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Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy (RPYS) with publications in the area of academic efficiency studies: what are the historical roots of this research topic?

ABSTRACT In this study, we explore the historical roots of the relatively new topic in scientometrics of academic efficiency assessments. We are interested in the contributions of researchers from the past which have been revealed as important for the topic in the long run. The technique of Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy (RPYS) has been recently introduced which is based on the analysis of the frequency with which references are cited in the publications of a specific research field (here: academic efficiency assessments). The study is based on papers conducted for a systematic review of empirical articles on technical efficiency in academic research production: 60 papers (published between 1992 and 2012) and 1314 cited references. Results indicated that 5 peaks are clearly identifiable until 2000. They correspond, respectively, to the years 1957 (The founding article of Farrell), 1978 (Proposition of a new promising approach: the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) by Charnes et al.), 1988 (Research-teaching multi-output model and integration of quality indicators), 1990 (DEA in the service of Research Assessment Exercise) and 1997 (Introduction of weight restrictions in DEA). The peaks are described with the underlying publications and recent developments (since 2000) in the area of academic efficiency studies are outlined.