The Impact of Subject Heading Assignment on Circulation of Dissertations at Virginia Tech

Abstract

Subject headings for bibliographic records for dissertations are no longer assigned at some academic libraries, but the impact this might have on dissertation use has not been evaluated. In this study, bibliographic and circulation records for a sample of 248 academic dissertations were examined to determine the effect of controlled subject headings in the records on circulation of the items. Titles with LC subject headings were compared to those without. Chi-square analysis showed significant differences in circulation for the total sample (p = .04), but not for individual areas of study. Discussion of sources of bias and suggestions for future research are included.