Citation network analysis for supporting continuous improvement in Higher Education

Abstract

Continuous improvement in Higher Education can be supported by effective literature reviews to unveil contemporary and current educational needs and lay the foundations of programmes of study. As no discipline remains static, the aim of this paper is to present a methodology for conducting literature reviews that can complement traditional content-based reviews by revealing the dynamic evolution of a discipline. This methodology is represented by citation network analysis (CNA), a collection of tools that help to detect the dynamics of a field through computer-based systematic analyses of its bibliographic data. Notwithstanding its potential, CNA has been seldom adopted to conduct literature reviews. In this paper, CNA was applied to the evolving field of logistics and supply chain management education. Results provide evidence of the benefits of CNA for the identification of key issues, trends, and evolutionary trajectories supporting continuous improvement in Higher Education in a more scientific and objective way.