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On the shoulders of students? The contribution of PhD students to the advancement of knowledge

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  • Vincent Larivière

    (Université de Montréal
    Centre Interuniversitaire de Recherche sur la Science et la Technologie, Université du Québec à Montréal)

Abstract

Using the participation in peer reviewed publications of all doctoral students in Quebec over the 2000–2007 period, this paper provides the first large scale analysis of their research effort. It shows that PhD students contribute to about a third of the publication output of the province, with doctoral students in the natural and medical sciences being present in a higher proportion of papers published than their colleagues of the social sciences and humanities. Collaboration is an important component of this socialization: disciplines in which student collaboration is higher are also those in which doctoral students are the most involved in peer-reviewed publications. In terms of scientific impact, papers co-signed by doctorate students obtain significantly lower citation rates than other Quebec papers, except in natural sciences and engineering. Finally, this paper shows that involving doctoral students in publications is positively linked with degree completion and ulterior career in research.

Suggested Citation

  • Vincent Larivière, 2012. "On the shoulders of students? The contribution of PhD students to the advancement of knowledge," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 90(2), pages 463-481, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:90:y:2012:i:2:d:10.1007_s11192-011-0495-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-011-0495-6
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Éric Archambault & Étienne Vignola-Gagné & Grégoire Côté & Vincent Larivière & Yves Gingrasb, 2006. "Benchmarking scientific output in the social sciences and humanities: The limits of existing databases," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 68(3), pages 329-342, September.
    2. Vincent Larivière & Yves Gingras & Éric Archambault, 2006. "Canadian collaboration networks: A comparative analysis of the natural sciences, social sciences and the humanities," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 68(3), pages 519-533, September.
    3. Buchmueller, Thomas C. & Dominitz, Jeff & Lee Hansen, W., 1999. "Graduate training and the early career productivity of Ph.D. economists," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 65-77, February.
    4. Leydesdorff, Loet & Wagner, Caroline S., 2008. "International collaboration in science and the formation of a core group," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 2(4), pages 317-325.
    5. Vincent Larivière & Benoit Macaluso & Éric Archambault & Yves Gingras, 2010. "Which scientific elites? On the concentration of research funds, publications and citations," Research Evaluation, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(1), pages 45-53, March.
    6. Lars H. Breimer, 2010. "Swedish biomedical PhD examination: an international forum and a proposed procedure for Europe," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 83(2), pages 583-587, May.
    7. Georghiou, Luke, 1998. "Global cooperation in research," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(6), pages 611-626, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Sotaro Shibayama & Yoshie Kobayashi, 2017. "Impact of Ph.D. training: a comprehensive analysis based on a Japanese national doctoral survey," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 113(1), pages 387-415, October.
    2. Adam Emmer, 2019. "The careers behind and the impact of solo author articles in Nature and Science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 120(2), pages 825-840, August.
    3. Marek Kosmulski, 2015. "Careers of young Polish chemists," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 102(2), pages 1455-1465, February.

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