Eminence in Social Psychology: A Comparison of Textbook Citation, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Research Productivity Rankings

Abstract

Individual eminence in social psychology was examined through a textbook citation analysis conducted on eight current (1987-1990) social psychology textbooks. These data were subsequently compared with data collected from an assessment of individual research productivity in psychology for the decade of the 1980s based on publications listed in the PsycINFO database and citation counts from the 1987-1989 volumes of the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI). Comparisons were made between the textbook citation results and findings from three previous related studies. The results revealed significant relationships between the different citation measures and between the research productivity and SSCI citation measure but not between the textbook citation and research productivity measures. The relative validity of each of the measures used in the study as an index of scientific eminence is discussed.