Publication trends of doctoral students in three fields from 1965–1995

This study investigates the publication rates of successful doctoral students in the fields of analytical chemistry, experimental psychology, and American literature. Publication rates were calculated for a sample of those receiving doctorates every fifth year between 1965 and 1995. An analysis of the data revealed that there were differences in publication rates of the doctoral students that mirrored differences between the fields as a whole. The data also show that the decline in solo authorship observed in many fields is present in this population as well. Participation rates (percent that had at least one publication) for chemistry and literature showed initial increases followed by plateaus since the early 1980s, while the participation rate in psychology has remained between 40 and 60 percent over the course of the study.