Lisa Romero 505

portal: Libraries and the Academy, Vol. 18, No. 3 (2018), pp. 505–534. Copyright © 2018 by Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD 21218.

A Citation Analysis of Scholarly Journals in Communication Studies Lisa Romero

abstract: Using citation analysis, this study identifies the most relevant journals in communication studies. The study analyzes citations from a representative list of 116 journals from subject areas within communication studies over a 30-year period and addresses research interests throughout the discipline. Results indicate that most journals cited in the literature were outside communication studies. This study provides an inclusive picture of where communication studies research is published by detailing the most-cited journals and provides evidence-based recommendations for collection management.

Introduction

Shrinking library budgets, increasing costs of library materials, and growing demand for resources challenge librarians to maintain robust scholarly journal collections to support research efforts in the university. These challenges are es-

pecially steep in multidisciplinary areas such as communication studies. Communica-tions librarians must keep abreast of resources and maintain collections within several primary areas, including advertising, communication, journalism, media, and public relations, as well as other subject areas, such as marketing, political science, psychology, and sociology. These librarians must stretch their budgets to afford new resources (books and new journal subscriptions); to continue to pay for subscrip-tions to dynamic resources (periodicals and on-line databases); and to cover the cost of inflation and price increases.

Communications librarians must keep abreast of resources and maintain collections within several primary areas, including advertising, commu-nication, journalism, media, and public relationsThis

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Library collections vary in size and scope, as do the focus of departments and universities. Some departments include within their focus all the subject areas within communication studies; others concentrate on a select few. This difference in scope of-ten influences library collections. This study provides data and insights that are useful for communication studies librarians, represents a comprehensive view of the subject areas within the field, provides a representative selection of journals within the subject areas, and evaluates seven “slices” or years of data during a 30-year span of scholarship.

As a collection manager in an Association of Research Libraries (ARL) library at a large public research institution, the author is responsible for collection management in communication studies, including collections in advertising, communication, journal-ism, and media and public relations. As a result, she approaches collection development with a broad and inclusive perspective. Her focus includes five major subject areas within communication studies and provides a wide view of the management of journal collections. This inclusive perspective takes into consideration the goals of a variety of libraries, enabling librarians with different users, budgets, collections, and foci to make informed collection decisions that reflect and support the teaching and research mission of their institutions.

Librarians often approach collection development based on tacit knowledge, such as familiarity with a subject area gained from working with the collection, assisting scholars, and previous collection development experience. Librarians also make decisions based on recommendations by faculty; a resource’s price or publisher; select publishers’ catalogs or

lists; and reviews. These are widely practiced methods of decision-making in collection development. However, with diminishing budgets and a seemingly unlimited number of resources available for purchase, librarians need additional data reflecting patrons’ col-lection use. The decision to select or retain a journal based solely on its price or publisher

may not reflect researchers’ interests or needs. Conducting collection development sub-jectively, without evidence-based data, may be vulnerable to publisher marketing and often neglects important concerns of overall collection development, disciplinary trends, and duplication of resources. Evidence-based data that reflect which resources users rely upon in their research can help librarians make sound collection development decisions.

Literature Review

According to Peggy Johnson, collection analysis provides librarians with increased knowledge of library collections so that they can measure the strength of a library’s holdings and develop and manage them effectively.1 Thomas Nisonger discusses several methods of acquiring data through collection analysis: subjective judgment by disciplin-ary experts; usage; coverage by abstracting and indexing services; overlapping library holdings or subscriptions; and citation data.2 A commonly used method employed by librarians since 1927 is conducting citation studies or citation analysis to determine a journal’s importance in the field.3 According to Nisonger, citation analysis is based on

The decision to select or retain a journal based solely on its price or publisher may not reflect researchers’ interests or needs.

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the assumption that if a researcher has cited a resource, he or she must have somehow used the item in the research process.4 Citation analyses are accomplished by examining how often and where scholars cite journals in their research.

One method of citation analysis is to examine citations from a single or a few journal titles identified as the “core” journal or journals in a field for one or more years. Ac-cording to Johnson, developing a list of source items that reflect the subject studied or user needs can be challenging. It is important that the source list reflects the scope of the subject area. However, using one or a few “core” journals is a time-saving method of citation analysis to provide important collection management insight.5

As a time-saving alternative, librarians conduct citation analyses using Scopus, Elsevier’s index of abstracts and citations from peer-reviewed journals, or Web of Sci-ence, a database of scientific citations maintained by Clarivate Analytics, to identify citations from publications used by researchers at their universities.6 However, teaching and research faculties at different universities have different research foci, so the insight gained from these studies may be less relevant for librarians at other universities. Steve Black advises that, when using these two databases, one should remember that they do not include all journals published in particular disciplines, so the resulting data may not be a true representation of scholarship.7 A more inclusive process used by Wenli Gao (in communication), Sarah Anne Murphy (in the sciences), and Gregory Youngen (in veterinary medicine) samples numerous journals, eliminating the challenge of selecting the one journal that represents the scope of the subject area.

Other times, librarians will examine citations culled from publications of researchers at their universities to assess if the library is meeting their needs.8 As in the sampling of faculty publications from Scopus or Web of Science, the citation data reflect the research focus from a department or university and may have less applicability to libraries at other universities.

Within the discipline of communication studies, librarians have conducted citation analyses and content analysis for a variety of purposes. To examine interdisciplinary influences on the field of communication, Lauren Wispe and Candice Osborn compared citation patterns among disciplines related to communication by examining citations from four communication journals from 1953 to 1977.9 Byron Reeves and Christine Borgman addressed the communication subject area by sampling the nine most im-portant journals within the field from 1975 to 1979 to evaluate their influences on one another and on journals outside the field.10 Using the Journal of Communication, Han Woo Park and Loet Leydesdorff analyzed journals in an effort to map communication research.11 In fact, Park and Leydesdorff used a methodology almost the reverse of that used in this study but arrived at some of the same findings. Using 2006 data in the Journal Cita-tion Reports, which covers journals in the natural and social sciences, Park and Leydesdorff analyzed the journals that cited a single journal, the Journal of Communication. The author’s study, in contrast, examined the communi-cation studies literature from 116 journals to ascertain what scholars in the field use in their research. These two studies both conclude that communication studies scholarship

communication studies scholarship relies heavily on social and experimental psychology literature.

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relies heavily on social and experimental psychology literature. The Wispe and Osborn, Reeves and Borgman, and Park and Leydesdorff studies examined the subject area of communication during the periods 1953–1977, 1975–1979, and 2006. Daniel Riffe and Alan Freitag investigated how content analyses of Journalism Quarterly have changed over a 25-year period.12 In 1988, Laura Yale and Mary Gilly examined content in marketing and advertising journals from 1976 to 1985 to determine the subject areas researched by advertising scholars.13 Kyongseok Kim, Jameson Hayes, J. Adam Avant, and Leonard Reid followed up with a content analysis of advertising journals from 1980 to 2010 to shed light on trends in advertising research.14 While these studies provide insight into the discipline, most do not provide communication studies librarians with the information specific to collection development for all subject areas and years collectively. The goal of the current study is to examine a large representation of journals in the subject areas of advertising, communication, journalism, and public relations and media published during a broad range of years.

As Johnson and Nisonger note, journal citation analysis examines what research-ers have cited to ascertain what resources should be included in library collections.15 According to Kristin Hoffmann and Lise Doucette, citation analysis often chooses lon-ger periods to track changes over time,16 samples one or more journals, and examines numerous years and journals. This methodology requires substantially more time and effort than analyzing a single year or journal. Examining only one journal might yield results that relate too closely to the subject area of the journal and not the broader subject area. In addition, a sample of only one year may not adequately reflect research trends.

Librarians who manage communication studies collections need insightful data to help them to make better collection development decisions. They need information that tells them which scholarly journals are cited by communication studies researchers. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of communication studies, librarians need to know which journals are cited within the specific subject areas of communication studies as well as many areas traditionally outside of communication studies, including market-ing, psychology, and sociology.

This study is intended to serve as a resource for communication studies collec-tion development by identifying the citation patterns of scholarly journals cited by communication studies researchers. It examines the journal titles cited throughout the communication studies literature. Since there is no single accepted definition of the dis-cipline, the author defines communication studies as the broad discipline that includes or encompasses many subject areas, among them advertising, communication, journalism, media, and public relations. These subject areas were included in the study because they are represented by the major divisions within two well-established organizations for academics in communication studies, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) and the National Communication Association (NCA). For a more inclusive list of subject areas, see Brent Ruben’s article “Communication Study” in the 2002 Encyclopedia of Communication and Information; Rebecca Rubin, Alan Rubin, and Paul Haridakis’s 2010 book Communication Research: Strategies and Sources; and the list of “Areas of Specialization” on the website of the NCA, http://www.natcom.org/about-nca/what-communication.17 This study analyzes and reports on a representative list of journal citation data spanning from 1982 to 2012, covering journals in the five

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major subject areas as defined within communication studies by Marcel Danesi, director of the communication theory program at the University of Toronto—that is, advertising, communication, journalism, media, and public relations.18

This study contributes to the literature of collection development in communication studies in several ways. First, it relies on a large collection of journal titles. Second, the list of journal titles used to gather citations represents all five areas within the discipline. Third, the study examines citation behavior over a 30-year period. In addition, the cur-rent study presents data in a manner that accommodates and represents the variety of ways communication studies is typically represented in libraries, both as separate fields (advertising/public relations, communication/media, and journalism) and consolidated into communication studies. This citation study for communication studies affords a breadth of data and corresponding insight that may be useful to librarians seeking ad-ditional information for collection decisions. Others interested in conducting a more in-depth review of literature in a specific field may find this study useful as a model, despite its labor-intensive format.

Methodology

To provide a thorough examination of citation behavior and accommodate a variety of librarians with a tool on which to base their collection development decisions, the author collected citation data in the spring of 2013 with two objectives: to examine citations from a group of journals that represent the subject areas within communication studies and to study citations over a long enough time so that the data reflect trends and changes in communication studies scholarship.

Design of Study

Since no standards or guidelines exist on a recommended number of years to conduct a citation analysis, the author reviewed many previous studies and chose to conduct a longitudinal study that could address changes in research over time. To represent the depth of scholarship within communication studies, she needed to determine an esti-mated start date of communication studies as a formalized academic discipline. According to William Eadie, many U.S. colleges and uni-versities renamed departments to include communication in the title in the 1980s, while others began titling their departments “Mass Communication.” Often, departments and schools merged the professional fields of advertising, broadcasting, information science, print, public relations, and speech with research programs more broadly defined as communication research. From the early 1980s, communication studies began to gain recognition in higher education worldwide.19

Ideally, the author would have provided a census of all journals published in all subject areas (advertising, communication, journalism, media and public relations) and examined citations from every year a journal was published. Resource limitations neces-

From the early 1980s, communication studies began to gain recognition in higher education worldwide.

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sitated that she use a representative selection and reduce the categories to three. Borrow-ing the methodology used by Wispe and Osborn,20 who also conducted a longitudinal study, the author designated 2012 as the last (most recent year) and 1982 as the first year because 30 years was determined as the most extensive period that could accommodate a sampling of journals. She chose five-year intervals to provide a representative sample and to include any journals that had begun or ceased publication during the 30-year period. The sample periods were 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007, 2012.

Identification and Selection of Journals

To establish a list of journals representing communication studies scholarship from which to cull citations, the author considered several tools that would provide data relevant to journal significance. Scopus and Web of Science are two primary sources for journal metrics. When examining Scopus and Web of Science for journals in communication studies, the author found that both provide limited coverage. Scopus includes only 74 of the 116 titles (63 percent) used in the author’s study, and Web of Science covers only 41 of the titles (35 percent). In addition, the dates of coverage are limited in both. For this study, the author examined citations from seven periods from 1982 to 2012. When examining the years of coverage for the 74 journals included in Scopus, less than 41 percent of the titles had coverage for 15 or more years. Web of Science had similar limita-tions. Less than 39 percent of the 41 titles in Web of Science had coverage for 15 or more years. Because the goal of this study was to provide a broad and inclusive perspective of the subject area and scholarship to serve the needs of a variety of librarians, the author chose not to rely on the limited data from these two sources. In addition, both Scopus and the Web of Science, which incorporates Journal Citation Reports, are limited to the citation data of journals indexed in their respective databases.

Because the goal of this study is to examine journals within the discipline of com-munication studies more broadly and not an individual scholars’ or author’s output, h-index and other citation impact metrics were not considered. Developed by J. E. Hirsch, h-index is an author-level metric that measures the productivity of a scholar and the citation impact his or her publications.21 Those metrics could provide complementary information, however, to the current study.

The author compiled a master list of journals in communication studies using Ul-richsweb: Global Serials Directory.22 A widely used resource in libraries, Ulrichsweb is an online database that includes bibliographic information for over 300,000 serials covering more than 900 subject areas. Using Ulrichsweb, the author developed a list of journal titles based on the database’s defined subject groupings: advertising/public relations, communication/media, and journalism. Titles within these subject areas that met the following criteria were included:

• designated as “journal”; • published more than once a year; • in English; • published for at least two years between 1982 and 2012; and • accessible to the author online or in print.

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A total of 116 journals met the criteria and were included in the study, resulting in 11 titles within advertising/public relations; 74 in communication/media; and 31 in journalism (see Table 1). These figures include journals that have changed their title. The author considered counting a journal that changed its title and the journal under its new title as one publication, since the content is usually the same. However, to provide as much insight as possible for collection management, including decisions regarding space and collection weeding, the author chose to present data for each title separately.

Selection and Organization of Data

The author collected journal citations for 1982, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007, and 2012. First, she created lists of journals that were in publication for each of these seven years. Based on the master list of 116 journal titles, journals were included for any or all the seven years for which they were in publication. The lists of journals varied for each year because each journal’s publication history was different. The author then delegated the journal titles for each year to one of the three Ulrichsweb subject categories (advertising/public relations, communication/media and journalism). This subject assignment re-mained consistent for all years of the study. The result was seven lists, designated by year, each with journals listed in the three subject areas. The subject area “communication/media” had the largest number of journals in publication, “journalism” had the second largest number, and “advertising/public relations” had the smallest number of journals.

Because it was not feasible to examine citations from every journal for all seven years, the author chose a selection of journals from each subject area for each year. Because the ratio of journal titles within the three subject areas varied for each year, it was important that this ratio was applied when selecting the number of journals from which to collect citations for each year. Therefore, the author used a proportionate sampling strategy, in which the number of journals chosen from each of the seven years was determined by their number relative to the entire population, and journals were then randomly selected for each of the seven years. For example, if there were five journals in a year for “advertis-ing/public relations,” the range used to pick a number was 1 to 5. A different number and range were selected for each of the seven years. Following the proportionate sampling strategy, the subject areas of “communication/media” and “journalism” were adjusted to be consistent with the ratio of journals within the two subject areas. For example, if in 1982 50 journals were published with 5 journals (10 percent) in advertising/public relations, 25 journals (50 percent) in communication/media, and 20 journals (40 percent) in journalism, the number used would be between 1 and 5 because the smallest category (advertising/public relations) had five journal titles. This process was followed for each of the seven years selected, with the following numbers of journals for each of the seven years: 1982 = 28 journals; 1987 = 32 journals; 1992 = 19 journals; 1997 = 8 journals; 2002 = 63 journals; 2007 = 11 journals; 2012 = 59 journals.

For each journal selected, the author culled citations of scholarly journals from every article’s bibliography. Citations for books, magazines, newspapers, and the like were omitted. The author identified journal titles from the bibliography citations, entered them into a spreadsheet for each year, and further organized by worksheet according to the three subject areas. Each worksheet listed journal titles and the journals cited within

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Advertising/Public Relations (11 titles)

Advertising & Society ReviewCurrent Issues and Research in Advertisinga

International Journal of AdvertisingInternational Journal of Market ResearchJournal of AdvertisingJournal of Advertising ResearchJournal of Current Issues & Research in AdvertisingJournal of Interactive AdvertisingJournal of the Market Research Societyb Public Relations JournalPublic Relations Review

Communication/Media (74 titles)

Academy of Managerial Communications JournalAsian Communication ResearchAsian Journal of CommunicationCentral States Speech Journalc

Chinese Journal of CommunicationComm/Ent (Hastings Communications and

Entertainment Law Journal)Communication EducationCommunication Law and PolicyCommunication MonographsCommunication, Politics & CultureCommunication Research ReportsCommunication ReviewCommunication StudiesCommunication TheoryCommunications and the Lawd

Communications: The European Journal of Communication Research

ConvergenceCritical Studies in Mass Communicatione

Critical Studies in Media CommunicationDiscourse & CommunicationDiscourse & Society

European Journal of CommunicationFeminist Media StudiesFlorida Communication JournalFlorida Speech Communication JournalGazettef

Global Media and CommunicationHistorical Journal of Film, Radio and TelevisionHoward Journal of CommunicationsHuman Communication ResearchInformation Economics and PolicyInternational Communication GazetteInternational Journal of Information ManagementJMM: Journal on Media ManagementJournal of Applied Communication ResearchJournal of Broadcastingg

Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic MediaJournal of Business Communicationh Journal of CommunicationJournal of Communication InquiryJournal of Family CommunicationJournal of Health CommunicationJournal of Marketing CommunicationsJournal of Mass Media EthicsJournal of Media and ReligionJournal of Media EconomicsJournal of Newspaper and Periodical Historyi

Journal of Organizational Culture, Communications and Conflict

Journal of Popular Film and TelevisionMass Comm Reviewj

Mass Communication and SocietyMedia, Culture & SocietyMedia HistoryMedia PsychologyNew Media & SocietyPhilosophy and RhetoricPolitical CommunicationPopular CommunicationPrometheus

Table 1.List of journals included in study

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Qualitative Research Reports in CommunicationQuarterly Journal of SpeechSocial Science Information Studies: SSISk

Southern Communication JournalSouthern ReviewSouthern Speech Communication Journall

Studies in Newspaper and Periodical Historym

Television & New MediaTelevision QuarterlyVisual CommunicationVisual Communication QuarterlyWestern Journal of CommunicationWestern Journal of Speech Communicationn

Women’s Studies in CommunicationWritten Communication

Journalism (31 titles)

American JournalismAsia Pacific Media EducatorAustralian Studies in Journalismo

eJournalistHarvard International Journal of Press/Politicsp

International Communication BulletinICB: International Communications Bulletinq

International Communication Research JournalInternational Journal of Press/PoliticsIssues in WritingJournal of Electronic PublishingJournal of International CommunicationJournal of Sports MediaJournalism & Communication Monographsr

Journalism & Mass Communication MonographsJournalism & Mass Communication EducatorJournalism & Mass Communication QuarterlyJournalism Educators

Journalism HistoryJournalism Monographst

Journalism Quarterlyu

Journalism StudiesJournalism: Theory, Practice and CriticismMedia EthicsMedia Ethics UpdateMedia History MonographsMedia, War & ConflictNewspaper Research JournalNieman ReportsStudies in Journalism and Mass Communicationv

Southwestern Mass Communication Journal

a Now Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising.b Now International Journal of Market Research.c Now Communication Studies.d Ceased publication in 2003.e Now Critical Studies in Media Communication. f Now International Communication Gazette.g Now Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media.h Now International Journal of Business Communicationi Ceased publication in 1992.j Now Mass Communication and Society.k Now International Journal of Information Management.l Now Southern Communication Journal. m Now Media History.n Now Western Journal of Communication.o Now International Journal of Press/Politics. p Ceased publication in 2007.q Now Journalism & Communication Monographs.r Now International Communication Bulletin.s Now Journalism & Mass Communication Educator.t Now Journalism & Mass Communication Monographs.u Now Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly.v Now Southwestern Mass Communication Journal.

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A Citation Analysis of Scholarly Journals in Communication Studies 514

their respective article bibliographies. Journal titles were then verified for accuracy in WorldCat.23 A total of 72,360 journal citations were compiled for the seven periods, with 17,275 citations in advertising/public relations; 46,727 citations in communication/media; and 8,358 citations in journalism.

The decision to sort citations by subject area of the citing journal makes the data useful to a wider audience of librarians and accommodates collection development in any combination of the three subject areas. Communication studies includes several distinct yet related subject areas that may be represented differently depending on the library collection. Often, the collection development responsibilities for these subject areas vary among academic libraries. For example, the librarian responsible for collec-tion development in the social sciences may have all three of these subjects within his or her purview. Other times, collection development for the subject area “advertising/public relations” may be the responsibility of a business librarian. Sorting the data by subject area accommodates more librarians’ needs.

In analyzing the data, the author addressed the following research questions:

• Which are the most and least cited journals within the subject areas of advertis-ing/public relations, communication/media, and journalism?

• Which journals from outside the discipline of communication studies are cited the most by communication studies researchers?

• For each of the three subject areas, what percentage of journals cited are specific to that subject field; to journals from other areas within communication studies; and to journals from outside the discipline?

Findings

The citation data are summarized in Figures 1 and 2 and Tables 2 through 5. Figures 1 and 2 include the total number of citations and journal titles cited for each of the three subject categories from 1982 to 2012 and provide data for journal titles cited more than five times and five times or fewer. Tables 2, 3 and 4 provide rankings of the journal titles cited more than five times from 1982 to 2012 in each category. Table 5 provides information on journal titles cited five or fewer times in communication/media. Five was selected as a cutoff because it is significant with respect to interlibrary loan copyright fees. Most interlibrary loan operations pay copyright fees annually based on CONTU (Commis-sion on New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works) Guidelines, which state that if a journal article is published in the past five years and a library requests more than five articles via interlibrary loan from the same journal title, the library will be charged copyright fees on request number six and upward.24 The author believes that access to a journal title with five or fewer requests could be provided via interlibrary loan free of copyright fees, and the library would not necessarily need to subscribe to the publication.

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Figure 1. Total journals cited.

Figure 2. Total citations cited.

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A Citation Analysis of Scholarly Journals in Communication Studies 516

Figures 3 and 4 include the total number of citations and journal titles cited for each cat-egory for the seven periods. The figures also sort the data by citations and journals cited five or fewer times and six or more times. In all three subject areas, most journal titles cited (80 percent or more) were cited five or fewer times. The fact that only 20 percent or fewer journal titles were cited more than five times is valuable information for collection development decision-making. Librarians could focus their efforts and funding on the 20 percent or fewer journal titles cited most often by communication studies researchers. Among the journals cited six or more times, most were outside the discipline of communi-cation studies (see Figures 3, 5, and 7). This fact indicates how multidisciplinary research in communication studies is and provides incentive for librarians doing collection de-

velopment in communication studies to establish collaborative relationships with librarians in other subject areas (discussed in more depth in the fol-lowing sections). When examining the 50 most-cited journal titles in the three categories (see Tables 2, 3, and 5), the three areas had some similarities. One might expect that titles considered “core titles” within the discipline of communication studies would appear on all three “top 50 lists.” In addi-tion, however, several journal titles

outside the discipline appear on all three “top 50 lists”: Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Psychological Bulletin, and Public Opinion Quarterly. Because the number and percentage of journals cited are only part of the picture, data on the number and percentage of citations are also included. Specific information on the multidisciplinary nature of the subject areas, journals cited, and implications for collection development will be discussed in the following sections.

Advertising/Public Relations

The advertising/public relations literature produced 17,275 citations and 1,486 unique journal titles during the seven periods between 1982 and 2012. Of the 1,486 journal titles, 279 (19 percent) were cited six or more times, and 1,207 (81 percent) were referred to five or fewer times (see Figures 1 and 2).

Table 2 outlines the percentage of citations of all journals cited six or more times within the advertising/public relations literature. Ten of the 11 advertising/public rela-tions journals used in the study are included on the “top 50 list.” The Journal of Adver-tising Research was cited the most, with 1,500 citations representing 9.79 percent of the total citations in this category. Published by the World Advertising Research Center, the Journal of Advertising Research has been in publication since 1960. Another publication with a similar title, the Journal of Advertising, is the third most-cited journal with 1,292 citations, representing 8.43 percent of the total citations. Currently published by Rout-ledge, the Journal of Advertising is affiliated with the American Academy of Advertising,

. . . several journal titles outside the discipline appear on all three “top 50 lists”: Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Psychological Bulletin, and Public Opinion Quarterly.

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Table 2.Top 50 journals cited in advertising/public relations, 1982–2012

Journal title Percentage of total citations Total citations

Journal of Advertising Research 1,500 9.79%Journal of Consumer Research 1,490 9.73%Journal of Advertising 1,292 8.43%Journal of Marketing Research 1,125 7.34%Journal of Marketing 896 5.85%Public Relations Review 493 3.22%Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 458 2.99%International Journal of Advertising 379 2.47%Journal of Public Relations Research 227 1.48%Public Opinion Quarterly 227 1.48%Journal of Business Research 218 1.42%Psychology & Marketing 208 1.36%Journalism Quarterly 177 1.16%Journal of Communication 172 1.12%Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science 160 1.04%Harvard Business Review 143 0.93%Journal of Consumer Psychology 141 0.92%European Journal of Marketing 131 0.86%Journal of Public Policy & Marketing 127 0.83%Psychological Bulletin 126 0.82%Journal of Applied Psychology 124 0.81%Journal of Consumer Marketing 124 0.81%International Journal of Market Research 123 0.80%Journal of Experimental Psychology 112 0.73%Psychological Review 111 0.72%Marketing Science 102 0.67%Journal of Retailing 96 0.63%Communication Research 94 0.61%Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising 94 0.61%Current Issues & Research in Advertising 91 0.59%Journal of the Market Research Society 91 0.59%American Psychologist 89 0.58%Academy of Management Journal 88 0.57%Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 85 0.55%Public Relations Journal 81 0.53%Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 74 0.48%International Journal of Research in Marketing 71 0.46%

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A Citation Analysis of Scholarly Journals in Communication Studies 518

a major organization for advertising researchers and educators. The most-cited public relations journal, Public Relations Review, ranked sixth with 493 or 3.22 percent of the total citations. The next most-cited journal in public relations was the Journal of Public Relations Research, with 227 or 1.48 percent of the total citations. It is important to note that public relations research also appears in advertising journals.

When examining Table 2, the multidisciplinary nature of the advertising/public rela-tions literature becomes apparent, with journals in marketing and psychology especially prevalent. The second most-cited journal in the advertising and public relations literature is the Journal of Consumer Research, proclaimed by the Association of Business Schools Aca-demic Journal Guide 2015 as one of the top journals in marketing.25 With advertising’s close

relationship to marketing and consumer research, it is not surprising that the Journal of Consumer Research is cited heavily within the advertising/public relations literature. Two additional marketing journals, Journal of Market-ing Research and Journal of

Marketing, ranked fourth and fifth on the list. These two journals also appeared among the top journals in the field of marketing.26 Within the subject area of psychology, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology was the seventh most-cited journal, with 458 total citations, representing almost 3 percent of the total citations. Journals in the areas of psychology or marketing were cited so much within the advertising/public relations literature that they represent the majority, 30 of the journals on the “top 50 list.”

Journal of Interactive Marketing 65 0.42%Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 65 0.42%Journal of Business Ethics 64 0.42%Journal of Communication Management 64 0.42%Journal of Interactive Advertising 63 0.41%Management Science 59 0.39%Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 58 0.38%International Marketing Review 57 0.37%Human Communication Research 50 0.33%Marketing Letters 49 0.32%Journal of Marketing Communications 48 0.31%Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 47 0.31%Journal of Consumer Affairs 47 0.31%

Journal title Percentage of total citations Total citations

Table 2. Continued.

With advertising’s close relationship to market-ing and consumer research, it is not surprising that the Journal of Consumer Research is cited heavily within the advertising/public relations literature.

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Advertising/Public Relations Journals Not in the Top 50

Three advertising and public relations journals did not appear on the list of the “top 50” most-cited journals: Journal of Promotion Management (25 citations), Advertising & Society Review (8 citations), and Public Relations Research & Education (6 citations). It may prove valuable for librarians managing collections in this area to know these journals did not make the “top 50 list.” While they may not be among the most-cited journals, however, they may still be relevant to researchers.

Multidisciplinary Nature of Advertising/Public Relations

Figure 3 illustrates the multidisciplinary nature of advertising/public relations research. It represents all journal titles cited six or more times within the field of advertising and public relations. Of the 279 titles cited, only 16 titles or 6 percent are advertising or public relations journals. An even higher percentage, 14 percent (39 titles), are journals within other areas of communication studies (communication/media or journalism). A large percentage (80 percent, 224 titles) of journals cited are outside the area of advertising and communication studies. Most research cited in advertising/public relations falls outside the discipline of communication studies, and a small amount is within the subject area of advertising/public relations. However, when examining the interdisciplinary nature of advertising/public relations research, one should also look at the number and percent-age of citations as well as titles cited, because advertising and public relations journals would likely be cited more often.

Figure 3. Subject distribution of journals cited more than five times in advertising/public relations (n = 279).

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A more detailed picture emerges when examining the number and percentage of citations. Figure 4 provides a breakdown of the number and percentage of citations

within the advertising and public relations literature. Most citations (9,439, 62 percent) were from journals outside communication studies, while 30 percent (4,655 citations) were from advertising/public relations journals. The smallest number of citations (1,226 citations, 8 percent) were from commu-nication/media or journalism journals. The literature cited within advertising and public relations is highly multi-disciplinary, but researchers still rely

heavily on the journals within their field. Librarians who manage advertising/public relations collections not only need to keep abreast of the journals within the discipline but also should also ensure that their libraries provide access to journals in other areas, especially marketing and psychology. At the least, they should consult with collection managers for these subject areas.

Librarians who manage advertising/public relations collections not only need to keep abreast of the journals within the discipline but also should also ensure that their libraries pro-vide access to journals in other areas, especially marketing and psychology.

Figure 4. Subject distribution of citations for journals cited more than five times in advertising/public relations (n = 15,320).

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Communication/Media

The communication/media literature yielded a total of 46,727 citations and 4,927 unique journal titles within during the seven periods between 1982 and 2012. Of the 4,927 journal titles, 975 (20 percent) were cited six or more times, and 3,952 (80 percent) were cited five or fewer times (see Figures 1 and 2).

Table 3 provides a list of the top 50 journals cited six or more times. The proportion of communication/media journals is interesting compared to the number of journals from outside the discipline and from advertising/public relations and journalism. Almost half the titles are communication or media journals, and nearly 50 percent are journals outside the discipline of communication studies. The study sample included 74 com-munication/media journals, with 24 of the titles making the “top 50 list.” Only three advertising/public relations or journalism titles are on the list. Journal of Communica-tion, the journal cited most with 1,631 or 4.09 percent of the citations, is considered “the flagship journal of the International Communication Association . . . seeking a general forum for communication scholarship.”27 Journal of Communication was also highly cited in both advertising and journalism. As in the category of advertising/public relations, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology was also highly cited in communication/media. The National Communication Association (formerly the Speech Communica-tion Association) is the scholarly society for academics in the areas of communication and media. The association publishes 11 scholarly journals, 5 of which are on the “top 50 list”: Communication Education, Communication Monographs, Critical Studies in Media Communication, Journal of Applied Communication Research, and Quarterly Journal of Speech.

With almost half the journals on the list from outside the discipline of communication studies, it is difficult to ignore the multidisciplinary nature of communication/media research. Most journals from outside the discipline are business and psychology journals, but scholarly publications from political science, public opinion, and sociology are also included. In addition to the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, seven other psychology journals made the list: Psychologi-cal Bulletin, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Personality and So-cial Psychology Bulletin, Sex Roles, Psychological Review, and Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. Psychological Bulletin and Psychological Review publish broad, wide-ranging studies from all divisions of psychology. It should not be surprising that, with the wide scope of these psychology journals, their content would be relevant to communication and media research. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of Social and Per-sonal Relationships, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, and Journal of Experimental Social Psychology are all social behavior and personality journals. That communication and media are included in the social sciences and that research often focuses on inter-personal interactions might explain why these six journals are highly cited. According to the description on the website of Sex Roles, the journal “publishes original research . . . articles that explore how gender organizes people’s lives and their surrounding worlds.” It includes “communication studies” in its list of topics covered.28 The Journal of Applied

. . . it is difficult to ignore the multidisciplinary nature of communication/media research.

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Psychology’s scope “advances understanding of psychological phenomena and human behavior that have practical implications,”29 which parallels the human behavior focus of much communication and media research.

The list of eight business journals also represent some similarities with communica-tion/media research. The most obvious title, the Journal of Business Communication (now

the International Journal of Business Communication) publishes research “addressing all areas of business communication.”30 Two journals on the list, Journal of Marketing and Journal of Marketing Research, pub-lish scholarship representing the broad spectrum of research in marketing,31 which could include research on the media industry. Harvard Business

Review is a core business title for academic libraries,32 so it will likely include research on the media industry and advertising. The four remaining journals, Academy of Manage-ment Journal, MIS [management information systems] Quarterly, Administrative Science Quarterly, and Management Science, are all management journals.

Communication/Media Journals Not in the Top 50

Seventy-two communication and media journals did not appear on the “top 50 List.” There may be several reasons why many of these titles did not make the list. Fifty-eight of the 72 journals ceased publication, started publication, or changed titles between 1982 and 2012. In addition, three titles were international in scope.

Multidisciplinary Nature of Communication/Media

Figure 5 shows the multidisciplinary nature of communication/media research. It represents all journal titles cited six or more times within the communication/media literature. Of the 975 journal titles cited, the majority (840 titles, 86 percent) were from outside the discipline of communication studies. Only 11 percent were communication/media titles, and 3 percent were advertising/public relations or journalism titles. Only 74 communication/media journals were included in the sample list of journals. These data affirm the multidisciplinary nature of communication/media research and indicate to librarians the importance of journals outside the discipline.

Figure 6 presents the number and percentage of citations and more accurately reflects the importance of communication/media journals. The number and percent-age of citations from communication/media journals outweigh the number of journals cited. Researchers cite and rely upon communication/media journals more than Figure 5 indicates. However, most citations (23,348, 59 percent) are from journals outside com-munication studies. While communication research is highly multidisciplinary, research-ers still rely on journals within the discipline of communication studies (41 percent).

Journalism

The journalism literature yielded a total of 8,358 citations and 1,249 unique titles within during the seven periods. Of the 1,249 journals cited, only 173 (14 percent) were cited six or more times, and 1,076 (86 percent) were cited five or fewer times (see Figures 1 and 2).

Harvard Business Review is a core business title for academic libraries

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Table 3.Top 50 journals cited in communication/media, 1982–2012

Journal title Percentage of total citations Total citations

Journal of Communication 1,631 4.09%Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1,106 2.77%Human Communication Research 1,089 2.73%Communication Research 1,042 2.61%Communication Monographs 912 2.29%Quarterly Journal of Speech 778 1.95%Journalism Quarterly 665 1.67%Communication Education 514 1.29%Public Opinion Quarterly 492 1.23%Academy of Management Journal 484 1.21%Critical Studies in Media Communication 448 1.12%Communication Quarterly 425 1.07%Media, Culture & Society 387 0.97%Political Communication 371 0.93%Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 360 0.90%Psychological Bulletin 346 0.87%Communication Theory 301 0.75%MIS [management information systems] Quarterly 279 0.70%Journal of Applied Psychology 260 0.65%Administrative Science Quarterly 253 0.63%Discourse & Society 253 0.63%Journal of Broadcasting 241 0.60%Western Journal of Speech Communication 217 0.54%International Journal of Information Management 215 0.54%Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 212 0.53%American Journal of Sociology 209 0.52%Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 207 0.52%American Political Science Review 206 0.52%American Sociological Review 206 0.52%Sex Roles 203 0.51%Journal of Marketing 193 0.48%Central States Speech Journal 191 0.48%Journal of Marketing Research 191 0.48%Journal of Business Communication 186 0.47%Psychological Review 186 0.47%Journal of Applied Communication Research 185 0.46%American Journal of Political Science 182 0.46%

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Journal title Percentage of total citations Total citations

Journal of Media Economics 177 0.44%Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 176 0.44%Media Psychology 176 0.44%Communication Research Reports 175 0.44%Western Journal of Communication 175 0.44%European Journal of Communication 173 0.43%Management Science 169 0.42%Harvard Business Review 168 0.42%Mass Communication and Society 168 0.42%Journal of Advertising Research 167 0.42%American Behavioral Scientist 166 0.42%New Media & Society 164 0.41%

Table 3. Continued.

Figure 5. Subject distribution of journals cited more than five times in communication/media (n = 975).

Table 4 provides a list of the top 50 journal titles cited within the journalism literature between 1982 and 2012. Journalism Quarterly was by far the most cited, with 1,008 or 15.30 percent of all citations of journals referred to six or more times. Journalism Quar-terly was in publication from 1928 to 1994 and was considered the “flagship journal of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication . . . AEJMC.”33 In 1995, its name changed to Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, the third most-cited journal. Three other AEJMC journals also make the list: Journalism Educator, ranked seventh; Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, ranked ninth; and Journal-

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ism Monographs, ranked 44th. Thirteen of the journals on the list are within the subject category journalism, with 31 journal titles included in the study sample. Within the “top 50 list” of journals, many from advertising/public relations and communication/media were also cited. The Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Advertising, Public Relations Review, and Journal of Public Relations Research appeared in the top 50 journals cited in journalism and advertising/public relations. However, most journals on the “top 50 list” cited within the journalism literature were communication/media journals. Most notable was the Journal of Communication, the second most-cited journal in journalism and the most-cited journal within communication/media.

Journalism Journals Not in the Top 50

Only six journalism journals did not appear on the “top 50 list.” Three titles could be considered non-United States in scope (Asia Pacific Media Educator, Australian Journal-ism Review, and Pacific Journalism Review). International Communication Bulletin ceased publication in 2010. The journal Media, War and Conflict only began publication in 2008 (the last four years of the study). While Journalism & Communication Monographs did not make the “top 50 list” and ranked 74th, it often includes only one article per issue, and sometimes the focus is highly specific. Although these journals may not be among the most-cited journals, they may still be relevant to researchers because they focus on significant issues within the discipline, are relevant to topics taught in journalism pro-grams, or provide an important international perspective.

Multidisciplinary Nature of Journalism

As with the other categories, the journals cited within the journalism literature dem-onstrate the multidisciplinary scope of the subject area. However, researchers in ad-vertising/public relations (80 percent) and communication/media (86 percent) cited a higher percentage of journals from outside the discipline. For the subject area journal-

Figure 6. Subject distribution of citations for journals cited more than five times in communication/media (n = 39,902).

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Table 4.Top 50 journals cited in journalism, 1982–2012

Journal title Percentage of total citations Total citations

Journalism Quarterly 1,008 15.30%Journal of Communication 381 5.78%Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 345 5.24%Communication Research 244 3.70%Newspaper Research Journal 217 3.29%Public Opinion Quarterly 217 3.29%Journalism Educator 194 2.95%Political Communication 177 2.69%Journalism & Mass Communication Educator 138 2.10%Journalism Studies 128 1.94%Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 123 1.87%Journalism History 115 1.75%Public Relations Review 104 1.58%Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 99 1.50%American Journalism Review 97 1.47%Critical Studies in Media Communication 97 1.47%European Journal of Communication 77 1.17%American Journal of Sociology 76 1.15%American Political Science Review 76 1.15%International Journal of Public Opinion Research 72 1.09%Journalism 68 1.03%Media, Culture & Society 68 1.03%Gazette 63 0.96%Journalism Practice 59 0.90%American Journal of Political Science 56 0.85%Journal of Advertising 56 0.85%Journal of Advertising Research 55 0.83%Journal of Public Relations Research 52 0.79%Human Communication Research 51 0.77%Psychological Bulletin 48 0.73%Mass Communication and Society 45 0.68%Journal of Mass Media Ethics 44 0.67%Journal of Media Economics 44 0.67%Journal of Consumer Research 43 0.65%Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics 42 0.64%New Media & Society 41 0.62%Journal of Politics 40 0.61%

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ism, almost a third of the journals on the “top 50 list” are from outside the discipline of communication studies, representing marketing, political science, psychology, public opinion, and sociology. Many of the journals within these subject areas also appeared on the “top 50 list” for advertising and com-munication/media journals. Figure 7 details the multidisciplinary nature of journalism research. Most journal titles cited (55 percent) are outside the discipline of communication studies. Almost a third (33 percent) are from advertising and communication/media, and as with advertising, the smallest percentage of journals cited (12 percent) are publications within the subject category itself.

A different picture emerges when examining the number and percentage of citations. Figure 8 details the number and percentage of citations within the subject category of journalism. Citations are nearly equally divided among journalism (38 percent), other areas within communication studies (34 percent), and areas outside the discipline of communication studies (28 percent). The smallest percentage of citations (28 percent) are from outside the discipline of communication studies, a drastic difference with respect to the multidisciplinary nature of the research in advertising/public relations and communication/media, where the largest percentage of citations was from outside the discipline.

Similarities among the Three Subject Areas

The three subject areas had several similarities with respect to citations and journals cited. The most significant similarity is the multidisciplinary nature of their research. Seven

Journal title Percentage of total citations Total citations

American Behavioral Scientist 38 0.58%Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 38 0.58%Journal of Marketing 38 0.58%American Sociological Review 35 0.53%Journal of Broadcasting 34 0.52%Communication Theory 31 0.47%Journalism Monographs 27 0.41%Howard Journal of Communications 26 0.39%Social Science Quarterly 26 0.39%American Psychologist 24 0.36%College Composition and Communication 24 0.36%Journal of Marketing Research 24 0.36%International Journal of Press/Politics 23 0.35%

For the subject area journalism, almost a third of the journals on the “top 50 list” are from outside the discipline of communication studies, representing marketing, political science, psychology, public opinion, and sociology.

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Figure 7. Subject distribution of journals cited more than five times in journalism (n = 173).

Figure 8. Subject distribution of citations for journals cited more than five times in journalism (n = 6,587).

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journal titles within the discipline of communication studies appeared in all three “Top 50 Lists”: Communication Research, Human Communication Research, Journal of Advertising Research, Journal of Broadcast and Electronic Media, Journal of Communication, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, and Journalism Quarterly. Five journals from outside communication studies appeared on three “top 50 lists”: Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Psychological Bulletin, and Public Opinion Quarterly. Collection managers should consider these 12 titles core to their collections.

Implications for Collection Management

The purpose of this study is to provide librarians with data they can use to make evi-dence-based collection management decisions that accurately reflect the research needs of their users and trends in the discipline. The data in the three “top 50 lists” are useful because they provide the journals’ dates of coverage, rank within the subject area, and number and percentage of citations. Regardless of a library’s size, librarians can consult the three lists to help guide their purchasing decisions. The lists also include titles from outside the discipline. Librarians should make every effort to advocate for communica-tion studies researchers and ensure that these titles are also available when appropriate. The type of access should also be an important consideration for titles on the “top 50 lists.” Since these titles could be considered the publications most used or valued by researchers, librarians may want to provide online access. With respect to purchasing journal back files, since the data in this study do not indicate when (how recently or far back in time) the journals were cited, librarians should be cautious and not base deci-sions regarding back file purchases solely on this study. Many factors affect purchasing decisions, including available funding, space, faculty research agendas, and priorities of teaching departments. The data from this study are only one factor to be considered in the decision-making process.

Membership in a library consortium can provide a variety of benefits, one of which is access to shared resources. During times of limited resources, these memberships provide users with access to resources their libraries might not afford on their own. Like many subject areas, the list of resources in communication studies often exceeds the amount of funding available for purchasing resources. The “top 50 lists” of journals are tools to guide librarians in their effort to provide access to as many communication studies resources as economically possible.

In addition to giving librarians the information they need to select journals, the data can also assist librarians with col-lection management decisions related to format, location, and deselection. Space can be at a premium for libraries nowadays. To provide enough space for users, libraries often must weigh the value of shelving for collections or providing user space by placing

While librarians should consider numerous factors to determine which resources remain on site and which should be off-site, they should always consider the imme-diacy of need and overall value of the resource to users.This

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some collections in off-site storage. While librarians should consider numerous factors to determine which resources remain on site and which should be off-site, they should always consider the immediacy of need and overall value of the resource to users. The data in this study help librarians make informed decisions that best meet the needs of users while considering the challenges of limited space. Librarians may consult the lists to assist with determining which highly cited titles should be readily available to users and which infrequently cited resources may be moved off-site to free up valuable space. However, since the data in this study do not indicate how recently or far back in time the journals were cited, librarians should not base location solely on this study.

Increasing journal prices and shrinking library budgets have made collection development more challenging for librarians. It is important to be aware of which journals are not relied on or cited by researchers. Allocating space and money to titles not used by researchers is an inefficient use of resources. Journal titles not cited within the discipline are excellent candidates for deselection, especially if interlibrary loan is a potential alternative. Journal titles cited five or fewer times are potential candidates for cancellation if the library provides access to resources via interlibrary loan (see Table 5).

Conclusion

Communication studies librarians use a variety of tools and methods when doing col-lection development. Citation analysis offers valuable information on which to select material. Collection managers need information that accurately reflects, and pays atten-tion to, the needs of their patrons.

This study represents a view of communication studies research and can provide librarians with data to inform their collection decisions. With data that reflect research-ers’ needs and interests, librarians can consider the trends and influences on past and present research activity, step back from their own collections, and evaluate how their collections compare to disciplinary fields with which their patrons interact. Instead of simply following historical collection decisions, librarians can focus more consciously on their collections and the fields represented. Using citation analysis, librarians have another tool to determine what their collections should look like, whom they serve, and how they will develop collections into the future.

To enable communication studies librarians to make individually relevant deci-sions within a wider context, this study was designed with the needs and collections of a variety of communication studies librarians in mind. The data were structured and presented according to the subject areas within communication studies to reflect the diverse considerations of all communication studies collections in academic libraries.

This study demonstrates that librarians managing communication studies collec-tions must also focus their attention on resources outside, but related to, their specific disciplines. Multidisciplinary communication studies research cites resources external to the field. Librarians managing these subject areas must remain alert both to commu-nication studies resources and to external resources in such subject areas as business, political science, psychology, and sociology.

Making evidence-based decisions enables librarians to more effectively manage their communication studies collections, collaborate with librarians in related disciplines,

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Table 5.Journals cited five or fewer times in communication/media

Association for Communication Administration Bulletin (1975–1993)Australian Communication Review (1981–1994)Australian Studies in Journalism (1992–2003)British Journalism Review (1989– )Canadian Speech Communication Journal (1967–1985)Combroad (1966–1997) Communication, Politics & Culture (2008–2012)Communication Research Trends (1980– )Communication Teacher (1999– )Communications and the Law (1987–2003)Crime, Media, Culture (2005– )Florida Communication Journal (1988– )Hastings Communications and Entertainment Law Journal (1990– )International Journal of Advertising and Marketing to Children (2000–2004)International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics (2005– )International Media Law (1982–1999)Journal of Advertising Education (1996– )Journal of Asian Pacific Communication (1990– )Journal of Intercultural Communication Research (1972– )Journal of International and Intercultural Communication (2008– )Journal of Media Law and Practice (1980–1991)Journal of Media Practice (2000– )Journal of New Communications Research (2006– )Journal of the Association for Communication Administration (1993–2001)Journalism & Mass Communication Monographs (1995–1998)Journalist (1908– )Keio Communication Review (1980– )Media History (1998– )Radio Journal (2003– )Southwestern Mass Communication Journal (1985– )Speech Communication Teacher (1986–1999)Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture (2004– )This

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and provide users with access to resources that best meet their needs. The data also help librarians decide which resources they can forgo purchasing, relying instead on

interlibrary loan for access, so that they may divert limited funding to other resources.

Another important resource is online abstracting and indexing (A&I) databases. Like journals, online A&I databases should meet the research needs of library users. The data provided in this study may be used when evaluat-ing or purchasing these resources.

A&I databases in communication studies ideally should index not only communication studies journals but also those journals outside the discipline that are highly cited. While this goal may be unrealistic due to cost issues, communication studies librarians should be aware of which databases provide indexing to journals cited heavily by communica-tion studies researchers.

The current economic environment for most academic institutions necessitates that librarians have better understanding and tighter control over their collection development decision-making. Previous practices for collection development become increasingly problematic when librarians can collect fewer resources, leading to weaker collections. As library dollars grow scarcer, building evidence-based collection development data and information provides a better tool for collection decisions than relying on past practice.

The intention of this study is to support decision-making in communication studies collection development. This study is a solid step in the right direction only if others take up the charge and contribute data and information that work for many librarians. Collection analysis data reflecting research patterns and trends within the field of com-munication studies need to be updated on a regular basis so that librarians can ensure that their collections reflect and keep pace with researchers’ needs. The data should ad-dress the multidisciplinary nature of communication studies and its many subject areas and connections, such as the important relationships to the media industry and subject areas outside the discipline. To meet the diverse needs of users, collection analysis data and information should reflect the different information needs and research behavior of scholars, including faculty, graduate students, undergraduate students, and members of the media industry. Research should also examine and evaluate the role and impor-tance of a variety of library resources, including scholarly journals, trade publications, newspapers, books, reference sources, and abstracting and indexing tools.

The goal should be to accommodate the variety of teaching disciplines, users, library collections, and budgets that communication studies librarians must consider. Research should be presented so that it applies to a variety of collections and subject areas, changing formats and user behavior, and trends in the discipline. We need to increase discourse about the challenges we face as collection managers, how the discipline and industry are changing, and the needs of our users. The outcome should be collections informed by data that reflect trends and changes within the discipline and industry.

Making evidence-based decisions enables librarians to more effectively manage their communication studies collections, collaborate with librarians in related dis-ciplines, and provide users with access to resources that best meet their needs.

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Lisa Romero is an associate professor and the university library and communications librarian at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign; she may be reached by e-mail at: l-romero@illinois.edu.

Notes

1. Peggy Johnson, Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management, 3rd ed. (London: Facet, 2014), 322.

2. Thomas E. Nisonger, “Journals in the Core Collection: Definition, Identification, and Applications,” Serials Librarian 51, 3–4 (2007): 51–73.

3. Ibid. 4. Thomas Nisonger, Evaluation of Library Collections, Access and Electronic Resources: A

Literature Guide and Annotated Bibliography (Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2003), 168. 5. Johnson, Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management. 6. Wenli Gao, “Information Use in Communication Research: A Citation Analysis of Faculty

Publication at the University of Houston,” Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian 34, 3 (2015): 116–28; Sarah Anne Murphy, “The Effects of Portfolio Purchasing on Scientific Subject Collections,” College & Research Libraries 69, 4 (2008): 332–40; Gregory K. Youngen, “Multidisciplinary Journal Usage in Veterinary Medicine: Identifying the Complementary Core,” Science & Technology Libraries 30, 2 (2011): 194–201.

7. Steve Black, “Practical Applications of Do-It-Yourself Citation Analysis,” Serials Librarian 64, 1–4 (2013): 285–98.

8. Lea Currie and Amalia Monroe-Gulick, “What Do Our Faculty Use? An Interdisciplinary Citation Analysis Study,” Journal of Academic Librarianship 39, 6 (2013): 471–80; Jason Dewland and Jessica Minihan, “Collective Serials Analysis: The Relevance of a Journal in Supporting Teaching and Research,” Technical Services Quarterly 28, 3 (2011): 265–82.

9. Lauren Wispe and Candice Osborn, “Citation Patterns in Communication: A Study of Interdisciplinary Influences,” Association for Communication Administration Bulletin 42 (1982): 32–39.

10. Byron Reeves and Christine L. Borgman, “A Bibliometric Evaluation of Core Journals in Communication Research,” Human Communication Research 10, 1 (1983): 119–36.

11. Han Park and Loet Leydesdorff, “Knowledge Linkage Structures in Communication Studies Using Citation Analysis among Communication Journals,” Scientometrics 81, 1 (2009): 157–75.

12. Daniel Riffe and Alan Freitag, “A Content Analysis of Content Analysis: Twenty-Five Years of Journalism Quarterly,” Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 74, 4 (1997): 873–82.

13. Laura Yale and Mary C. Gilly, “Trends in Advertising Research: A Look at the Content of Marketing-Oriented Journals from 1976 to 1985,” Journal of Advertising 17, 1 (1988): 12–22.

14. Kyongseok Kim, Jameson L. Hayes, J. Adam Avant, and Leonard N. Reid, “Trends in Advertising Research: A Longitudinal Analysis of Leading Advertising, Marketing, and Communication Journals, 1980 to 2010,” Journal of Advertising 43, 3 (2014): 296–316.

15. Johnson, Fundamentals of Collection Development and Management, 321–23; Nisonger, Evaluation of Library Collections, Access and Electronic Resources, 167–68.

16. Kristin Hoffmann and Lise Doucete, “A Review of Citation Analysis Methodologies for Collection Management,” College & Research Libraries 73, 4 (201): 322–24.

17. Brent D. Ruben, “Communication Study,” in Encyclopedia of Communication and Information, ed. Jorge Reina Schement, vol. 1 (New York: Macmillan Reference, 2002), 155–58; Rebecca B. Rubin, Alan M. Rubin, and Paul Haridakis, Communication Research: Strategies and Sources (Boston, MA: Wadsworth, 2010), 5–8; National Communication Association, “National Communication Association: Areas of Specialization,” http://www.natcom.org/about-nca/what-communication.

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A Citation Analysis of Scholarly Journals in Communication Studies 534

18. In Dictionary of Media and Communications, Marcel Danesi defines advertising as the subject area within communication studies that focuses on the “public announcement, promotion, support, or endorsement of a product, a service, a business, a person, an event, etc., in order to attract or increase interest” (12); communication as the subject area within communication studies that centers on the “exchange of messages through some channel and in some medium” (69); journalism as the subject area within communication studies that concentrates on the “writing, collection, preparation and distribution of news and related commentary through media” (166); media as the subject area within communication studies that deals with the “various forms, devices, and systems that make up mass communications considered as a whole, including newspapers, magazines, radio stations, television channels, and Web sites” (192); and public relations as the subject area within communication studies that involves “activities and techniques used by organizations and individuals to establish favorable attitudes and responses by the general public or special groups (244).” Marcel Danesi, Dictionary of Media and Communications (Armonk, NY: Sharpe, 2009).

19. William F. Eadie, “Stories We Tell: Fragmentation and Convergence in Communication Disciplinary History,” Review of Communication 11, 3 (2011): 161–76; William F. Eadie, “Communication as an Academic Field: USA and Canada,” in International Encyclopedia of Communication, ed. Wolfgang Donsbach, vol. 2 (Boston, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2008), 632–38; William F. Eadie, “Communication as a Field and as a Discipline,” in 21st Century Communication: A Reference Handbook, ed. William F. Eadie (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2009), 12–21.

20. Wispe and Osborn, “Citation Patterns in Communication.”21. J. E. Hirsch, “An Index to Quantify an Individual’s Scientific Research Output,” Proceedings

of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 102, 46 (2005): 16569–72.22. ProQuest, Ulrichsweb: Global Serials Directory (Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest, 2016), https://

ulrichsweb.serialssolutions.com/login.23. Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), WorldCat (Dublin, OH: OCLC, 2016), https://

www.worldcat.org/. 24. Coalition for Networked Information, “CONTU [Commission on New Technological

Uses of Copyrighted Works] Guidelines on Photocopying under Interlibrary Loan Arrangements,” http://old.cni.org/docs/infopols/CONTU.html.

25. Chris Havergal, “ABS [Association of Business Schools] Ranking Reveals ‘World Elite’ of Business Journals,” Times Higher Education, February 25, 2015, https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/abs-ranking-reveals-world-elite-of-business-journals/2018722.article.

26. Ibid.27. Wiley Online Library, “Journal of Communication,” http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/

journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1460-2466/homepage/ProductInformation.html.28. Springer, “Sex Roles: Aims and Scope,” http://www.springer.com/psychology/personalit

y+%26+social+psychology/journal/11199.29. American Psychological Association, “Journal of Applied Psychology: Description,”

http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/apl.30. Sage Publishing, “International Journal of Business Communication,” https://us.sagepub.

com/en-us/nam/international-journal-of-business-communication/journal201671%20.31. American Marketing Association, “Journal of Marketing,” https://www.ama.org/

publications/JournalOfMarketing/Pages/About.aspx. 32. “Harvard Business Review,” Ulrichsweb: Global Serials Directory (Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest,

2016).33. Sage Journals, “Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly: Description,” http://jmq.

sagepub.com/.

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