What Journals are the Most Cited Journals in Criminology and Criminal Justice’s "Big Three" Journals?

Authors

• Raymond E. Barranco, Mississippi State University
• Wesley G. Jennings, University of South Florida, Tampa
• David C. May, Mississippi State University
• Makeela J. Wells, Mississippi State University

ORCID

May: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8275-6773

MSU Affiliation

College of Arts and Sciences; Department of Sociology

Creation Date

2026-06-01

Abstract

Recently, scholars have sought to learn more about scholarly activity within the fields of criminology and criminal justice (CCJ). Research in this area has examined which departments have the most productive faculty, which scholars are the most productive, and which journals are the most prestigious. However, no study of which we are aware has determined what journals criminologists are most likely to cite in their scholarly research. In this study, we rank the most influential journals by the number of times those journals were cited between 2009 and 2013 in Criminology, the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, and Justice Quarterly. Our analyses suggest that Criminology is clearly the most influential CCJ journal in terms of citations, while the American Sociological Review, the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, and the American Journal of Sociology remain influential in CCJ as well.

Publication Date

7-17-2015

Publication Title

Journal of Criminal Justice Education

Publisher

Taylor and Francis Group; Routledge

First Page

19

Last Page

34

Recommended Citation

Barranco, R. E., Jennings, W. G., May, D. C., & Wells, M. J. (2016). What Journals are the Most Cited Journals in Criminology and Criminal Justice’s “Big Three” Journals? Journal of Criminal Justice Education, 27(1), 19–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511253.2015.1065337