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 25 years, based on citation
analysis. Methods of measuring scholarly influence can be highly
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 confound many traditional
forms of citation analysis, such as irregularly cited references or
self-citations. It includes 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 also document the intellectual development of criminology and
criminal justice as a field of study since 1986. They highlight the
development of research trends and 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.
--
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
*
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
