Are Societal Influences or Discipline Interests Related to Research Topics in Four Longstanding Sociology Journals: 1960-2010?

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Abstract

We examine and classify the titles of a sample of 3,000 articles from the American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, Social Forces, and Social Problems over a 50-year time span. We examine the topics of published articles to uncover possible trends of expanding or declining areas of research. We also compare the pattern of article topics in periods with dominant societal issues to examine the possible effect of societal influence versus the general representation of sociologists' publications in a broad range of specialty areas.

Authors

• Carolyn C. Perrucci, Purdue University

• Robert Perrucci, Purdue University

• Mangala Subramaniam, Purdue University