Research productivity and research growth at the university of kelaniya: a study based on the postgraduate theses collection

Abstract

This study focused on a comprehensive review of postgraduate theses spanning the period from 1960 to 2023, drawing primarily from the repository of postgraduate theses in the main library, University of Kelaniya. The primary objective of this study is to find out the research productivity and growth of the postgraduate degree program offered by the University of Kelaniya. At the same time, this study tried to find research trends in all subject disciplines covered by the University of Kelaniya and identify popular subject areas among postgraduate students. By using the content analysis method, details related to the theses submitted for the degree program Ph.D., M.Phil. M.S.Sc., M.Com. and M.A. collected for this study. Microsoft Excel was used to analyze 2000 theses from the library collection. This study has been done in two stages. Firstly, data was collected from theses, and data was described by using literature from secondary sources to make a clear analysis of the literature. The research findings indicated that most of the studies focused on the Social Sciences and Humanities, particularly at the M.S.Sc. level. However, there were fewer theses submitted for Master of Science (M.Sc) and Master of Art (M.A.) degree programs. The popular fields in the Faculty of Social Sciences were Mass Communication, Library, and Information Science, and the fields of Human Resource Management, Commerce, and Financial Management were the popular fields in the Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies. As recommendations, faculty of Postgraduate studies, the University of Kelaniya should give more attention to other fields rather than Arts and Human Resource Management. Developing new programs in these areas is crucial to enhance research effectiveness. This responsibility extends to both the Faculty of postgraduate studies and other faculties of the university.