Comparison of methods and citation cultures of sociology between Japan, UK, and USA

Abstract

This paper examines whether there is any significant difference between sociological traditions of Japan, UK and USA. It hypothesizes that there is a difference in the degree of prevalence of positivism between those countries, and that it makes difference in 1) what kind of research method each country's reseachers use and 2) what kind of literature they cite (academic papers, books, etc.). Quantitative analysis of 219 papers published in 2012 in two major sociology journals from each country reveals that 1) American sociologists are more committed to empirical research than Japanese and British sociologists and are more likely to use statistical method, and that 2) Japanese sociologists are less likely to cite academic papers than American and British sociologists. The three countries are not neatly located on a single scale of positivism since UK is similar to Japan in terms of methods while it's similar to USA in terms of the kind of literature. However, there is a clear difference in the degree of prevalence of positivism between Japan and USA.