K. Sawai, A STUDY ON HOW COLEMANS BOOK ON DIFFUSION OF NEW DRUGS HAS BEEN CITEDIN SUBSEQUENT PUBLISHED ARTICLES, Library and Information Science, (32), 1994, pp. 105-122
The author has became interested in why the book ''Medical Innovation:
A Diffusion Study'' by Coleman et al. (New York, Bobbs-Merill, 1966) i
s still cited in various articles even today, almost 30 years after it
s publication. Accordingly, the author conducted a survey on articles
which quoted his book published in 1966. The author used Science Citat
ion Index, the Social Science Citation Index and the Arts & Humanities
Citation Index to conduct this survey. The results of the survey sugg
ested that this book has been cited in a total of 336 articles all ove
r the world as of 1994. Based on these 336 articles, the author quanti
tatively investigated annual changes in the number of articles citing
this book, the number of articles according to subject, the number of
articles according to year and subject, the areas of study in which th
e book has been cited, the name of scientific journals in which this b
ook has been cited, and the distribution of the nationalities of the a
uthors citing this book. As a result, the author was able to draw the
following conclusions : 1. The annual changes in number of articles ci
ting Coleman's publications during the past 28 years first peaked in 1
971, with secondary peaks in 1979 and 1985. Although the number of art
icles citing this book subsequently decreased, it has tented to increa
se in recent years, again peaking in 1993, and tented to continue to i
ncrease even now. 2. Coleman's book has been cited most frequently in
the following four areas: medicine (72 articles, 21.4%), sociology (67
articles, 19.9%), business (48 articles, 14.3%), and medical sociolog
y (20 articles, 6.0%). Articles in these areas account for about 60% o
f all articles citing this book. It has also been frequently cited in
articles in the field of library and information science (19 articles,
5.7%) and health policy (15 articles, 4.5%). Articles in these six ar
eas have accounted for about 70% of the total. In addition, there have
been citations in 12 articles in the field of psychology, 7 in pharma
cology, 7 in communications and 7 in mathematical sociology. Articles
in ten fields, these four and the above mentioned six, have accounted
for about 80% of the total. 3. The first year the book was cited accor
ding to each subject area are as followed: marketing, 1967 (the year f
ollowing publication); pharmacology,sociology, and library and informa
tion science, 1968; medicine, 1969; mathematical sociology, education
and rural sociology, 1970; nursing, health policy and business, 1971.
The initial citation of this book in eleven fields above occurred with
in five years after publication. The areas in which the first citation
of this book was late were geography(1978) and anthrolopology(1982).
4. The content of Coleman's study can be roughly divided into 1) diffu
sion, 2) decision making and 3) communication network. His study has b
een cited from different angles depending on the subject of the articl
e. The diffusion and communication network angles have been cited in d
iverse subject areas, while studies citing his book from the decision
making angle have been limited to three subjects, medicine, health pol
icy, and medical sociology. 5. Coleman has been cited in as many as 17
6 different source journals, suggesting that his publication has influ
enced a broad range of studies. Judging from the journals, it seems to
have been cited in journals with high standards. 6. Among the authors
citing Coleman, affiliations of 278 researchers from as many as 22 co
untries could be identified. Scholars in the United States and Europea
n countries were found to be most interested in Coleman. Although the
number of articles was small, he has also been cited by scholars from
the so-called Third World, including Brazil,Nigeria, Ethiopia, India,
Singapore and Korea.This study suggests that, although its value may v
ary among from subject to subject, Coleman's ''Medical Innovation'' is
still attracting attentions as a thought-provoking study in the field
s of medicine, medical sociology, mathematical sociology and other int
erdisciplinary areas throughout the world.