Structural Characteristics and Citation Rates of Education Journals

The frequency with which scientific papers are cited in the journal literature has been shown to be related to the quality and scholarly stature of individual scientists, academic departments, and scientific journals. This study demonstrates that nearly two-thirds of the variability in the citation frequency of 148 education journals can be explained by five structural characteristics of these journals. The relative importance of each structural characteristic and its relationship to qualitative considerations are discussed. The practical implications of these findings for those responsible for the administration of institutions of higher learning and their contribution to the study of the scientific communication process of the field of educational research are presented.