Evaluating the Scholarly Impact of Vocational Research With Diverse Racial/Ethnic Groups: 1969–2017

Abstract

Using citation analysis, this study evaluates the scholarly impact of 482 career-related articles on diverse racial/ethnic groups (DREGs) in the United States from a pool of 6,453 journal articles published in the Journal of Vocational Behavior ( JVB), Career Development Quarterly ( CDQ), Journal of Career Development ( JCD), and Journal of Career Assessment ( JCA) from 1969 to 2017. DREG career articles from JVB had the highest average citations, followed by CDQ, JCA, and JCD. DREG career articles on cross-cultural validation and cultural specificity received the most total citations, followed by articles on practice/interventions and racial/ethnic disparities. DREG career articles had a growing impact over time, with articles in cultural specificity having more impact in recent years than articles in other content areas. We discuss various citation trends that emerged for DREG articles by journal and content, address factors that may have driven these citation trends, and make suggestions for improving the scholarly impact of future career research with DREGs.