Differences Between British and American Criminology

• NCJ Number: 127159
• Journal: British Journal of Criminology Volume: 30 Issue: 4 Dated: (Autumn 1990) Pages: 467-482
• Author(s): E G Cohn; D P Farrington
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 16 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

Results of a study on the differences between American and British criminological research are presented.

Abstract

The authors used citation analysis to assess the prestige of journals and scholars in the two countries. "British Journal of Criminology" (BJC) articles were rarely cited in the leading American journal "Criminology." The citation rate of BJC articles in "Criminology" and in the "Social Science Citation Index" increased as the quantitativeness of the research increased. There was no significant tendency for the most cited authors in the BJC to be among the most cited in "Criminology." The study concludes that the influence of British criminologists on their American counterparts will increase only to the extent that they are able and willing to carry out high quality quantitative research using sophisticated statistical methods. 8 tables, 17 footnotes, and 22 references (Author abstract modified)