Scientometric analysis of occupational therapy Ph.D. theses

Abstract

Introduction: Scientometry is the study of the quantitative aspects of the scientific and technological literature, helping in creating a broad vision of the research achievements in a scientific field. A Ph.D. thesis is an original research study about a scientific area carried out by a candidate and is considered an indicator of highly qualified staff. To our best knowledge, no scientometric analysis has been performed in occupational therapy in Spain. Objective: To characterize occupational therapy Ph.D. theses defended in Spain and its trend. Method: A scientometric, descriptive, retrospective study was conducted between 1976 and November 2019, using the information searching in the TESEO and SOCINTO databases, the DART-Europe Etheses Portal, and the Dialnet repository. Descriptive and regression analyses were carried out. Results: 77 Ph.D. theses met the inclusion criteria. The linear regression reflects a diachronic progression with r2= 0.530 with a statistical significance (p