Lisa Romero 505 A Citation Analysis of Scholarly Journals in Communication Studies Lisa Romero abstract: Using citation analysis, this study identifies the most relevant journals in communication studies. The study analyzes citations from a representative list of 116 journals from subject areas within communication studies over a 30-year period and addresses research interests throughout the discipline. Results indicate that most journals cited in the literature were outside communication studies. This study provides an inclusive picture of where communication studies research is published by detailing the most-cited journals and provides evidence-based recommendations for collection management. Introduction within several primary areas, including advertising, commu- Shrinking library budgets, increasing costs of library materials, and growing demand for resources challenge librarians to maintain robust scholarly journal collections to support research efforts in the university. These challenges are especially steep in multidisciplinary areas such as communication studies. Communications librarians must keep abreast of resources and maintain collections within several primary Communications librarians areas, including advertising, communication, journalism, media, and public relations, as well as other subject areas, such as marketing, and maintain collections political science, psychology, and sociology. These librarians must stretch their budgets to afford new resources (books and new journal subscriptions); to continue to pay for subscriptions to dynamic resources (periodicals and onnication, journalism, media, and public relations line databases); and to cover the cost of inflation and price increases. portal: Libraries and the Academy, Vol. 18, No. 3 (2018), pp. 505 534. Copyright 2018 by Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD 21218. must keep abreast of resources
506 A Citation Analysis of Scholarly Journals in Communication Studies Library collections vary in size and scope, as do the focus of departments and universities. Some departments include within their focus all the subject areas within communication studies; others concentrate on a select few. This difference in scope often influences library collections. This study provides data and insights that are useful for communication studies librarians, represents a comprehensive view of the subject areas within the field, provides a representative selection of journals within the subject areas, and evaluates seven slices or years of data during a 30-year span of scholarship. As a collection manager in an Association of Research Libraries (ARL) library at a large public research institution, the author is responsible for collection management in communication studies, including collections in advertising, communication, journalism, and media and public relations. As a result, she approaches collection development with a broad and inclusive perspective. Her focus includes five major subject areas within communication studies and provides a wide view of the management of journal collections. This inclusive perspective takes into consideration the goals of a variety of libraries, enabling librarians with different users, budgets, collections, and foci to make informed collection decisions that reflect and support the teaching and research mission of their institutions. Librarians often approach collection development based on tacit knowledge, such as familiarity with a subject area gained from working with the collection, assisting scholars, and previous collection development experience. Librarians also make decisions based on recommendations by faculty; a resource s price or publisher; select publishers catalogs or lists; and reviews. These are widely practiced methods of decision-making in collection development. However, with diminishing The decision to select or retain a journal based solely on its price or publisher may not reflect researchers interests or needs. budgets and a seemingly unlimited number of resources available for purchase, librarians need additional data reflecting patrons collection use. The decision to select or retain a journal based solely on its price or publisher may not reflect researchers interests or needs. Conducting collection development subjectively, without evidence-based data, may be vulnerable to publisher marketing and often neglects important concerns of overall collection development, disciplinary trends, and duplication of resources. Evidence-based data that reflect which resources users rely upon in their research can help librarians make sound collection development decisions. Literature Review According to Peggy Johnson, collection analysis provides librarians with increased knowledge of library collections so that they can measure the strength of a library s holdings and develop and manage them effectively. 1 Thomas Nisonger discusses several methods of acquiring data through collection analysis: subjective judgment by disciplinary experts; usage; coverage by abstracting and indexing services; overlapping library holdings or subscriptions; and citation data. 2 A commonly used method employed by librarians since 1927 is conducting citation studies or citation analysis to determine a journal s importance in the field. 3 According to Nisonger, citation analysis is based on
Lisa Romero 507 the assumption that if a researcher has cited a resource, he or she must have somehow used the item in the research process. 4 Citation analyses are accomplished by examining how often and where scholars cite journals in their research. One method of citation analysis is to examine citations from a single or a few journal titles identified as the core journal or journals in a field for one or more years. According to Johnson, developing a list of source items that reflect the subject studied or user needs can be challenging. It is important that the source list reflects the scope of the subject area. However, using one or a few core journals is a time-saving method of citation analysis to provide important collection management insight. 5 As a time-saving alternative, librarians conduct citation analyses using Scopus, Elsevier s index of abstracts and citations from peer-reviewed journals, or Web of Science, a database of scientific citations maintained by Clarivate Analytics, to identify citations from publications used by researchers at their universities. 6 However, teaching and research faculties at different universities have different research foci, so the insight gained from these studies may be less relevant for librarians at other universities. Steve Black advises that, when using these two databases, one should remember that they do not include all journals published in particular disciplines, so the resulting data may not be a true representation of scholarship. 7 A more inclusive process used by Wenli Gao (in communication), Sarah Anne Murphy (in the sciences), and Gregory Youngen (in veterinary medicine) samples numerous journals, eliminating the challenge of selecting the one journal that represents the scope of the subject area. Other times, librarians will examine citations culled from publications of researchers at their universities to assess if the library is meeting their needs. 8 As in the sampling of faculty publications from Scopus or Web of Science, the citation data reflect the research focus from a department or university and may have less applicability to libraries at other universities. Within the discipline of communication studies, librarians have conducted citation analyses and content analysis for a variety of purposes. To examine interdisciplinary influences on the field of communication, Lauren Wispe and Candice Osborn compared citation patterns among disciplines related to communication by examining citations from four communication journals from 1953 to 1977. 9 Byron Reeves and Christine Borgman addressed the communication subject area by sampling the nine most important journals within the field from 1975 to 1979 to evaluate their influences on one another and on journals outside the field. 10 Using the Journal of Communication, Han Woo Park and communication studies Loet Leydesdorff analyzed journals in an effort to scholarship relies heavily on social and experimental psychology literature. map communication research. 11 In fact, Park and Leydesdorff used a methodology almost the reverse of that used in this study but arrived at some of the same findings. Using 2006 data in the Journal Citation Reports, which covers journals in the natural and social sciences, Park and Leydesdorff analyzed the journals that cited a single journal, the Journal of Communication. The author s study, in contrast, examined the communication studies literature from 116 journals to ascertain what scholars in the field use in their research. These two studies both conclude that communication studies scholarship
508 A Citation Analysis of Scholarly Journals in Communication Studies relies heavily on social and experimental psychology literature. The Wispe and Osborn, Reeves and Borgman, and Park and Leydesdorff studies examined the subject area of communication during the periods 1953 1977, 1975 1979, and 2006. Daniel Riffe and Alan Freitag investigated how content analyses of Journalism Quarterly have changed over a 25-year period. 12 In 1988, Laura Yale and Mary Gilly examined content in marketing and advertising journals from 1976 to 1985 to determine the subject areas researched by advertising scholars. 13 Kyongseok Kim, Jameson Hayes, J. Adam Avant, and Leonard Reid followed up with a content analysis of advertising journals from 1980 to 2010 to shed light on trends in advertising research. 14 While these studies provide insight into the discipline, most do not provide communication studies librarians with the information specific to collection development for all subject areas and years collectively. The goal of the current study is to examine a large representation of journals in the subject areas of advertising, communication, journalism, and public relations and media published during a broad range of years. As Johnson and Nisonger note, journal citation analysis examines what researchers have cited to ascertain what resources should be included in library collections. 15 According to Kristin Hoffmann and Lise Doucette, citation analysis often chooses longer periods to track changes over time, 16 samples one or more journals, and examines numerous years and journals. This methodology requires substantially more time and effort than analyzing a single year or journal. Examining only one journal might yield results that relate too closely to the subject area of the journal and not the broader subject area. In addition, a sample of only one year may not adequately reflect research trends. Librarians who manage communication studies collections need insightful data to help them to make better collection development decisions. They need information that tells them which scholarly journals are cited by communication studies researchers. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of communication studies, librarians need to know which journals are cited within the specific subject areas of communication studies as well as many areas traditionally outside of communication studies, including marketing, psychology, and sociology. This study is intended to serve as a resource for communication studies collection development by identifying the citation patterns of scholarly journals cited by communication studies researchers. It examines the journal titles cited throughout the communication studies literature. Since there is no single accepted definition of the discipline, the author defines communication studies as the broad discipline that includes or encompasses many subject areas, among them advertising, communication, journalism, media, and public relations. These subject areas were included in the study because they are represented by the major divisions within two well-established organizations for academics in communication studies, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) and the National Communication Association (NCA). For a more inclusive list of subject areas, see Brent Ruben s article Communication Study in the 2002 Encyclopedia of Communication and Information; Rebecca Rubin, Alan Rubin, and Paul Haridakis s 2010 book Communication Research: Strategies and Sources; and the list of Areas of Specialization on the website of the NCA, http://www.natcom.org/ about-nca/what-communication. 17 This study analyzes and reports on a representative list of journal citation data spanning from 1982 to 2012, covering journals in the five
Lisa Romero 509 major subject areas as defined within communication studies by Marcel Danesi, director of the communication theory program at the University of Toronto that is, advertising, communication, journalism, media, and public relations. 18 This study contributes to the literature of collection development in communication studies in several ways. First, it relies on a large collection of journal titles. Second, the list of journal titles used to gather citations represents all five areas within the discipline. Third, the study examines citation behavior over a 30-year period. In addition, the current study presents data in a manner that accommodates and represents the variety of ways communication studies is typically represented in libraries, both as separate fields (advertising/public relations, communication/media, and journalism) and consolidated into communication studies. This citation study for communication studies affords a breadth of data and corresponding insight that may be useful to librarians seeking additional information for collection decisions. Others interested in conducting a more in-depth review of literature in a specific field may find this study useful as a model, despite its labor-intensive format. Methodology To provide a thorough examination of citation behavior and accommodate a variety of librarians with a tool on which to base their collection development decisions, the author collected citation data in the spring of 2013 with two objectives: to examine citations from a group of journals that represent the subject areas within communication studies and to study citations over a long enough time so that the data reflect trends and changes in communication studies scholarship. Design of Study Since no standards or guidelines exist on a recommended number of years to conduct a citation analysis, the author reviewed many previous studies and chose to conduct a longitudinal study that could address changes in research over time. To represent the depth of scholarship within communication studies, she needed to determine an estimated start date of communication studies as a formalized academic From the early 1980s, communication discipline. According to William Eadie, many U.S. colleges and universities renamed departments to higher education worldwide. studies began to gain recognition in include communication in the title in the 1980s, while others began titling their departments Mass Communication. Often, departments and schools merged the professional fields of advertising, broadcasting, information science, print, public relations, and speech with research programs more broadly defined as communication research. From the early 1980s, communication studies began to gain recognition in higher education worldwide. 19 Ideally, the author would have provided a census of all journals published in all subject areas (advertising, communication, journalism, media and public relations) and examined citations from every year a journal was published. Resource limitations neces-
510 A Citation Analysis of Scholarly Journals in Communication Studies sitated that she use a representative selection and reduce the categories to three. Borrowing the methodology used by Wispe and Osborn, 20 who also conducted a longitudinal study, the author designated 2012 as the last (most recent year) and 1982 as the first year because 30 years was determined as the most extensive period that could accommodate a sampling of journals. She chose five-year intervals to provide a representative sample and to include any journals that had begun or ceased publication during the 30-year period. The sample periods were 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007, 2012. Identification and Selection of Journals To establish a list of journals representing communication studies scholarship from which to cull citations, the author considered several tools that would provide data relevant to journal significance. Scopus and Web of Science are two primary sources for journal metrics. When examining Scopus and Web of Science for journals in communication studies, the author found that both provide limited coverage. Scopus includes only 74 of the 116 titles (63 percent) used in the author s study, and Web of Science covers only 41 of the titles (35 percent). In addition, the dates of coverage are limited in both. For this study, the author examined citations from seven periods from 1982 to 2012. When examining the years of coverage for the 74 journals included in Scopus, less than 41 percent of the titles had coverage for 15 or more years. Web of Science had similar limitations. Less than 39 percent of the 41 titles in Web of Science had coverage for 15 or more years. Because the goal of this study was to provide a broad and inclusive perspective of the subject area and scholarship to serve the needs of a variety of librarians, the author chose not to rely on the limited data from these two sources. In addition, both Scopus and the Web of Science, which incorporates Journal Citation Reports, are limited to the citation data of journals indexed in their respective databases. Because the goal of this study is to examine journals within the discipline of communication studies more broadly and not an individual scholars or author s output, h-index and other citation impact metrics were not considered. Developed by J. E. Hirsch, h-index is an author-level metric that measures the productivity of a scholar and the citation impact his or her publications. 21 Those metrics could provide complementary information, however, to the current study. The author compiled a master list of journals in communication studies using Ulrichsweb: Global Serials Directory. 22 A widely used resource in libraries, Ulrichsweb is an online database that includes bibliographic information for over 300,000 serials covering more than 900 subject areas. Using Ulrichsweb, the author developed a list of journal titles based on the database s defined subject groupings: advertising/public relations, communication/media, and journalism. Titles within these subject areas that met the following criteria were included: designated as journal ; published more than once a year; in English; published for at least two years between 1982 and 2012; and accessible to the author online or in print.
Lisa Romero 511 A total of 116 journals met the criteria and were included in the study, resulting in 11 titles within advertising/public relations; 74 in communication/media; and 31 in journalism (see Table 1). These figures include journals that have changed their title. The author considered counting a journal that changed its title and the journal under its new title as one publication, since the content is usually the same. However, to provide as much insight as possible for collection management, including decisions regarding space and collection weeding, the author chose to present data for each title separately. Selection and Organization of Data The author collected journal citations for 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007, and 2012. First, she created lists of journals that were in publication for each of these seven years. Based on the master list of 116 journal titles, journals were included for any or all the seven years for which they were in publication. The lists of journals varied for each year because each journal s publication history was different. The author then delegated the journal titles for each year to one of the three Ulrichsweb subject categories (advertising/ public relations, communication/media and journalism). This subject assignment remained consistent for all years of the study. The result was seven lists, designated by year, each with journals listed in the three subject areas. The subject area communication/ media had the largest number of journals in publication, journalism had the second largest number, and advertising/public relations had the smallest number of journals. Because it was not feasible to examine citations from every journal for all seven years, the author chose a selection of journals from each subject area for each year. Because the ratio of journal titles within the three subject areas varied for each year, it was important that this ratio was applied when selecting the number of journals from which to collect citations for each year. Therefore, the author used a proportionate sampling strategy, in which the number of journals chosen from each of the seven years was determined by their number relative to the entire population, and journals were then randomly selected for each of the seven years. For example, if there were five journals in a year for advertising/public relations, the range used to pick a number was 1 to 5. A different number and range were selected for each of the seven years. Following the proportionate sampling strategy, the subject areas of communication/media and journalism were adjusted to be consistent with the ratio of journals within the two subject areas. For example, if in 1982 50 journals were published with 5 journals (10 percent) in advertising/public relations, 25 journals (50 percent) in communication/media, and 20 journals (40 percent) in journalism, the number used would be between 1 and 5 because the smallest category (advertising/public relations) had five journal titles. This process was followed for each of the seven years selected, with the following numbers of journals for each of the seven years: 1982 = 28 journals; 1987 = 32 journals; 1992 = 19 journals; 1997 = 8 journals; 2002 = 63 journals; 2007 = 11 journals; 2012 = 59 journals. For each journal selected, the author culled citations of scholarly journals from every article s bibliography. Citations for books, magazines, newspapers, and the like were omitted. The author identified journal titles from the bibliography citations, entered them into a spreadsheet for each year, and further organized by worksheet according to the three subject areas. Each worksheet listed journal titles and the journals cited within
512 A Citation Analysis of Scholarly Journals in Communication Studies Table 1. List of journals included in study Advertising/Public Relations (11 titles) Advertising & Society Review Current Issues and Research in Advertising a International Journal of Advertising International Journal of Market Research Journal of Advertising Journal of Advertising Research Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising Journal of Interactive Advertising Journal of the Market Research Society b Public Relations Journal Public Relations Review Communication/Media (74 titles) Academy of Managerial Communications Journal Asian Communication Research Asian Journal of Communication Central States Speech Journal c Chinese Journal of Communication Comm/Ent (Hastings Communications and Entertainment Law Journal) Communication Education Communication Law and Policy Communication Monographs Communication, Politics & Culture Communication Research Reports Communication Review Communication Studies Communication Theory Communications and the Law d Communications: The European Journal of Communication Research Convergence Critical Studies in Mass Communication e Critical Studies in Media Communication Discourse & Communication Discourse & Society European Journal of Communication Feminist Media Studies Florida Communication Journal Florida Speech Communication Journal Gazette f Global Media and Communication Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television Howard Journal of Communications Human Communication Research Information Economics and Policy International Communication Gazette International Journal of Information Management JMM: Journal on Media Management Journal of Applied Communication Research Journal of Broadcasting g Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media Journal of Business Communication h Journal of Communication Journal of Communication Inquiry Journal of Family Communication Journal of Health Communication Journal of Marketing Communications Journal of Mass Media Ethics Journal of Media and Religion Journal of Media Economics Journal of Newspaper and Periodical History i Journal of Organizational Culture, Communications and Conflict Journal of Popular Film and Television Mass Comm Review j Mass Communication and Society Media, Culture & Society Media History Media Psychology New Media & Society Philosophy and Rhetoric Political Communication Popular Communication Prometheus
Lisa Romero 513 Qualitative Research Reports in Communication Quarterly Journal of Speech Social Science Information Studies: SSIS k Southern Communication Journal Southern Review Southern Speech Communication Journal l Studies in Newspaper and Periodical History m Television & New Media Television Quarterly Visual Communication Visual Communication Quarterly Western Journal of Communication Western Journal of Speech Communication n Women s Studies in Communication Written Communication Journalism (31 titles) American Journalism Asia Pacific Media Educator Australian Studies in Journalism o ejournalist Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics p International Communication Bulletin ICB: International Communications Bulletin q a Now Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising. b Now International Journal of Market Research. c Now Communication Studies. d Ceased publication in 2003. e Now Critical Studies in Media Communication. f Now International Communication Gazette. g Now Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. h Now International Journal of Business Communication i Ceased publication in 1992. j Now Mass Communication and Society. k Now International Journal of Information Management. l Now Southern Communication Journal. m Now Media History. n Now Western Journal of Communication. o Now International Journal of Press/Politics. p Ceased publication in 2007. q Now Journalism & Communication Monographs. r Now International Communication Bulletin. s Now Journalism & Mass Communication Educator. t Now Journalism & Mass Communication Monographs. u Now Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. v Now Southwestern Mass Communication Journal. International Communication Research Journal International Journal of Press/Politics Issues in Writing Journal of Electronic Publishing Journal of International Communication Journal of Sports Media Journalism & Communication Monographs r Journalism & Mass Communication Monographs Journalism & Mass Communication Educator Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly Journalism Educator s Journalism History Journalism Monographs t Journalism Quarterly u Journalism Studies Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism Media Ethics Media Ethics Update Media History Monographs Media, War & Conflict Newspaper Research Journal Nieman Reports Studies in Journalism and Mass Communication v Southwestern Mass Communication Journal
514 A Citation Analysis of Scholarly Journals in Communication Studies their respective article bibliographies. Journal titles were then verified for accuracy in WorldCat. 23 A total of 72,360 journal citations were compiled for the seven periods, with 17,275 citations in advertising/public relations; 46,727 citations in communication/ media; and 8,358 citations in journalism. The decision to sort citations by subject area of the citing journal makes the data useful to a wider audience of librarians and accommodates collection development in any combination of the three subject areas. Communication studies includes several distinct yet related subject areas that may be represented differently depending on the library collection. Often, the collection development responsibilities for these subject areas vary among academic libraries. For example, the librarian responsible for collection development in the social sciences may have all three of these subjects within his or her purview. Other times, collection development for the subject area advertising/ public relations may be the responsibility of a business librarian. Sorting the data by subject area accommodates more librarians needs. In analyzing the data, the author addressed the following research questions: Which are the most and least cited journals within the subject areas of advertising/public relations, communication/media, and journalism? Which journals from outside the discipline of communication studies are cited the most by communication studies researchers? For each of the three subject areas, what percentage of journals cited are specific to that subject field; to journals from other areas within communication studies; and to journals from outside the discipline? Findings The citation data are summarized in Figures 1 and 2 and Tables 2 through 5. Figures 1 and 2 include the total number of citations and journal titles cited for each of the three subject categories from 1982 to 2012 and provide data for journal titles cited more than five times and five times or fewer. Tables 2, 3 and 4 provide rankings of the journal titles cited more than five times from 1982 to 2012 in each category. Table 5 provides information on journal titles cited five or fewer times in communication/media. Five was selected as a cutoff because it is significant with respect to interlibrary loan copyright fees. Most interlibrary loan operations pay copyright fees annually based on CONTU (Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works) Guidelines, which state that if a journal article is published in the past five years and a library requests more than five articles via interlibrary loan from the same journal title, the library will be charged copyright fees on request number six and upward. 24 The author believes that access to a journal title with five or fewer requests could be provided via interlibrary loan free of copyright fees, and the library would not necessarily need to subscribe to the publication.
515 ac ce pt ed fo rp ub lic at io n, po rta l 18.3. Lisa Romero Th is m ss.i s pe er re vi ew ed,c op y ed ite d, an d Figure 1. Total journals cited. Figure 2. Total citations cited.
516 A Citation Analysis of Scholarly Journals in Communication Studies Figures 3 and 4 include the total number of citations and journal titles cited for each category for the seven periods. The figures also sort the data by citations and journals cited five or fewer times and six or more times. In all three subject areas, most journal titles cited (80 percent or more) were cited five or fewer times. The fact that only 20 percent or fewer journal titles were cited more than five times is valuable information for collection development decision-making. Librarians could focus their efforts and funding on the 20 percent or fewer journal titles cited most often by communication studies researchers. Among the journals cited six or more times, most were outside the discipline of communication studies (see Figures 3, 5, and 7). This fact indicates how multidisciplinary research in communication studies is and provides incentive for librarians doing collection development in communication studies to establish collaborative relationships with librarians in other subject areas (discussed in more depth in the following sections). When examining the 50 most-cited journal titles in the three categories (see Tables 2, 3, and 5), the three areas had some similarities. One... several journal titles outside the discipline appear on all three top 50 lists : Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Psychological Bulletin, and Public Opinion Quarterly. might expect that titles considered core titles within the discipline of communication studies would appear on all three top 50 lists. In addition, however, several journal titles outside the discipline appear on all three top 50 lists : Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Psychological Bulletin, and Public Opinion Quarterly. Because the number and percentage of journals cited are only part of the picture, data on the number and percentage of citations are also included. Specific information on the multidisciplinary nature of the subject areas, journals cited, and implications for collection development will be discussed in the following sections. Advertising/Public Relations The advertising/public relations literature produced 17,275 citations and 1,486 unique journal titles during the seven periods between 1982 and 2012. Of the 1,486 journal titles, 279 (19 percent) were cited six or more times, and 1,207 (81 percent) were referred to five or fewer times (see Figures 1 and 2). Table 2 outlines the percentage of citations of all journals cited six or more times within the advertising/public relations literature. Ten of the 11 advertising/public relations journals used in the study are included on the top 50 list. The Journal of Advertising Research was cited the most, with 1,500 citations representing 9.79 percent of the total citations in this category. Published by the World Advertising Research Center, the Journal of Advertising Research has been in publication since 1960. Another publication with a similar title, the Journal of Advertising, is the third most-cited journal with 1,292 citations, representing 8.43 percent of the total citations. Currently published by Routledge, the Journal of Advertising is affiliated with the American Academy of Advertising,
Lisa Romero 517 Table 2. Top 50 journals cited in advertising/public relations, 1982 2012 Journal title Percentage of total citations Total citations Journal of Advertising Research 1,500 9.79% Journal of Consumer Research 1,490 9.73% Journal of Advertising 1,292 8.43% Journal of Marketing Research 1,125 7.34% Journal of Marketing 896 5.85% Public Relations Review 493 3.22% Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 458 2.99% International Journal of Advertising 379 2.47% Journal of Public Relations Research 227 1.48% Public Opinion Quarterly 227 1.48% Journal of Business Research 218 1.42% Psychology & Marketing 208 1.36% Journalism Quarterly 177 1.16% Journal of Communication 172 1.12% Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 160 1.04% Harvard Business Review 143 0.93% Journal of Consumer Psychology 141 0.92% European Journal of Marketing 131 0.86% Journal of Public Policy & Marketing 127 0.83% Psychological Bulletin 126 0.82% Journal of Applied Psychology 124 0.81% Journal of Consumer Marketing 124 0.81% International Journal of Market Research 123 0.80% Journal of Experimental Psychology 112 0.73% Psychological Review 111 0.72% Marketing Science 102 0.67% Journal of Retailing 96 0.63% Communication Research 94 0.61% Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising 94 0.61% Current Issues & Research in Advertising 91 0.59% Journal of the Market Research Society 91 0.59% American Psychologist 89 0.58% Academy of Management Journal 88 0.57% Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 85 0.55% Public Relations Journal 81 0.53% Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 74 0.48% International Journal of Research in Marketing 71 0.46%
518 A Citation Analysis of Scholarly Journals in Communication Studies Table 2. Continued. Journal title Percentage of total citations Total citations Journal of Interactive Marketing 65 0.42% Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 65 0.42% Journal of Business Ethics 64 0.42% Journal of Communication Management 64 0.42% Journal of Interactive Advertising 63 0.41% Management Science 59 0.39% Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 58 0.38% International Marketing Review 57 0.37% Human Communication Research 50 0.33% Marketing Letters 49 0.32% Journal of Marketing Communications 48 0.31% Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 47 0.31% Journal of Consumer Affairs 47 0.31% a major organization for advertising researchers and educators. The most-cited public relations journal, Public Relations Review, ranked sixth with 493 or 3.22 percent of the total citations. The next most-cited journal in public relations was the Journal of Public Relations Research, with 227 or 1.48 percent of the total citations. It is important to note that public relations research also appears in advertising journals. When examining Table 2, the multidisciplinary nature of the advertising/public relations literature becomes apparent, with journals in marketing and psychology especially prevalent. The second most-cited journal in the advertising and public relations literature is the Journal of Consumer Research, proclaimed by the Association of Business Schools Academic Journal Guide 2015 as one of the top journals in marketing. 25 With advertising s close relationship to marketing and consumer research, it is not surprising that the Journal of Consumer Research is cited heavily within the advertising/ public relations literature. Two additional marketing journals, Journal of Marketing Research and Journal of Marketing, ranked fourth and fifth on the list. These two journals also appeared among the top journals in the field of marketing. 26 Within the subject area of psychology, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology was the seventh most-cited journal, with 458 total citations, representing almost 3 percent of the total citations. Journals in the areas of psychology or marketing were cited so much within the advertising/public relations literature that they represent the majority, 30 of the journals on the top 50 list. With advertising s close relationship to marketing and consumer research, it is not surprising that the Journal of Consumer Research is cited heavily within the advertising/public relations literature.
Lisa Romero 519 Advertising/Public Relations Journals Not in the Top 50 Three advertising and public relations journals did not appear on the list of the top 50 most-cited journals: Journal of Promotion Management (25 citations), Advertising & Society Review (8 citations), and Public Relations Research & Education (6 citations). It may prove valuable for librarians managing collections in this area to know these journals did not make the top 50 list. While they may not be among the most-cited journals, however, they may still be relevant to researchers. Multidisciplinary Nature of Advertising/Public Relations Figure 3 illustrates the multidisciplinary nature of advertising/public relations research. It represents all journal titles cited six or more times within the field of advertising and public relations. Of the 279 titles cited, only 16 titles or 6 percent are advertising or public relations journals. An even higher percentage, 14 percent (39 titles), are journals within other areas of communication studies (communication/media or journalism). A large percentage (80 percent, 224 titles) of journals cited are outside the area of advertising and communication studies. Most research cited in advertising/public relations falls outside the discipline of communication studies, and a small amount is within the subject area of advertising/public relations. However, when examining the interdisciplinary nature of advertising/public relations research, one should also look at the number and percentage of citations as well as titles cited, because advertising and public relations journals would likely be cited more often. Figure 3. Subject distribution of journals cited more than five times in advertising/public relations (n = 279).
520 A Citation Analysis of Scholarly Journals in Communication Studies A more detailed picture emerges when examining the number and percentage of citations. Figure 4 provides a breakdown of the number and percentage of citations within the advertising and public Librarians who manage advertising/ public relations collections not only need to keep abreast of the journals within the discipline but also should also ensure that their libraries provide access to journals in other areas, especially marketing and psychology. relations literature. Most citations (9,439, 62 percent) were from journals outside communication studies, while 30 percent (4,655 citations) were from advertising/public relations journals. The smallest number of citations (1,226 citations, 8 percent) were from communication/media or journalism journals. The literature cited within advertising and public relations is highly multidisciplinary, but researchers still rely heavily on the journals within their field. Librarians who manage advertising/public relations collections not only need to keep abreast of the journals within the discipline but also should also ensure that their libraries provide access to journals in other areas, especially marketing and psychology. At the least, they should consult with collection managers for these subject areas. Figure 4. Subject distribution of citations for journals cited more than five times in advertising/ public relations (n = 15,320).
Lisa Romero 521 Communication/Media The communication/media literature yielded a total of 46,727 citations and 4,927 unique journal titles within during the seven periods between 1982 and 2012. Of the 4,927 journal titles, 975 (20 percent) were cited six or more times, and 3,952 (80 percent) were cited five or fewer times (see Figures 1 and 2). Table 3 provides a list of the top 50 journals cited six or more times. The proportion of communication/media journals is interesting compared to the number of journals from outside the discipline and from advertising/public relations and journalism. Almost half the titles are communication or media journals, and nearly 50 percent are journals outside the discipline of communication studies. The study sample included 74 communication/media journals, with 24 of the titles making the top 50 list. Only three advertising/public relations or journalism titles are on the list. Journal of Communication, the journal cited most with 1,631 or 4.09 percent of the citations, is considered the flagship journal of the International Communication Association... seeking a general forum for communication scholarship. 27 Journal of Communication was also highly cited in both advertising and journalism. As in the category of advertising/public relations, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology was also highly cited in communication/ media. The National Communication Association (formerly the Speech Communication Association) is the scholarly society for academics in the areas of communication and media. The association publishes 11 scholarly journals, 5 of which are on the top 50 list : Communication Education, Communication Monographs, Critical Studies in Media Communication, Journal of Applied Communication Research, and Quarterly Journal of Speech. With almost half the journals on the list from outside the discipline of communication studies, it is difficult to ignore the multidisciplinary nature of communication/media research. Most journals from outside the discipline are business and psychology journals, but scholarly publications from political science, public opinion, and sociology are also included. In addition to the multidisciplinary nature Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, seven of communication/media other psychology journals made the list: Psychological Bulletin, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of research. Social and Personal Relationships, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, Sex Roles, Psychological Review, and Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Psychological Bulletin and Psychological Review publish broad, wide-ranging studies from all divisions of psychology. It should not be surprising that, with the wide scope of these psychology journals, their content would be relevant to communication and media research. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, and Journal of Experimental Social Psychology are all social behavior and personality journals. That communication and media are included in the social sciences and that research often focuses on interpersonal interactions might explain why these six journals are highly cited. According to the description on the website of Sex Roles, the journal publishes original research... articles that explore how gender organizes people s lives and their surrounding worlds. It includes communication studies in its list of topics covered. 28 The Journal of Applied... it is difficult to ignore the
522 A Citation Analysis of Scholarly Journals in Communication Studies Psychology s scope advances understanding of psychological phenomena and human behavior that have practical implications, 29 which parallels the human behavior focus of much communication and media research. The list of eight business journals also represent some similarities with communication/media research. The most obvious title, the Journal of Business Communication (now the International Journal of Business Communication) publishes research addressing all areas of business Harvard Business Review is a core business title for academic libraries communication. 30 Two journals on the list, Journal of Marketing and Journal of Marketing Research, publish scholarship representing the broad spectrum of research in marketing, 31 which could include research on the media industry. Harvard Business Review is a core business title for academic libraries, 32 so it will likely include research on the media industry and advertising. The four remaining journals, Academy of Management Journal, MIS [management information systems] Quarterly, Administrative Science Quarterly, and Management Science, are all management journals. Communication/Media Journals Not in the Top 50 Seventy-two communication and media journals did not appear on the top 50 List. There may be several reasons why many of these titles did not make the list. Fifty-eight of the 72 journals ceased publication, started publication, or changed titles between 1982 and 2012. In addition, three titles were international in scope. Multidisciplinary Nature of Communication/Media Figure 5 shows the multidisciplinary nature of communication/media research. It represents all journal titles cited six or more times within the communication/media literature. Of the 975 journal titles cited, the majority (840 titles, 86 percent) were from outside the discipline of communication studies. Only 11 percent were communication/ media titles, and 3 percent were advertising/public relations or journalism titles. Only 74 communication/media journals were included in the sample list of journals. These data affirm the multidisciplinary nature of communication/media research and indicate to librarians the importance of journals outside the discipline. Figure 6 presents the number and percentage of citations and more accurately reflects the importance of communication/media journals. The number and percentage of citations from communication/media journals outweigh the number of journals cited. Researchers cite and rely upon communication/media journals more than Figure 5 indicates. However, most citations (23,348, 59 percent) are from journals outside communication studies. While communication research is highly multidisciplinary, researchers still rely on journals within the discipline of communication studies (41 percent). Journalism The journalism literature yielded a total of 8,358 citations and 1,249 unique titles within during the seven periods. Of the 1,249 journals cited, only 173 (14 percent) were cited six or more times, and 1,076 (86 percent) were cited five or fewer times (see Figures 1 and 2).
Lisa Romero 523 Table 3. Top 50 journals cited in communication/media, 1982 2012 Journal title Percentage of total citations Total citations Journal of Communication 1,631 4.09% Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1,106 2.77% Human Communication Research 1,089 2.73% Communication Research 1,042 2.61% Communication Monographs 912 2.29% Quarterly Journal of Speech 778 1.95% Journalism Quarterly 665 1.67% Communication Education 514 1.29% Public Opinion Quarterly 492 1.23% Academy of Management Journal 484 1.21% Critical Studies in Media Communication 448 1.12% Communication Quarterly 425 1.07% Media, Culture & Society 387 0.97% Political Communication 371 0.93% Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 360 0.90% Psychological Bulletin 346 0.87% Communication Theory 301 0.75% MIS [management information systems] Quarterly 279 0.70% Journal of Applied Psychology 260 0.65% Administrative Science Quarterly 253 0.63% Discourse & Society 253 0.63% Journal of Broadcasting 241 0.60% Western Journal of Speech Communication 217 0.54% International Journal of Information Management 215 0.54% Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 212 0.53% American Journal of Sociology 209 0.52% Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 207 0.52% American Political Science Review 206 0.52% American Sociological Review 206 0.52% Sex Roles 203 0.51% Journal of Marketing 193 0.48% Central States Speech Journal 191 0.48% Journal of Marketing Research 191 0.48% Journal of Business Communication 186 0.47% Psychological Review 186 0.47% Journal of Applied Communication Research 185 0.46% American Journal of Political Science 182 0.46%
524 A Citation Analysis of Scholarly Journals in Communication Studies Table 3. Continued. Journal title Percentage of total citations Total citations Journal of Media Economics 177 0.44% Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 176 0.44% Media Psychology 176 0.44% Communication Research Reports 175 0.44% Western Journal of Communication 175 0.44% European Journal of Communication 173 0.43% Management Science 169 0.42% Harvard Business Review 168 0.42% Mass Communication and Society 168 0.42% Journal of Advertising Research 167 0.42% American Behavioral Scientist 166 0.42% New Media & Society 164 0.41% Figure 5. Subject distribution of journals cited more than five times in communication/media (n = 975). Table 4 provides a list of the top 50 journal titles cited within the journalism literature between 1982 and 2012. Journalism Quarterly was by far the most cited, with 1,008 or 15.30 percent of all citations of journals referred to six or more times. Journalism Quarterly was in publication from 1928 to 1994 and was considered the flagship journal of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication... AEJMC. 33 In 1995, its name changed to Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, the third most-cited journal. Three other AEJMC journals also make the list: Journalism Educator, ranked seventh; Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, ranked ninth; and Journal-
Lisa Romero 525 Figure 6. Subject distribution of citations for journals cited more than five times in communication/media (n = 39,902). ism Monographs, ranked 44th. Thirteen of the journals on the list are within the subject category journalism, with 31 journal titles included in the study sample. Within the top 50 list of journals, many from advertising/public relations and communication/media were also cited. The Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Advertising, Public Relations Review, and Journal of Public Relations Research appeared in the top 50 journals cited in journalism and advertising/public relations. However, most journals on the top 50 list cited within the journalism literature were communication/media journals. Most notable was the Journal of Communication, the second most-cited journal in journalism and the most-cited journal within communication/media. Journalism Journals Not in the Top 50 Only six journalism journals did not appear on the top 50 list. Three titles could be considered non-united States in scope (Asia Pacific Media Educator, Australian Journalism Review, and Pacific Journalism Review). International Communication Bulletin ceased publication in 2010. The journal Media, War and Conflict only began publication in 2008 (the last four years of the study). While Journalism & Communication Monographs did not make the top 50 list and ranked 74th, it often includes only one article per issue, and sometimes the focus is highly specific. Although these journals may not be among the most-cited journals, they may still be relevant to researchers because they focus on significant issues within the discipline, are relevant to topics taught in journalism programs, or provide an important international perspective. Multidisciplinary Nature of Journalism As with the other categories, the journals cited within the journalism literature demonstrate the multidisciplinary scope of the subject area. However, researchers in advertising/public relations (80 percent) and communication/media (86 percent) cited a higher percentage of journals from outside the discipline. For the subject area journal-
526 A Citation Analysis of Scholarly Journals in Communication Studies Table 4. Top 50 journals cited in journalism, 1982 2012 Journal title Percentage of total citations Total citations Journalism Quarterly 1,008 15.30% Journal of Communication 381 5.78% Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 345 5.24% Communication Research 244 3.70% Newspaper Research Journal 217 3.29% Public Opinion Quarterly 217 3.29% Journalism Educator 194 2.95% Political Communication 177 2.69% Journalism & Mass Communication Educator 138 2.10% Journalism Studies 128 1.94% Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 123 1.87% Journalism History 115 1.75% Public Relations Review 104 1.58% Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 99 1.50% American Journalism Review 97 1.47% Critical Studies in Media Communication 97 1.47% European Journal of Communication 77 1.17% American Journal of Sociology 76 1.15% American Political Science Review 76 1.15% International Journal of Public Opinion Research 72 1.09% Journalism 68 1.03% Media, Culture & Society 68 1.03% Gazette 63 0.96% Journalism Practice 59 0.90% American Journal of Political Science 56 0.85% Journal of Advertising 56 0.85% Journal of Advertising Research 55 0.83% Journal of Public Relations Research 52 0.79% Human Communication Research 51 0.77% Psychological Bulletin 48 0.73% Mass Communication and Society 45 0.68% Journal of Mass Media Ethics 44 0.67% Journal of Media Economics 44 0.67% Journal of Consumer Research 43 0.65% Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics 42 0.64% New Media & Society 41 0.62% Journal of Politics 40 0.61%
Lisa Romero 527 Journal title Percentage of total citations Total citations American Behavioral Scientist 38 0.58% Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 38 0.58% Journal of Marketing 38 0.58% American Sociological Review 35 0.53% Journal of Broadcasting 34 0.52% Communication Theory 31 0.47% Journalism Monographs 27 0.41% Howard Journal of Communications 26 0.39% Social Science Quarterly 26 0.39% American Psychologist 24 0.36% College Composition and Communication 24 0.36% Journal of Marketing Research 24 0.36% International Journal of Press/Politics 23 0.35% ism, almost a third of the journals on the top 50 list are from outside the discipline of communication studies, representing marketing, political science, psychology, public opinion, and sociology. Many of the journals within these subject areas also appeared on the top 50 list for advertising and communication/media journals. Figure 7 details the multidisciplinary nature of journalism research. Most journal titles cited (55 percent) are outside the discipline of communication studies. Almost a third (33 percent) are from advertising and communication/media, and political science, psychology, as with advertising, the smallest percentage of journals cited (12 percent) are publications public opinion, and sociology. within the subject category itself. A different picture emerges when examining the number and percentage of citations. Figure 8 details the number and percentage of citations within the subject category of journalism. Citations are nearly equally divided among journalism (38 percent), other areas within communication studies (34 percent), and areas outside the discipline of communication studies (28 percent). The smallest percentage of citations (28 percent) are from outside the discipline of communication studies, a drastic difference with respect to the multidisciplinary nature of the research in advertising/public relations and communication/media, where the largest percentage of citations was from outside the discipline. Similarities among the Three Subject Areas For the subject area journalism, almost a third of the journals on the top 50 list are from outside the discipline of communication studies, representing marketing, The three subject areas had several similarities with respect to citations and journals cited. The most significant similarity is the multidisciplinary nature of their research. Seven
528 ce pt ed fo rp ub lic at io n, po rta l 18.3. A Citation Analysis of Scholarly Journals in Communication Studies Th is m ss.i s pe er re vi ew ed,c op y ed ite d, an d ac Figure 7. Subject distribution of journals cited more than five times in journalism (n = 173). Figure 8. Subject distribution of citations for journals cited more than five times in journalism (n = 6,587).