A Contemporary Citation Analysis of Geography Education Journals: 2009–2015

Abstract

ABSTRACTThis study examined the flow of citations from 713 documents emanating from ten geography education journals from 2009 to 2011. The citations generated from these articles were tracked within and between this set of journals from 2009 through 2015. Our searches found 1,067 citations, or an average of 1.5 citations per article. After excluding self-citations, the remaining citations (33.6 percent) filtered out into other geography education journals and were classified into three groups: splash, wave, and ripple. Although the Journal of Geography in Higher Education generated the largest in-degree count, it shared the lead with the International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education with seven undirected links. Three journals had six edges each, but only the Journal of Geography operated at the splash level of citation activity. The greatest volume of citation exchange occurred between the Journal of Geography in Higher Education and Journal of Geography, with the former sending thirty more citations than it received. The results herein provide active scholars with insight into research trends and thoughtful journal selection with the caveat that such knowledge might increase the acceptance of submissions and after publication generate more rapid dissemination, higher impact, and greater visibility.