquest by the end of 2004; I doubt the Nova had any more than other traditional universities. Accordingly, I don’t see a strong or consistent connection to this dimension.
2. If you mean that students from DL schools have a tendency to order and purchase more dissertations from other DL schools than traditional schools, I would have to disagree because I believe these student, just like those from traditional schools, are simply digging into all available literature (regardless of type of school) and looking for other published dissertations/theses, research and studies relevant to their area of study and research.
3. If you mean that students from a given DL school request dissertations more frequently from their own school than do students from traditional schools and therefore bias the results surrounding the Proquest top ten list, then I would again have to disagree…at least in the case of Touro and likely Nova. Why? Typically, dissertations from a student’s school are readily available to them without placing an order and making payments to Proquest for the same; at least I know this to be the case at Touro, and I’ve heard the same from students at Nova.

From my experience, those who actually purchase dissertations are researchers, faculty, corporations, government and, of course, students looking to find relevant and comprehensive presentations and coverage of research/studies conducted within various topical areas and streams of research. Such material is also a good place to locate data collected by other researchers along with the methods that were used. I consider doctoral and other students working on their dissertations and theses to be scholarly researchers and part of the academic and research community, both while working on their dissertation/thesis research and later in their careers.

Finally, I use my personal observations and interactions as a clear point of reference and benchmark regarding who actually tends to search, view and obtain these dissertations. Specifically, I look at the background of the people that have contacted me directly related to the dissertation they obtained from Proquest. Indeed, I’ve been contacted by quite a few researchers from the U.S. and several other countries that read my dissertation and were looking for information related the study, access to the datasets, input surrounding similar research, and other scholarly discussions. These contacts included research faculty, professors and scholars from the academic community (including well recognized universities), several major corporations, government, and a handful of doctoral candidates. I’ve also been ask to contribute chapters to two books and co-author another, join in related research projects, speak at seminars, and present at several conferences.

Although I agree that DL schools need to gain additional visibility related to top peer reviewed journals, I disagree that it is the only meaningful form of relevant and important visibility for DL programs. Base on my own experience and interactions as only number eight out of the other top ten listed, I believe that visibility surrounding Proquest dissertations reaches much further than DL students viewing each others work as examples, and that it offers much more of the kind of visibility that DL programs need than what you suggest.

Again, I still see these results as a positive for DL programs.

Tom


There are other ways to do this as well, notably the ISI Web of Science. Unfortunately, ISI doesn't give full coverage to fields like business.

Regards - Andy

 

Re: Re: ProQuest Analysis of Best-Selling Dissertations and Theses

Andy,

I appreciate your points, and indeed publications in top journals are highly relevant and provide good visibility for research and schools. Many references from these types of publications are what we see frequently indexed on Google Scholar. However, I’m not quite so ready to discard the significance, importance or relevance surrounding the type (kind) of visibility for DL schools that can be obtained via UMI/Proquest.

According to Proquest these dissertations and areas of research were the most frequently sought after and purchased by “scholars and libraries” out of the 1.8 million dissertations/theses listed in the UMI/Proquest database. In my opinion this clearly says something about the level of interest, importance and visibility of these dissertations and areas of research concentration from DL programs.

I’m not precisely clear surrounding your point that DL programs tend to have a much higher enrollment than traditional programs or its related effect, so I’ll cover the following assumptions that I’ve made:

1. If you mean that UoP, Walden…etc produces many more dissertations than traditional schools, then I see your point in terms of a higher probability that one or more of their dissertations would make the top ten. However, Touro had only 40 or so dissertations submitted to Proquest by the end of 2004; I doubt the Nova had any more than other traditional universities. Accordingly, I don’t see a strong or consistent connection to this dimension.
2. If you mean that students from DL schools have a tendency to order and purchase more dissertations from other DL schools than traditional schools, I would have to disagree because I believe these student, just like those from traditional schools, are simply digging into all available literature (regardless of type of school) and looking for other published dissertations/theses, research and studies relevant to their area of study and research.
3. If you mean that students from a given DL school request dissertations more frequently from their own school than do students from traditional schools and therefore bias the results surrounding the Proquest top ten list, then I would again have to disagree…at least in the case of Touro and likely Nova. Why? Typically, dissertations from a student’s school are readily available to them without placing an order and making payments to Proquest for the same; at least I know this to be the case at Touro, and I’ve heard the same from students at Nova.

From my experience, those who actually purchase dissertations are researchers, faculty, corporations, government and, of course, students looking to find relevant and comprehensive presentations and coverage of research/studies conducted within various topical areas and streams of research. Such material is also a good place to locate data collected by other researchers along with the methods that were used. I consider doctoral and other students working on their dissertations and theses to be scholarly researchers and part of the academic and research community, both while working on their dissertation/thesis research and later in their careers.

Finally, I use my personal observations and interactions as a clear point of reference and benchmark regarding who actually tends to search, view and obtain these dissertations. Specifically, I look at the background of the people that have contacted me directly related to the dissertation they obtained from Proquest. Indeed, I’ve been contacted by quite a few researchers from the U.S. and several other countries that read my dissertation and were looking for information related the study, access to the datasets, input surrounding similar research, and other scholarly discussions. These contacts included research faculty, professors and scholars from the academic community (including well recognized universities), several major corporations, government, and a handful of doctoral candidates. I’ve also been ask to contribute chapters to two books and co-author another, join in related research projects, speak at seminars, and present at several conferences.

Although I agree that DL schools need to gain additional visibility related to top peer reviewed journals, I disagree that it is the only meaningful form of relevant and important visibility for DL programs. Base on my own experience and interactions as only number eight out of the other top ten listed, I believe that visibility surrounding Proquest dissertations reaches much further than DL students viewing each others work as examples, and that it offers much more of the kind of visibility that DL programs need than what you suggest.

Again, I still see these results as a positive for DL programs.

Tom

 

Re: Re: Re: ProQuest Analysis of Best-Selling Dissertations and Theses

Tom - A couple of replies - I'm not sure how to take "scholars and libraries" from Proquest. This sounds pretty general - I doubt they differentiate whether a fellow student or a top researcher has bought the dissertation.

As for the enrollment - here is the point. Part-time programs like Nova have some 500 doctoral students in business and thousands in education. I believe they graduate about 500 PhD's a year total - one of the highest numbers in the country. I thought I had heard Capella's enrollment was in the 10,000 range.

For doctoral programs (especially in business) this is absolutely huge. Most PhD programs in business, for example enroll 20 or fewer students at a time and graduate only a few each year. Georgia State, probably the biggest traditional program, has 200-300 tops.

Nationally, about 1,000 PhD's in business are earned each year. With the growth in DL and non-traditional programs, this number will likely soar.

What do people do with these dissertations that are purchased? There are a wide range of answers. I don't doubt that some end up in libraries. Proquest won't tell you who purchased your dissertation. I know that dozens of mine have been sold - but to whom?

In my NSU experience, many students tended to purchase dissertations to use as roadmaps for their work. This may be a partial explanation. Another possible explanation is that students at traditional B&M schools are much more likely to publish their dissertation results in widely available journals. Why buy Joe's dissertation when the results are published in a well regarded journal.

I'm sure there are others.

Regards - Andy

 

Congratulations on making the top 10 list!

I agree with you, as a current Nova Southeastern doctoral student, I was pleasantly surprised to see so many dissertations from online programs make the list.

 

Tom,

Regardless what rhetoric Andy has given you, I say Congratulation!!!!!
When a person does well, the critics appear.

T-mann

 

Hi Tom and congratulations!

I am not at all surprised that your dissertation was one of the top ten for 04. Looking forward to reading other publications that you may have in the works. Regards, Simon

 

The Proquest list is interesting.

All of the top ten dissertations are in business. Nothing from the sciences, humanities, engineering, agriculture or the like.

And the list of institutions is striking:

1. University of Phoenix

2. Walden University

3. Regent University

4. Benedictine University

5. Nova Southeastern University

6. The Florida State University

7. Touro University International

8. Touro University International

9. University of Phoenix

10. Nova Southeastern University

10. University of Phoenix

With the exception of Florida State perhaps, none of the institutions really has a reputation as a research leader.

I suppose one interpretation is that the DL programs are turning out discipline changing work that academicians feel that they simply have to read in order to stay current. That would be very important if it was true.

Or maybe there's some other explanation. The fact that the list is so heavily weighted towards DL programs suggests that there may be a DL-specific reason. Andy might be right about DL students purchasing dissertations to see what's expected. B&M students could just walk down to the university library and look at the bound copies on the shelf. And conceivably somebody is assigning these things to classes as readings or texts.

I don't know... It's certainly interesting, but I'd want to see some a lot more corroboration before I accept that places like Phoenix, Walden and Touro have replaced places like Berkeley, MIT and Chicago as the country's most influential research hotbeds.

 

something to consider . . .

Something to think about . . .

I would be concerned about citing from a dissertation of a student at a lower-tier B&M school in anything that I would submit to a scholarly journal.

Consider the additional potential for bias an a journal editor or reviewer notes a citation from a dissertation from one of the DL schools.

So who is ordering these dissertations?

 

Tom and all - I certainly don't mean to rain on anyone's success here. Having one's dissertation purcheased from Proquest is a very positive thing and is certainly a measure of success. My posts simply raised the question - that is probably unanswerable - Why are people purchasing these dissertaitons? I'm sure there are lots of reasons.

Regards - Andy

 

Re: something to consider . . .

I, on the other hand, would have no trouble in citing from a dissertation from any school, regardless of its "tier" because I would have read that dissertation and checked the references in order to insure the integrity of my citation.
Jack