Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Characterizing highly cited papers in Social Work through H-Classics

  • Published:
Scientometrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Highly cited papers are an important reference point in a research field. H-Classics is a new identification method of highly cited papers that is based on the H-index and is sensitive to the own characteristics of any research discipline and also its evolution. Recently, Ho (Scientometrics 98(1):137–155, 2014) presented a study on highly cited papers in Social Work area using as selection criterion a citation threshold value equal to 50 citations received. In this paper, we present a new study on the highly cited papers in Social Work discipline which is developed using the concept of H-Classics. This new study provides more precise results and a different vision on Social Work area.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Albarrán, P., Ortuno, I., & Ruiz-Castillo, J. (2011). The measurement of low- and high-impact in citation distributions: Technical results. Journal of Informetrics, 5, 48–63.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alonso, S., Cabrerizo, F. J., Herrera-Viedma, E., & Herrera, F. (2009). h-index: A review focused in its variants, computation and standardization for different scientific fields. Journal of Informetrics, 3(4), 273–289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baltussen, A., & Kindler, C. (2004). Citation classics in critical care medicine. Intensive Care Medicine, 30, 902–910.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bornmann, L., & Daniel, H. D. (2008). What do citation counts measure. Journal of Documentation, 4, 45–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brandt, J. S., Downing, A., Howard, D., Kofinas, J., & Chasen, S. (2010). Citation classics in obstetrics and gynecology: The 100 most frequently cited journal articles in the last 50 years. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 203(4), 355.e1–355.e7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burrell, Q. L. (2007). On the H-index, the size of the Hirsch core and Jin’s A-index. Journal of Informetrics, 1(2), 170–177.

    Article  MathSciNet  Google Scholar 

  • Cassar, A., Downey, R., Byrne, D., Molony, D., & Mulhall, K. (2012). The 25 most cited articles in arthroscopic orthopaedic surgery. Arthroscopy, 28(4), 548–564.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feijoo, J., Limeres, J., Fernández-Varela, M., Ramos, I., & Diz, P. (2013). The 100 most cited articles in dentistry. Clinical Oral Investigations. doi:10.1007/s00784-013-1017-0.

  • Garfield, E. (1972). Citation analysis as a tool in journal evaluation. Science, 178(60), 417–479.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garfield, E. (1977). Introducing citation classics. The human side of scientific reports. Current Comments, 1, 5–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garfield, E. (1987). 100 citation classics from the journal of the American Medical Association. Journal of the American Medical Association, 257, 52–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garfield, E. (2013). What is a citation classic? http://garfield.library.upenn.edu/classics.html. Accessed May 3, 2013.

  • Gehanno, J., Takahashi, K., Darmoni, S., & Weber, J. (2007). Citation classics in occupational medicine journals. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health, 33, 245–251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greewoodl, E. (1957). Attributes of a profession. Social Work, 2(3), 45–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hirsch, J. E. (2005). An index to quantify an individual’s scientific research output. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102, 16569–16572.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ho, Y. S. (2014). Classic articles on social work field in social science citation index: A bibliometrics analysis. Scientometrics, 98(1), 137–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodge, D., Lacasse, J., & Benson, O. (2012). Influential publications in social work discourse: The 100 most highly cited articles in disciplinary journals: 2008–09. British Journal of Social Work, 42(4), 765–782.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hodge, D. R., & Lacasse, J. R. (2011). Ranking disciplinary journals with the google scholar H-index: A new tool for constructing cases for tenure, promotion, and other professional decisions. Journal of Social Work Education, 47(3), 579–596.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holden, G., Rosenberg, G., & Barker, K. (2005). Bibliometrics in social work. Binghamton, NY: Haworth Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holden, G., Rosenberg, G., Barker, K., & Lioi, J. (2010). Research on social work practice: A bibliometric evaluation of the first decade. Research on Social Work Practice, 20(1), 11–20.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hui, J., Han, Z., Geng, G., Yan, W., & Shao, P. (2013). The 100 top-cited articles in orthodontics from 1975 to 2011. The Angle Orthodontist, 83(3), 491–499.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ibrahim, G., Snead, O., Rutka, J., & Lozano, A. (2012). The most cited works in epilepsy: Trends in the “citation classics”. Epilepsia, 53(5), 765–770.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jenson, J. M. (2005). Structural factors and the quality of publication in social work journals. Social Work Research, 29, 67–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jin, B. H., Liang, L. M., Rousseau, R., & Egghe, L. (2007). The R- and AR-indices: Complementing the H-index. Chinese Science Bulletin, 52(6), 855–863.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly, J., Glynn, R., O’Briain, D., Felle, P., & Mccabe, J. (2010). The 100 classic papers of orthopaedic surgery a bibliometric analysis. Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery-British, 92(4), 1338–1343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lacasse, J. R., Hodge, D. R., & Bean, K. F. (2011). Evaluating the productivity of social work scholars using the H-index. Research on Social Work Practice, 21(5), 599–607.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levitt, J., & Thelwall, M. (2009). The most highly cited library and information science articles: Interdisciplinarity, first authors and citation patterns. Scientometrics, 78(1), 45–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, Z., Wu, F., Yang, L., Sun, Y., Lu, Z., & Yu, W. (2012). Citation classics in main pain research journals. Journal of Anesthesia, 26(1), 85–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lundahl, B., Kunz, C., Brownell, C., Tollefson, D., & Burke, B. (2010). A meta-analysis of motivational interviewing: Twenty-five years of empirical studies. Research on Social Work Practice, 20(2), 137–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martínez, M., Herrera, M., Cobo, M., & Herrera-Viedma, E. (2014). Analyzing the scientific evolution of social work using science mapping. Research on Social Work Practice. doi:10.1177/1049731514522101.

  • Martínez, M., Herrera, M., López-Gijón, J., & Herrera-Viedma, E. (2014). H-classics: Characterizing the concept of citation classics through H-index. Scientometrics, 98, 1971–1983.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paladugu, R., Schein, M., Gardezi, S., & Wise, L. (2002). One hundred citation classics in general surgical journals. World Journal of Surgery, 26(9), 1099–1105.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ponce, F., & Lozano, A. (2010). Highly cited works in neurosurgery. Part II: The citation classics. Journal of Neurosurgery, 112(2), 233–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ponce, F., & Lozano, A. (2011). The most cited works in parkinson’s disease. Movement Disorders, 26(3), 380–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenberg, A., Tripathi, R., & Blum, J. (2010). The most influential articles in critical care medicine. Journal of Critical Care, 25, 157–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rousseau, R. (2006). New developments related to the Hirsch index. Science Focus 1(4), pp. 23–25 (in Chinese). An English translation can be found at: http://eprints.rclis.org/7616/.

  • Seipel, M. M. O. (2003). Assessing publication for tenure. Journal of Social Work Education, 39, 79–88.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sellers, S. L., Perry, R., Mathiesen, S. G., & Smith, T. (2004). Evaluation of social work journal quality: Citation versus reputation approaches. Journal of Social Work Education, 40, 143–160.

    Google Scholar 

  • Slater, T., Scourfield, J., & Sloan, L. (2012). Who is citing whom in social work? A response to Hodge, Lacasse and Benson. British Journal of Social Work, 42(8), 1626–1633.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, D. (2007). Ten citation classics from the New Zealand Medical Journal. New Zealand Medical Journal, 120, 2871–2875.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stack, S. (2012). Citation classics in suicide and life threatening behavior: A research note. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 42(6), 628–639.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stack, S. (2013). Citation classics in deviant behavior: A research note. Deviant Behavior, 34(2), 85–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strothmann, M. (2010). Use of non-social work journals in social work research: Results of a citation analysis. Behavioral & Social Sciences Librarian, 29(4), 244–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tam, W., Wong, E., Wong, F., & Cheung, A. (2012). Citation classics in the integrative and complementary medicine literature: 50 frequently cited articles. European Journal of Integrative Medicine, 4, e77–e83.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tam, W., Wong, E., Wong, F., & Hui, D. (2013). Citation classics: Top 50 cited articles in ‘respiratory system’. Respirology, 18(1), 71–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thyer, B. (2005). A note from the editor: A comprehensive listing of social work journals. Research on Social Work Practice, 15(4), 310–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thyer, B. (2010). Twenty years of publishing research on social work practice. Research on Social Work Practice, 20(1), 5–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research work has been developed with the financing of FEDER funds in FUZZYLING-II Project TIN2010-17876, SICONDEC project TIN2013-40658-P, and the Andalusian Excellence Projects TIC-05299 and TIC-5991. It is also supported by the UNIR Research Group: “Prospective Observatory of Social Policies and Intervention”.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Social Work, International University of La Rioja (UNIR), La Rioja, Spain

    M. A. Martínez

  2. Department of Sociology III, Distance Learning, University of Spain (UNED), 28040, Madrid, Spain

    M. Herrera

  3. Department of Library Science, University of Granada, Granada, Spain

    E. Contreras & A. Ruíz

  4. Department of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, University of Granada, Granada, Spain

    E. Herrera-Viedma

Authors
  1. M. A. Martínez
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M. Herrera
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. E. Contreras
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. A. Ruíz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. E. Herrera-Viedma
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to E. Herrera-Viedma.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Martínez, M.A., Herrera, M., Contreras, E. et al. Characterizing highly cited papers in Social Work through H-Classics. Scientometrics 102, 1713–1729 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-014-1460-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-014-1460-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation