Assessing Influence on the Field: An Analysis of Citations to Educational Administration Quarterly, 1979—2003

Abstract

Study Purpose: This article examines the influence of Educational Administration Quarterly (EAQ) on the scholarly literature in education during the 25-year period 1979 to 2003. This article continues part of the first critique of EAQ conducted by Roald Campbell in 1979. Study Methods: Two citation measures are used in this study to assess EAQ influence: (a) citation frequency, the total citations counts to EAQ articles found in the Web of Science database and (b) the impact factor, a ratio of citations to articles published that is calculated as part of the Journal Citation Reports . Study Findings: The findings point to three conclusions: (a) EAQ's substantive, ongoing influence on the scholarly education literature is limited to a small percentage of its published articles, which are cited predominantly by subsequent articles in EAQ; (b) this level of influence, though perhaps not the form, appears to be generally comparable to the level of other scholarly education journals with a solid academic reputation; and (c) EAQ appears to be statistically among the top tier of influential scholarly journals in education, but below the most influential. Overall, EAQ's influence on the scholarly education literature has improved since the first critique published in 1979.