Higher education as a maturing field? Evidence from referencing practices

Citation data for higher education journal articles published in the core literature from 1975 to 1981 is presented and it is argued that the publishing medium, article type, and author demographic factors are related to the use of different type reference work as manuscripts are constructed.

Abstract

This paper presents citation data for higher education journal articles published in the core literature from 1975 to 1981. Using a 16-part framework that captures the epistemological variety of journal articles, we note by journal title authors' use of a number of source categories, such as journal articles, books, monographs, legal opinion, and newspaper articles. In addition, we examine reference use trends over the period covered by the research and by the role and institutional location of articles' senior authors. It is argued that the publishing medium, article type, and author demographic factors are related to the use of different type reference work as manuscripts are constructed.