Facets of Specialization and Its Relation to Career Success: An Analysis of U.S. Sociology, 1980 to 2015

IF 7.1 1区社会学 Q1 SOCIOLOGY American Sociological Review Pub Date : 2021-11-29 DOI:10.1177/00031224211056267

R. Heiberger, Sebastian Munoz-Najar Galvez, Daniel A. McFarland

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引用次数: 9

Abstract

We investigate how sociology students garner recognition from niche field audiences through specialization. Our dataset comprises over 80,000 sociology-related dissertations completed at U.S. universities, as well as data on graduates’ pursuant publications. We analyze different facets of how students specialize—topic choice, focus, novelty, and consistency. To measure specialization types within a consistent methodological frame, we utilize structural topic modeling. These measures capture specialization strategies used at an early career stage. We connect them to a crucial long-term outcome in academia: becoming an advisor. Event-history models reveal that specific topic choices and novel combinations exhibit a positive influence, whereas focused theses make no substantial difference. In particular, theses related to the cultural turn, methods, or race are tied to academic careers that lead to mentorship. Thematic consistency of students’ publication track also has a strong positive effect on the chances of becoming an advisor. Yet, there are diminishing returns to consistency for highly productive scholars, adding important nuance to the well-known imperative of publish or perish in academic careers.

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专业化的方面及其与职业成功的关系——1980年至2015年美国社会学分析

我们调查社会学学生如何通过专业化获得利基领域受众的认可。我们的数据集包括在美国大学完成的80,000多篇社会学相关论文，以及毕业生后续出版物的数据。我们分析了学生如何选择专业话题、关注焦点、新颖性和一致性的不同方面。为了在一致的方法框架内度量专门化类型，我们使用结构主题建模。这些措施捕获了在职业生涯早期阶段使用的专业化策略。我们将他们与学术界一个重要的长期成果联系起来:成为一名顾问。事件历史模型显示，特定的主题选择和新颖的组合表现出积极的影响，而集中的论文没有实质性的差异。特别是，与文化转向、方法或种族相关的论文与学术生涯联系在一起，从而获得指导。学生发表轨迹的主题一致性对成为指导老师的几率也有很强的正向影响。然而，对于高产学者来说，一致性的回报是递减的，这为学术生涯中众所周知的“要么发表，要么灭亡”的必要性增加了重要的细微差别。

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来源期刊

American Sociological Review SOCIOLOGY-

CiteScore

13.30

自引率

3.30%

发文量

期刊介绍： The American Sociological Association (ASA) is a non-profit membership association established in 1905. Its mission is to advance sociology as a scientific discipline and profession that serves the public good. ASA is comprised of approximately 12,000 members including faculty members, researchers, practitioners, and students in the field of sociology. Roughly 20% of the members work in government, business, or non-profit organizations. One of ASA's primary endeavors is the publication and dissemination of important sociological research. To this end, they founded the American Sociological Review (ASR) in 1936. ASR is the flagship journal of the association and publishes original works that are of general interest and contribute to the advancement of sociology. The journal seeks to publish new theoretical developments, research results that enhance our understanding of fundamental social processes, and significant methodological innovations. ASR welcomes submissions from all areas of sociology, placing an emphasis on exceptional quality. Aside from ASR, ASA also publishes 14 professional journals and magazines. Additionally, they organize an annual meeting that attracts over 6,000 participants. ASA's membership consists of scholars, professionals, and students dedicated to the study and application of sociology in various domains of society.