Bibliometric Analysis in Historiographical Studies
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nomenclature of Russian academic specialties), the name of the host
establishment, and the place and year the thesis was written (based on the
release of the abstract) was gathered. This data formed the system of
bibliometric indicators to be analysed.
Due to the incomplete nature of the Russian State Library’s thesis
collection in comparison with its collection of abstracts, the incompleteness of
bibliographic descriptions of theses in comparison with descriptions of
abstracts and, ultimately, the greater availability of abstracts compared to theses,
it was considered more useful to apply bibliometric methodologies to abstracts
than theses. Having studied the output data (which is the basis for bibliographic
descriptions) of actual theses, it was found that the incidence of mismatches
between output data and abstracts was very low (less than 0.5%) and such
mismatches related exclusively to where the thesis was prepared (place of
abstract release) and the date the document was released (year of
completion/abstract release) - factors which were not essential to the analysis,
since they have almost no effect on the results.
Bibliometric analysis of theses on Russian emigration defended in
Russia between 1980 and 2005
A total of 903 thesis abstracts on the subject of Russian emigration,
published in Russia between 1980 and 2005 were identified in the course of
this study, and in-depth analysis was applied to the data they contained. In
the years 1980-1991, i.e. during the time of the Soviet Union, only 85 theses
were defended - 9.4% of the total number of identified works on the
subject of Russian emigration written between 1980 and 2005.
From these, the following tendencies in the study of emigration were
identified.
There was a significant increase in the intensity of academic studies in
the 1990s - early 2000s. During this period, the number of theses defended
on the subject of Russian emigration were: 1992 - 5 theses, 1993 - 12, 1994 -
17, 1995 - 36, 1996 - 46, 1997 - 43, 1998 - 50, 1999 - 63, 2000 - 81, 2001 -
89, 2002 - 88, 2003 - 88, 2004 - 93, and 2005 - 107.
The involvement of humanitarian disciplines in emigration studies has
also grown. The number of academic fields in which such research is being
conducted (based on the number of disciplines seeing thesis defences on
the topic) has grown from 6 academic branches in the 1980-1991 period to
13 between 1992 and 2005.
There has been a significant increase in the number of specialties
within which immigration studies are carried out. In 1980, theses were
found in 5 different specialties, in 1981 - 6, 1982 - 6, 1983 - 6, 1984 - 7,
1985 - 5, 1986 - 7, 1987 - 2, 1988 - 6, 1989 - 1, 1990 - 4, 1991 - 7, 1992 - 3,
1993 - 6, 1994 - 11, 1995 - 19, 1996 - 19, 1997 - 17, 1998 - 15, 1999 - 24,
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A. A. Pronin
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2000 - 20, 2001 - 20, 2002 - 23, 2003 - 27, 2004 - 27 and 2005 - 26. As can
be seen, the number of specialities was 5.4 times greater in 2003 and 2004
than 1980, increasing from 5 to 27. The same list of academic specialties
which saw theses defended between 1994 and 2005 included 62 specific
areas, compared to 23 specific areas presented in the 1980-1993 period.
Across the whole study period of 1980-2005, a total of 66
items
were
represented.
The range of cities and establishments where defences took place also
widened: in 1980-1989, 9 cities hosted thesis defences, in 1990-1999 the
number was 33, and by 2000 to 2005 the number had grown to 55 cities.
Considered from the Soviet/post-Soviet split, from 1992 to 2005 59 cities
hosted thesis defences, compared to 9 cities in the 1980-1991 period.
Regarding individual establishments, between 1980 and 1989 thesis
defences were held in 24 establishments, from 1990 to 1999 - 70, and from
2000 to 2005 - 137. (When counting, the identity of renamed establishments
was, where possible, established.) Comparing the two periods 1980-1991
and 1992-2005, it was noted that the former period saw defences held in 26
establishments and the latter in 152 establishments. In total, thesis defences
related to the topic of Russian emigration took place in 158 establishments
located in 59 cities in Russian territory between 1980 and 2005.
Among all theses identified from the period 1980-2005, PhD
submissions numbered 104 out of 903 (11.5%) while MPhil theses
represented 799 out of 903 (88.5%).
The two most important research centres - in terms of both the
number of theses on emigration subjects and the breadth of coverage across
various branches of academia - were, by a large margin, Moscow and St
Petersburg. This can be explained by the ease of direct access, in these two
largest Russian cities, to an important resource base: they are home to the
main and largest library archives. They are also the location of thesis
councils for most academic disciplines. In Moscow, during the period under
consideration, 432 theses were successfully defended on the topic of
Russian emigration - 47.8% of the total (903 defences). St Petersburg
(Leningrad) hosted 103 defences (11.4%) and Rostov-on-Don saw 34
defences (3.8%). In Tomsk, 25 defences were held (2.8%) (Tomsk retained
its fourth place throughout the 1990s and 2000s), while Ekaterinburg
(Sverdlovsk) hosted 24 defences (2.7%). In other cities 1 to 17 defences
were held.
In Moscow all areas of academia in which the study of Russian
emigration and Russian expatriate communities takes place are represented.
The undisputed lead institution in terms of the number of defences and
range of academic branches in which they were carried out in the years
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