Predicting the impact of school psychology and related research: The influence of particularism and accumulative advantage on article citation frequency

The purpose of this study was to identify author and article variables that predicted mean citation rates of school psychology and related journal articles over a 20-year period following publication. The sample included 504 articles published in two school psychology journals and a special education journal from 1975–1977. The prediction of article citation frequency from author gender, institutional affiliation, and publication productivity was examined. The effects of article content, research design, statistical procedure, journal, and journal specialty on article citation frequency also were investigated.; Results from the regression analyses indicated that article content and authors' publication frequency significantly predicted article citation frequency. Consultation articles were cited more frequently over the 20-year period than assessment, intervention, and issue related articles. Articles written by authors with high publication rates were cited more often than articles published by authors with fewer publications.; Correlational analyses revealed several significant relationships among the independent variables. Author publication productivity was positively related to author gender and institutional affiliation. Male authors and authors from academic institutions were associated with higher publication rates. Journal specialty was correlated with author institutional affiliation. A significant relationship between research design and statistical procedure also was discovered.; This study provided limited evidence of the influence of particularism and accumulative advantage on article citation frequency. Only a small proportion of the variance in article citation frequency could be explained by the variables under investigation. The emphasis on consultation articles found in this study is consistent with trends occurring in school psychology and special education. The lack of bias in article citations of female-authored works also is reflective of the greater representation of women on school psychology university faculty and editorial review boards. Article citation frequency appears to be an adequate measure of influence. Further research on the relationships between article citation rates and impact indicators is needed.