Access Type
Open Access Dissertation
Date of Award
January 2025
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Department
English
First Advisor
Jeff Pruchnic
Abstract
On a First Name Bias: A Bibliometric Study of Six Writing Studies Journals analyzes citation, authorship, source use, and other bibliometric patterns across a small collection of peer-reviewed journals featuring research from the academic field of writing studies (also known as rhetoric and composition). The study is grounded in a small but established tradition of RAD (replicable, aggregable, data-supported) scholarship in the field and uses bibliometric methods inspired by similar, primarily historiographic research studies within the field of writing studies and by critical inquiry from scholars across disciplines who have used bibliometric analysis to interrogate troubling patterns of publishing and citation when controlling for identities such as gender, race, ethnicity, or institutional affiliation. This study drew data from the citation lists and authorial records of research articles from two different sets of journals referred to as “old growth” and “new growth” journals. The old growth journals include three long-established, decades-old journals in the field and the new growth journals are more recently-established journals in their first decade of publication. To track published and cited author gender, race, and ethnicity, this study drew from sociological research that indicates first names are a reliable marker for identities such as gender, race, or ethnicity. This methodological approach to a bibliometric analysis is novel in writing studies. Major findings from this study include indications that scholars with feminine coded names are more likely to be published and to be cited in the field’s journals than they have been in the past; on the other hand, scholars with non-White coded names (i.e., Black, Hispanic, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native) remain less prevalent as both published authors and across citation lists. The study concludes with a number of observations for future research, and argues that using first names as a coding strategy in resource thin environments (e.g., graduate directors, writing program administrators) is a practical tool for empirical intervention into articulated concerns or problems.
Recommended Citation
Torok, Joe, "On A First Name Bias: A Bibliometric Study Of Six Writing Studies Journals" (2025). Wayne State University Dissertations. 4171.
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/4171