An editor's influence on citation patterns: A case study of Elementary School Journal

Abstract

An analysis of citation data of Elementary School Journal suggests that changes in editorship may have resulted in changes in citation patterns. This journal had three editors in a 10‐year period. The study examined the editorial goals of each of the editors and found that while they agreed on several positions, the current editor stressed research more and was interested in rapid communication. Citation data for 2 years after each editor had assumed control showed changes in the number of citations the journal received, the number of citations given, the immediacy index and the impact factor. The impact factor under the current editor had surpassed the 0.35 figure sometimes noted as signifying importance. Further the journals citing Elementary School Journal and those being cited in it had shifted and included those identified as important or prestigious in other, earlier studies. Finally, statistical tests on the impact factor and the immediacy index for nine years confirmed that the tenure of the third editor was significantly different from that of the first two editors. The shifts seen in all these data suggest that an editor who intends to change a journal may have an impact on the citation patterns of that publication. © 1989 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Copyright © 1989 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.