A bibliometric analysis of a top field journal in the economics of education

Abstract

Bibliometric analysis, an approach introduced by the library and information sciences, attempts to unravel the relationships between a large number of scientific literature by using quantitative methods. Economics of Education Review was founded in 1981 to meet the needs of a growing number of research in the economics of education. The journal has evolved to become a top field journal that focuses on high quality research in an interdisciplinary field that combines educational studies and economics. It specializes in human capital production and the returns to human capital as well as in education policy and finance. We examine collaboration patterns using an approach introduced by the library and information sciences. The current research shows hidden patterns among scientific actors to offer a comprehensive understanding of the knowledge structure of this top field journal by employing network analysis such as bibliographic coupling, co-authorship and co-citation analysis. It also presents a thematic overview by analyzing author keyword co-occurrence and by classifying articles into six thematic clusters to highlight past themes and current trends in the field of economics of education. Our results suggest a shift in the focus of research, with more topics on measuring the impact of preschool programs, quality education, higher education attainment, gender, race and peer effects playing an important role in this area of scientific research.