Tracking Engineering Education Research and Development

Authors

  • Bill Williams Setubal Polytechnic Institute and CEGIST, Lisbon
  • Pedro Neto Setubal Polytechnic Institute

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.3991/ijep.v2i2.2087

Keywords:

Taxonomical classification, bibliometric analysis, citation analysis, engineering education research, silo effect

Abstract


In recent years, bibliometric analysis of publications has been receiving growing attention in engineering education research as an approach that can bring a number of benefits. In this paper two such forms, taxonomical analysis and citation analysis, are applied to papers from the first 2011 number of IEEE Transactions on Education (21 papers) and from the two 2011 numbers of the ASEE-published Advances in Engineering Education (22 papers). In the former approach, seven taxonomical dimensions are used to characterize the papers and in the second the references cited in the 43 papers were studied so as to analyze how the researchers were informed by previous studies. The results suggest that the silo effect identified by Wankat for disciplinary engineering education journals in 2009 was still apparent in the IEEE Transactions on Education in 2011. The Advances in Engineering Education papers show a wide range of cited references, including reference disciplines outside of engineering education, and this suggests that research published there is likely to be informed by a broad range of previous studies which may be interpreted as a sign of a growing maturity of engineering education as a research discipline.

Author Biographies

Bill Williams, Setubal Polytechnic Institute and CEGIST, Lisbon

Bill Williams is a senior lecturer at the ESTBarreiro School of Setubal Polytechnic Institute, an associate member of the Centre for Management Studies of Instituto Superior Técnico, Technical University of Lisbon, and a member of the Portuguese Engineering Education Society (SPEE) working group on Continuous Education in Engineering (e-mail: bill.williams@estbarreiro.ips.pt).

Pedro Neto, Setubal Polytechnic Institute

Pedro Neto is a senior lecturer at the ESTBarreiro School of Setubal Polytechnic Institute and an associate member of the Instituto de Engenharia de Estruturas, Território e Construção of Instituto Superior Técnico, Technical University of Lisbon and member of the Portuguese Engineering Education Society (SPEE) working group on IT in Engineering Education (e-mail: pedro.neto@estbarreiro.ips.pt).

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Published

2012-04-26

How to Cite

Williams, B., & Neto, P. (2012). Tracking Engineering Education Research and Development . International Journal of Engineering Pedagogy (iJEP), 2(2), pp. 37–44. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijep.v2i2.2087

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Section

Papers