THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF RESEARCH IN THE FIELD OF ECOLOGY - AS MEASURED BY DISSERTATION TITLE ANALYSIS

This study assesses the growth, the patterns of development and the co mplexity of research in the field of ecology from 1976 to 1993 in Spai n and the five Spanish speaking countries of the Caribbean. Using as a yardstick of research and development in that field, the dissertation titles were counted for each region. The total length, the key words per title were recorded and analysed statistically. Results show that the growth of research in ecology is greater in Spain and peaked earli er than in the Caribbean countries. However, the titles in the latter region were more complex than those in Spain.