Changes in Scholarly Influence in Major American Criminology and Criminal Justice Journals Between 1986 and 2005

Abstract

To investigate changes in scholarly influence in criminology and criminal justice over 20 years, the most‐cited scholars in six major American journals were determined for 2001–05, and the results were compared with those obtained for 1996–2000, 1991–95, and 1986–90. The most‐cited scholars in 2001–05 were Robert J. Sampson in American criminology journals and Francis T. Cullen in American criminal justice journals. Highly cited scholars in American criminology journals focused on longitudinal/criminal career research and/or criminological theories, while those in American criminal justice journals focused on these topics or on criminal justice issues. Some highly cited authors were specialized, with one or two highly cited major works, while others were versatile, with many different works cited a few times each. Over time, older scholars such as Marvin E. Wolfgang were cited less often, while younger scholars such as Robert J. Sampson were increasingly cited. The waxing and waning of criminological influence careers are documented.

Notes

1. We cannot guarantee that another researcher would replicate these results exactly, because of mistakes in the spelling of authors’ names and in reference lists that we may not have detected (or that other researchers may not detect), because of difficulties in distinguishing between individuals with the same initials and surname, because of possible inconsistencies in what is defined as an “article,” or because of minor and infrequent clerical errors that, despite our careful checking, may have crept into our computerization of such a large number of citations. However, we are confident that our main conclusions would stand up to replication with only marginal changes.