Changes in Scholarly Influence in Major American Criminology and Criminal Justice Journals between 1986 and 2000

Abstract

In order to investigate changes in scholarly influence in criminology and criminal justice over a 15‐year time period, the most‐cited scholars in six major American journals were determined for the period 1996–2000, and results were compared with those obtained for 1991–1995 and 1986–1990. The number of cited authors in these journals increased by 50% over this time period. Some highly cited authors were specialists, because they had one or two major works (usually theoretical books) cited a lot, whereas others were versatile because they had many different works with fewer citations each. The most highly cited works tended to be books rather than articles. During this 15‐year time period, older scholars such as Marvin E. Wolfgang were being cited less often, while younger scholars such as Robert J. Sampson were becoming more highly cited. The most‐cited scholars in 1996–2000 were Robert J. Sampson in American criminology journals and Francis T. Cullen in American criminal justice journals. An analysis of citations in Criminology in 2005 showed the emergence of the next generation of highly cited scholars, such as Alex R. Piquero. The most highly cited scholars in American criminology journals focused on longitudinal/criminal career research and/or criminological theories. The most highly cited scholars in American criminal justice journals focused either on these topics or on criminal justice issues such as rehabilitation, sentencing, and law enforcement.