Using Citation Analysis to Explore the Information Needs of Graduate Students Affiliated with a Fuel Cell Research CenterMichael WhiteQueen’s UniversityAmerican Society for Engineering Education2013 Annual Conference & ExpositionJune 26, 2012

Fuel Cell Overview• Invented in 19th century• William Grove, 1839

• Electrochemical cell• Chemical reaction electical

energy• 1960s – US/USSR Space

Programs• “Clean” energy source• No pollutants

Image source: RTDInfo: Magazine on European Research, August 2004

Fuel Cell Programs, Labs, and Research Centers

ASU Caltech Colorado School of Mines Cornell Georgia Tech Humboldt State U Kettering U Penn State Queen’s U-RMC Stark State College Texas A&M U at Albany UC Berkeley UC Davis UC Irvine U of Connecticut U of Delaware U of Hawaii U of Illionis UC U of N. Dakota U de Québec à Trois-Rivières U of S. Carolina U of Waterloo Virginia Commonwealth U West Virginia U Worcester Poly

University

National Lab

Queen’s-RMC Fuel Cell Research Centre

• Established in 2007• Moved to Queen’s Innovation

Park in 2008• Eight faculty• 4 x Chemical Eng./Chemistry• 2 x Mechanical & Materials Eng.• 1 x Civil Eng.• 1 x Mining Eng.

• 5 research staff & PDFs• 20 graduate students• 80 publications; few patent

apps.

Engineering & Science Library

Distance = 2 km/1.25 miles

Queen’s RMC Fuel Cell Research Centre

FCRC Mission Statement

“University-based research and development organization in partnership with industry dedicated to advancing the knowledge base for addressing the key technology challenges to the commercialisation of fuel cell applications.”

Image source: National Research Council, Fuel Cell Lab, Vancouver, BC

Fuel Cell Patents, 2002-2012

2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 -

1,000

2,000

3,000

4,000

5,000

6,000

JP PatentsUS PatentsPCT Applications

Questions• What types of materials do FCRC graduate students cite?• What are the top cited journals by the number of citations and

citing authors?• What are the core journals in the fuel cell literature? • What is the mean number of references per thesis? • What is the age profile of journal and book citations? • Are patents a major source of information cited by students?

Mining

Chem Eng

Mech & Mat

Civil Eng Mining

Chem Eng

Mech & Mat

Civil Eng

?

Data Summary

Total PhD Master’s

# of theses 19* 2 17

# of references 1,317 252 1,065

Mean 69 126 63

Median 59 126 59

Range 34-165 87-165 34-140

Oldest reference 1867 1867 1912

*E-theses only. Theses published in print/microfiche prior to mid-2007 were not included in this study.

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 20120

1

2

3

4

5

6

ChemicalCivilMech & MaterialsMiningMultiple

T/D by Year and Dept.

N = 19

Cited References by Type

69%

10%

6%

4%

3%2% 2%1%1% 1% 1%

JournalBook/chapterWebsiteConferenceTech reportUnknownThesisTech manualComm.PatentMisc.

Cited References by Dept.

CHEE CIVIL MECH MINE0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

120.0%

OtherPatentCommTech manualThesisUnknownTech reportConferenceWebsiteBookJournal

Journal Dispersion & 80/20 Rule

Journal dispersion

Number of journals cited once

80/20 rule

249

150

72.3

60.2

50

Top Journals: Cited vs. WoS Search

Rank Cited Journal %

1 Journal of Power Sources 16.2

2 Journal of the Electrochemical Society 8.1

3 Solid State Ionics 5.5

4 Electrochimica Acta 4

5 Chemical Engineering Science 2.8

6-7 Applied Catalysis A 2.3

6-7 International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 2.3

8 Langmuir 2

9 Journal of Applied Electrochemistry 1.5

10 Chemical Engineering Journal 1.4

Rank Journal (WoS Search) %

1 Journal of Power Sources 12.5

2 International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 6.6

3 Journal of the Electrochemical Society 5.4

4 Electrochimica Acta 3.1

5 Solid State Ionics 2.3

6 Journal of Membrane Science 1.8

7 Electrochemistry Communications 1.7

8 Journal of Physical Chemistry C 1.6

9 Fuel Cells 1.3

10 Journal of Fuel Cell Science and Technology 1.2

Top PublishersPublisher Titles % Refs.

Elsevier 12 39.4

Electrochemical Society 3 10.3

American Chemical Society 5 5.7

Wiley 2 2.4

AIP 2 1.7

Springer 1 1.5

Nature 1 0.8

Top Journals Ranked by Number of Citing Authors Rank Journal # Authors % Authors

1 Journal of Power Sources 17 89.4

2-3 Chemical Engineering Science 12 63.2

2-3 International Journal of Hydrogen Energy 12 63.2

4 Journal of the Electrochemical Society 11 57.9

5 Electrochimica Acta 10 36.8

6-7 ECS Transactions 7 36.8

6-7 Solid State Ionics 7 36.8

8-10 Applied Catalysis A 6 31.6

8-10 Electrochemical and Solid State Letters 6 31.6

8-10 Journal of Applied Electrochemistry 6 31.6

Age of Citations: Journal vs. Book

0-4 5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30+0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

45.0%

50.0%

JournalBook

Years

Conclusions & Questions

• Distinct fuel cell literature• Elsevier is the dominant publisher• ACS, ECS and Wiley also important• Differences between sub-disciplines• Mining students cite more conferences, tech reports and patents• Civil students cite fewer journals

• How are students searching the literature?• Why aren’t students using the patent literature?