Knowledge Networks A Social Network Analysis of Dissertation Subjects

This paper presents a social network analysis of the subject areas of tourism dissertations in North America based on the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses-Full text database (1994-2008). This study demonstrates the openness and vibrancy of the tourism field from a network perspective. The longitudinal examinations revealed a U-shape pattern in the structural evolution of the knowledge network in tourism research. 21 key subjects were identified as the anchors of the dynamic tourism knowledge system, and their associations with each other were also examined. In addition, this article discusses the relations between the major subject areas and the faculty program distributions of doctoral tourism research at North American institutions