Dirección de tesis doctorales como reflejo de la Biblioteconomía y Documentación académica española: actores y temas
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Resumen: Las tesis doctorales posibilitan la transmisión de la capacidad investigadora a las futuras generaciones y la consolidación de las líneas de investigación de un área de conocimiento. Se caracteriza la Biblioteconomía y Documentación de las universidades públicas españolas a partir de la dirección de tesis doctorales por los académicos del área. Se han identificado los docentes activos en el curso 2019-2020, su fecha de nombramiento como funcionarios, las tesis que han dirigido y su participación en publicaciones en revistas científicas. Se han analizado 644 tesis. Un 23% de los titulares de universidad nunca ha participado en la dirección de tesis y la mayoría de los titulares y catedráticos de universidad (60%) tienen un promedio de direcciones/año desde su nombramiento por debajo de la media del área. Existe una elevada concentración en unas pocas instituciones y directores (el 8% del profesorado ha dirigido el 42% de las tesis), con importantes desequilibrios en la participación de las mujeres (promedio de 1,8 tesis dirigidas frente a 2,6 en el caso de los hombres). Unidades y servicios de información, estudios métricos de la publicación científica y fuentes de información son los temas del 47% de las tesis. Muchos de los docentes con 10 o más direcciones (n=18) adolecen de una especialización temática, no existiendo una relación entre su relevante papel en las tareas de dirección y su participación en las actividades de investigación a través de publicaciones en revistas científicas. Los resultados alertan acerca de que la consideración de la dirección de tesis como un importante mérito curricular puede contribuir a reforzar el fenómeno de la concentración del poder y capital social en un reducido grupo de directores, provocando una reducción de la pluralidad de enfoques y direcciones menos eficientes. Los desequilibrios descritos se erigen como una amenaza más que se suma a la crisis epistemológica y de los estudios universitarios de esta área de conocimiento.
Abstract: Doctoral dissertations enable the transfer of research skills and capacities to future generations and the consolidation of lines of research in a given area of knowledge. The field of Library and Information Science in public universities in Spain is characterized by the supervision of doctoral theses by academics in the area. We identified active professors during the 2019–2020 academic year, their date of appointment as civil servants within the public university system, the dissertations that they supervised, and their participation in papers published in scientific journals. The analysis included 644 theses. About a quarter (23%) of university faculty have never supervised a doctoral thesis, and most faculty members and tenured professors (60%) show a lower than average rate of adviserships per year since their academic appointment. There is a high concentration of PhD advisers in just a few institutions and academics (8% of university professors have supervised 42% of the dissertations), with an important gender imbalance: women supervised an average of 1.8 dissertations, compared with 2.6 for men. Information units and services, study metrics and scientific publications, and information sources are the topics of 47% of the dissertations. Many of the professors with 10 or more adviserships (n/N= 12/18) lack a subject area specialization, and their role in PhD supervision was not related to their participation in research activities oriented toward publishing in scientific journals. Our results suggest that considering supervision of doctoral theses as an important academic merit could contribute to a further concentration of power and social capital among a small group of advisers. This phenomenon could reduce the plurality of topics addressed and favor suboptimal adviserships. The imbalances described emerge as another threat, exacerbating the epistemological crisis in the discipline and in the university studies in this area of knowledge.
Abstract: Doctoral dissertations enable the transfer of research skills and capacities to future generations and the consolidation of lines of research in a given area of knowledge. The field of Library and Information Science in public universities in Spain is characterized by the supervision of doctoral theses by academics in the area. We identified active professors during the 2019–2020 academic year, their date of appointment as civil servants within the public university system, the dissertations that they supervised, and their participation in papers published in scientific journals. The analysis included 644 theses. About a quarter (23%) of university faculty have never supervised a doctoral thesis, and most faculty members and tenured professors (60%) show a lower than average rate of adviserships per year since their academic appointment. There is a high concentration of PhD advisers in just a few institutions and academics (8% of university professors have supervised 42% of the dissertations), with an important gender imbalance: women supervised an average of 1.8 dissertations, compared with 2.6 for men. Information units and services, study metrics and scientific publications, and information sources are the topics of 47% of the dissertations. Many of the professors with 10 or more adviserships (n/N= 12/18) lack a subject area specialization, and their role in PhD supervision was not related to their participation in research activities oriented toward publishing in scientific journals. Our results suggest that considering supervision of doctoral theses as an important academic merit could contribute to a further concentration of power and social capital among a small group of advisers. This phenomenon could reduce the plurality of topics addressed and favor suboptimal adviserships. The imbalances described emerge as another threat, exacerbating the epistemological crisis in the discipline and in the university studies in this area of knowledge.