Further Reflections on ASR’s Greatest Hits

Abstract

In the “Editor’s Comment” published in the February 2005 issue of the American Sociological Review (ASR), I note that ASR has published high-impact papers since its very first issue in 1936. In this brief essay a number of related themes are developed in greater depth. The “greatest hits” approach is contrasted with other citation analyses. I discuss the citation “life course,” that is, the period of time over which citations rise and eventually fall. I compare citations to ASR articles with those garnered by articles in other journals. The Editor Comment ends with a discussion of the social and intellectual diversity of ASR.