NCJ Number
175950
Date Published
1998
Length
160 pages
Annotation
Citations in journals and books on criminology and criminal justice are analyzed, based on the assumption that scholars in a given field who are the most cited generally tend to be the most influential in that field.
Abstract
Citation analysis provides a quantitative method of determining the impact of a scholar in that citations act as a measure of the importance of a scholar's work. Unlike most measures of influence and prestige, such as peer rankings and professional awards, citation analysis produces a quantitative index that is much less influenced by personal bias and special interests. Although certain problems are associated with citation analysis, the technique has been used in many fields. The use of citation analysis in the fields of criminology and criminal justice, however, is less common than in some of the other social sciences. Nonetheless, the use of citation analysis as a procedure for rating the influence and prestige of scholars and works in criminology and criminal justice is demonstrated. Nine major American and international criminology and criminal justice journals are examined, and the two most recent half-decades (1986 to 1990 and 1991 to 1995) are evaluated to determine the most cited scholars and the most cited works in these journals and to assess changes over the 10-year period. The same journals are also evaluated with respect to subject matter and statistical and analytical complexity of the articles. The citation analysis also includes scholars and works most cited in 20 journals during 1990 and the most cited scholars and works cited in criminology and criminal justice since 1945. Other chapters compare the use of citation analysis with other empirical ranking techniques, propose a new method of rating the prestige of journals known as the luminaries technique, suggest an alternative method of measuring influence by the amount of page coverage textbooks devote to particular scholars, and consider the relationship between the disciplines of criminology and criminal justice. References and tables