Using citation analysis, this study examines the influence and prestige of scholars, journals, and university departments in the fields of criminology and criminal justice. In the tradition of Marvin E. Wolfgang's "Evaluating Criminology," the authors apply this quantitative method to evaluate the impact of individuals and their research efforts on two fields and to identify interconnections among scholars and their publications. This examination of the most-cited scholars, works, and topics in major American and international journals from 1986 to 1990 and from 1991 to 1995 provides valuable and unbiased feedback for researchers and practitioners.

The nine chapters of this book detail a wide range of findings in both criminology and criminal justice. After an introduction to the methodology, chapters two, three, and four divide recent scholarship into two periods, 1986 to 1990 and 1991 to 1995, in order to consider the most-cited scholars, works, and topics. Chapter five provides a longitudinal analysis of scholars in the discipline since 1945. Chapters six and seven provide a system of prestige-ratings for relevant journals as well as page coverage analysis of the most influential scholars. The continuing controversy over whether the two fields are converging or diverging is the subject of chapter eight, and the work concludes with a prescription for further research.

This briefexamines the influence and prestige of scholars and works in the field of Criminology and Criminal Justice, as well as changes in influence and prestige over a period of 25 years, based on citation analysis. Methods of measuring scholarly influencecan behighly controversial, but the authors of this work clearly outline their methodology, developed over years of experience working with this area of study. Through their expertise in Criminology and Criminal Justice, they are able to solve problems that affect or confoundmanytraditional forms of citation analysis, such as irregularly cited references or self-citations.Itincludes 25 years of data (1986 through 2010) on the most-cited scholars and works in major American and international Criminology and Criminal Justice journals, and provides an objective measure of influence and prestige.Through an analysis of the data, the authors alsodocument the intellectual development of criminology and criminal justice as a field of study since 1986. They highlight the development of research trendsand indicate areas for future research. This book is designed for use by scholars and academics in the fields of Criminology and Criminal Justice, and the methodology will be of interest to researchers in related disciplines, including Sociology and Social Psychology.

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Cohn, Farrington, and Iratzoqui provide an invaluable service in unpacking the criminological enterprise. Using systematic citational analysis, they illuminate the core patterns of scholarly influence that have shaped the field s development. This volume is an essential resource for all those wishing to understand which scholars and writings have done most within and across time periods to affect thinking about crime and justice.

Francis T. Cullen
"Distinguished Research Professor
""University of Cincinnati
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-Citation analyses have become one of the most significant measures of scholarly influence. They are especially useful for revealing major trends over time regarding authors and the topics of interest to the wider field.Cohn, Farrington, and Iratzoqui's "Most Cited Scholars in Criminology and Criminal Justice, 1986-2010"provides the most up-to-date, comprehensive, and longitudinal investigation of scholarly influence in criminology/criminal justice. This resource is a most interesting read, one that supplies not a mere counting of citations but clear ideas about where the field has been centered and where it is trending into the future.

Alex R. Piquero
"Ashbel Smith Professor of Criminology
University of Texas at Dallas"

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This brief examines the influence and prestige of scholars and works in the field of criminology and criminal justice, as well as changes in influence and prestige over a period of 35 years, using citation analysis. Based on responses to prior research, most criminologists consider the results both fascinating and thought-provoking, although methods of measuring scholarly influence are also highly controversial. The brief includes 35 years of data (1986 through 2020) on the most-cited scholars and works in major American and international criminology and criminal justice journals, and provides an objective measure of scholarly influence and prestige. Appropriate for graduate students and researchers, it helps to document the intellectual development of criminology and criminal justice as a field of study.

This is the first book to trace scholarly influence in criminology and criminal justice over a twenty-year time period. It is based primarily on the analysis of citations in major journals, but it also includes studies of publication productivity. This book shows that, over a twenty-year time period, the most influential topics in major criminology and criminal justice journals were either concerned with developmental/life course or longitudinal/criminal career research, or were expositions of major theories. Because of its identification of the most-cited scholars, the most-cited books and articles, and the most prolific publishers, this book will be of interest to all scholars and students in criminology and criminal justice and allied fields. In addition, its conclusions about the most influential theories and research should be of interest to policy makers, practitioners, and funding agencies.

This is the first book to trace scholarly influence in criminology and criminal justice over a twenty-year time period. It is based primarily on the analysis of citations in major journals, but it also includes studies of publication productivity. This book shows that, over a twenty-year time period, the most influential topics in major criminology and criminal justice journals were either concerned with developmental/life course or longitudinal/criminal career research, or were expositions of major theories. Because of its identification of the most-cited scholars, the most-cited books and articles, and the most prolific publishers, this book will be of interest to all scholars and students in criminology and criminal justice and allied fields. In addition, its conclusions about the most influential theories and research should be of interest to policy makers, practitioners, and funding agencies.