Using Citation Analysis Methods to Assess the Influence of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Evaluations

Abstract

This study explores the use of citation analysis methods to assess the influence of program evaluations conducted within the area of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. Citation analysis is widely used within scientific research communities to measure the relative influence of scientific research enterprises and/or individual scientists, however it has not been used frequently to study the influence of evaluations. This study examines the levels, content, and networks of citations arising from products produced by four large-scale, multi-site STEM evaluations. This article explores the usefulness of citation data in understanding the impact of evaluations and finds that citation analysis methods provide information to help understand, to a limited extent, the influence of large-scale, multi-site program evaluations on the fields of STEM education and evaluation.