Abstract
Human Ecology researches studying human life patterns in Korea are on the same tracts of recent global promotion in Korea as that of other academic studies. In this changing academic atmosphere, Human Ecology-based researches are in demands of suitable research topics and methods. This study was done to investigate the present research situations of Human Ecology-based subdivisional fields, including food and nutrition, clothing and textiles, child studies, family studies, home management, housing studies, consumer sciences and home economics education, by an increasing need in the society of KHEA (Korean Home Economics Association). The study focused on understanding the trends of research topics and methods shown in the papers published in major academic periodicals in Korea as well as world-class (SCI, SSCI) journals in order to predict the future for Ecology-based studies in Korea. The data were collected from all periodicals from January, 2000 to August, 2003, listed in the Korean Research Foundation and from world-class journals comparable to the former. Twenty-six periodicals were chosen for analysis, including papers with authors of ecology-based, field faculty at colleges or universities. There were some differences between the Korean and world-class research topics and methods. In order to narrow the gap between the two, we suggested that serious consideration be given to the research's application-ability toward human beings, which would be the home-ecology study's identity. The same criteria in these fields as used in other natural science fields are not suitable for supporting and evaluating research proposals and outputs, and recent global academic promotions may not be desirable in some respects. However, they do present an opportunity to expose Korean researcher's to world-class scientific societies and upgrade their studies. These efforts should stimulate the field of Human-Ecology studies and enhance the recognitions of these fields among future students.
