IN FOCUS - USING CITATION ANALYSIS AND SUBJECT CLASSIFICATION TO IDENTIFY AND MONITOR TRENDS WITHIN A DISCIPLINE

Citations to articles in the field of social work published from 1984 through 1991 are examined to determine citation rates, identify the mo st highly cited articles and examine the most frequently addressed top ics in two prominent social work journals, Social Work (U.S.) and Brit ish Journal of Social Work (Great Britain) . Subject areas of highly c ited articles are identified and combined with citation analysis to pr ofile social work literature during the period of the study. Findings show that subject focus differs considerably between the two journals, but subject areas highly cited in the early years remain highly cited throughout the study in both the U.S and British journals. Individual articles also have consistent citation rates during the years of the study. Using both subject analysis and citation counts provides a more comprehensive view of the field than by using citation counts alone.