Citation
Chiware, E., & Becker, D. (2018). Citation Patterns of Conference Proceedings in Master’s and Doctoral Studies: A Case Study of Information Technology and Systems. SAGE Open, 8(2), 215824401877049.
Abstract
This study reports on an analysis of the use of conference proceedings by postgraduate students at master’s and doctoral levels in the field of information technology and systems at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) over a period of 10 years. The analysis was based on master’s theses and doctoral dissertations submitted by the Department of Information Technology and deposited into the web-based institutional repository and involved analyzing the various references cited. The results of the study show that conference papers are the fourth most cited materials in theses and dissertations after journal articles, books, and online sources. The types of conferences cited relate to the subject under investigation in the theses or dissertation. The conferences proceedings cited are from various international and local conferences at which the students and lecturers from CPUT have or frequently presented. This study contributes to the knowledge on the trends and patterns of conference proceedings citations in theses and dissertations. This study also contributes to the knowledge on the use of conference proceedings by postgraduate students at master’s and doctoral levels in the information systems and computer sciences. It provides an analytical framework that can be used by library managers in the collection development processes in support of postgraduate students’ research information needs.
Experimental or Non-experimental?
I believe the study was non-experimental, as the author was not trying to experiment or apply a treatment onto anybody.
Qualitative or Quantitative?
I believe that the study was qualitative because the study aimed to describe what sources are used most. While numbers were involved in determining what was the most cited material, the main point of the study was to define and describe what source was used and why it was used more.
What was the population studied?
The population studied in this was students writing Masters’ or Doctorate papers and using specific sources as listed above, from journal articles, books, and so on.
What was the sample for the study?
The sample for this study was based on masters’ theses and dissertations submitted for their research. The sample was selected from a total of 55 masters and 8 doctorates, and the sample ended up being 28 masters and 7 doctorates.
What was the method of measurement?
The papers were fact-checked to ensure accuracy before they were thoroughly searched for every reference for the study. Once they had each source, they would back-check the source to find out where it came from (whether it be from a book, a scholarly article, or otherwise). All of these sources were checked to see whether or not they were considered “Conference Proceedings“.
What was the method of analysis?
The results were analyzed through the use of spreadsheets. The data would be inputted into a spreadsheet and sorted and turned into graphs to study how often each specific source was used.
What was the conclusion of the study?
In the end, it was discovered that Journals (38%) were the most used, with books (26%) coming in second and online sources (19%) sliding into third place. Conferences, the statistic they aimed to study, came in fourth place overall in the study, with a total of 7%.
Why was the study useful?
While the study was not life-changing or major, in any way, it unlocked knowledge about what students tend to turn to for their research sources. We found out that students most often use journals or books to provide them with solid evidence, with online sources shortly afterwards in case they couldn’t find what they needed through scholarly libraries.
Next Logical Step?
The next logical step would probably be to research what sort of journals, books, and online sources are most popular. This could be done by pulling all the data from this study over the three topics into a new sheet and further researching these three topics to find out who or where the source came from to find out if any specific author or region is better for finding or creating research than any one other area.
Interesting topic, what made you choose it? It’s cool to learn that students use other sources of material rather than books and articles for information. Conference proceedings show a more interactive view and are probably very intriguing. I think I may look into using them for research in the future.
I chose the topic because I thought this would be an interesting way to discover more about sources one could use for research. I agree that conference proceedings would be useful for interactive information. I think that having these options can lead to getting more and more information in the least biased and most straightforward ways possible.
I have never thought of your novel topic, but I think it is very helpful, because writing a paper is such a headache for us college students (or maybe just me), so it is very important to know what resources can be used for reference. I don’t seem to have ever cited the source of the conference proceedings, which gave me a good idea that I might use in future papers. Plus, I’m looking forward to seeing what the next step is. Seeing what types of journals, books, and online resources are most popular, as you say. I really hope that online sources can be used in more in-depth research dissertations because I am a big fan of citing online sources, but I always fear that they are not authoritative enough to be used for academic dissertations.