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Do Introductory Criminal Justice Textbooks Cite the Most Influential Criminal Justicians? Further Estimations of the "Match" Between What Journals Report and What Textbooks Discuss

NCJ Number
168473
Journal
Journal of Criminal Justice Education Volume: 8 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring 1997) Pages: 81-90
Author(s)
R A Wright
Date Published
1997
Length
10 pages
Annotation
A recent study developed a procedure to use citation analyses of criminology journals and textbooks to estimate the "match" between what journals report and textbooks discuss; this study extended this estimation procedure to criminal justice journals and textbooks.
Abstract
Sixteen criminal justice textbooks published from 1989 to 1993 were ranked by how prominently they cite the 20 most frequently cited scholars in recent leading criminal justice journals. The results of this analysis were compared with findings from the earlier study of the match between criminology journals and textbooks. Findings show that no textbook cited all 20 scholars five or more times. Abadinsky and Winfree (1992) and Senna and Siegel (1993) ranked at the top with 15 matches (75 percent) and 11 matches (55 percent) respectively. There was a lower level of agreement between the matches in the most-cited scholars in criminal justice journals and textbooks than between the matches in criminology journals and textbooks. The average criminal justice textbook prominently cited 4.6 (23 percent) of Cohn and Farrington's (1994b) 20 most-cited scholars in criminal justice journals, and the average criminology textbook prominently cited 11.0 (44 percent) of the 25 most-cited scholars from criminology journals. Generally, these data suggest that many criminal justice textbooks -- like many criminology textbooks -- may be out of touch with some of the most important recent developments reported in the journals. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed. 2 tables and 26 references

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