Developing an Inclusive Measure of Influence for Marine Environmental Grey Literature: A Case Study of the Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP)

This case study investigated how the state-of-the-marine-environment reports published by the UN-based Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP), an intergovernmental advisory body, are used worldwide. Methodologies were established to improve understanding of the influence of scientific grey literature in print and digital formats. Whereas citation analysis, based on Web of Science data, has been used for several decades to measure the influence of scientific literature, this study demonstrated the limitations of relying solely on Web of Science data. Based on analysis of citation data drawn from Google, Google Scholar, monographs, as well as Web of Science, a more comprehensive metric of the use and influence of grey literature, in this case GESAMP’s, was developed.

Master’s thesis advisory committee:(L to R) Dr. Bertrum MacDonald, Dr. Janice Graham, Mr. Gregory Hutton, Dr. Peter Wells

Gregory Hutton completed this MLIS thesis supervised by Dr. Bertrum MacDonald, School of Information Management. The examining committee included Dr. Jamshid Beheshti, School of Information Studies, McGill University (external examiner), Dr. Peter Wells, School for Resource and Environmental Studies, Dalhousie University, and Dr. Janice Graham, Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University.

The MLIS thesis can be downloaded by clicking on this link. A paper has been published in the Proceedings of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science (Hutton, 2010) and additional papers from this MLIS thesis are in preparation for publishing.