Changes in the Most-Cited Scholars and Works Over 25 Years

• In Event: Comparisons of Criminology and Criminal Justice Knowledge Production

Abstract

Cohn and Farrington’s seminal work in citation analysis has examined scholarly influence within criminological research for the past thirty years, employing concepts from criminal careers to trace the prevalence and frequency of citations, as well as the specialization and versatility of criminological scholars. The current analysis extends that work by tracking the ten most-cited scholars and each scholar’s most-cited works in four international criminology journals, six American criminology and criminal justice journals, and twenty American and international criminology and criminal justice journals over twenty-five years and five time periods –1986-1990, 1991-1995, 1996-2000, 2001-2005, and 2006-2010. This approach provides a unique contribution to existing citation research by concentrating on the most-cited scholarly contributions of the most predominant scholars during a period of significant growth in criminology. This work documents increases and decreases in citation careers and most-cited works over 25 years. The most-cited works mostly fall within the fields of developmental and life-course criminology and criminal careers.

Authors

• Ellen G. Cohn, Florida International University

• David Philip Farrington, Cambridge University

• Amaia Iratzoqui, Florida State University