5. Following the Footnotes. A Bibliometric Analysis of Citation Patterns in Literary Studies (2012)

Author: Björn Hammarfelt. Diss.

This thesis provides an in-depth study of the possibilities of applying bibliometric methods tothe research field of literary studies. The four articles that constitute the backbone of this thesis focus on different aspects of references and citations in literary studies: from the use of references in the text to citation patterns among 34 literature journals. The analysis covers both an Anglo-Saxon context as well as research in Swedish literary studies, and the materials used include Web of Science data, references in the Swedish literature journal TFL (Tidskrift för Litteraturvetenskap) and applications to the Swedish Research Council (Vetenskapsrådet). A study is also made of the influence of one single publication—Walter Benjamin’s Illuminations—and its impact in literary studies and in wider academia.