What Journals Do Psychology Graduate Students Need? A Citation Analysis of Thesis References

The increasing price of journal subscriptions and the increasing number of journals available make it difficult for libraries to supply all needed material locally for scholarly research. Bibliographic citation analysis ofstudent research papers is one method of evaluating the use of journal collection. Journal selection and cancellation may be done on the basis ofcost-per-use to maximize the usefulness of materials purchased with the library budget. Theses provide a convenient archival resource of student research. This study used the bibliographic citations found in theses and dissertations of graduate students in the psychology and counseling departments of the university, cost-per-use statistics, and shelving statistics to develop a basis for psychology journal selection in the Academic Library. The library should not rely on one single evaluation technique. It should take advantage of combination of techniques, which as this study indicates, serve to complement each other.