An Analysis of Publishing Performance in Social Science Quarterly, 1977-1987.

The article presents a study showing that the journal "Social Science Quarterly," is a highly interdisciplinary, broadly based journal of high quality and national scope. The results of the study show that the journal is broadly interdisciplinary but that most contributors are from political science, sociology, and economics. Large research schools dominate, suggesting that interdisciplinary scholarship is important to these faculties and that the journal provides a quality outlet. Those at less prestigious schools also find the journal receptive. Papers come primarily from the U.S. academic institutions, located in all but three states. The journal is unquestionably national in scope and importance. Citation analysis suggests that the journal papers are widely read and cited in many different journals from many different subfields of the social sciences. Many citing journals are among the most influential, in terms of citation impact. General interest, special topic, position, and symposium papers averaged more than 4 citations each, and 23 papers had 10 or more citations.