Descriptive Document Analysis of Postgraduate Theses on Innovation Management

OpenAlex · English

Introduction: This study maps the landscape of postgraduate theses on innovation management in Turkey to identify who studies the topic, where and how it is approached, and which gaps persist. By offering a consolidated baseline on institutions, disciplines, language, and degree levels, it aims to inform future research agendas and curricular and policy decisions. Method: A descriptive document analysis was conducted on 53 theses (41 master’s; 12 doctoral) retrieved from the National Thesis Center of Higher Education Council up to December 31, 2024. Inclusion required the phrase “Innovation Management” in the title. Each thesis was coded for year, university type, institute, department, subject focus, degree level, advisor title, author gender, language, and page count. Findings were summarized using frequency distributions and simple cross-tabulations and presented via tables/figures to highlight temporal and institutional patterns. Results or Findings: The volume of theses rose sharply, peaking in 2018–2019. Most were produced at state universities (84.9%) and Social Sciences Institutes (73.6%). Business Administration (39.6%) and Education Sciences (30.2%) dominated the disciplinary spread. Master’s theses constituted 77.4% . Regarding language, 94.3% were in Turkish and no doctoral theses were in English, signaling limited international visibility at the highest degree level. Discussion or Conclusion: The field exhibits a strong national focus and limited doctoral-level theoretical development. Future research should expand English-language outputs, employ advanced bibliometric techniques and mixed-methods, and encourage interdisciplinary and international collaborations.