Core Journals Used By Agricultural And Extension Educators

The major purpose of this investigation was to identify "core" journals used by agricultural and extension educators. In addition, the importance of journals as a medium of communication and subject matter areas published in the base "core" journal were also examined. A total of 19 issues and 162 articles that appeared in Journal of Agricultural Education (JAE) during the decade of the eighties were analyzed to accomplish the study objectives. A total of 11 journals were identified each of which received a total of at least 5 citations in the base journal (JAE). The top five journals were : Journal of Agricultural Education, Educational and Psychological Measurement, Journal of Extension, Journal of Teacher Education, and Journal of Applied Psychology. These 11 journals accounted for 193 (51%) of the total citations. Journals, followed by books and bulletin/reports, accounted for 73% of the citations. Findings also indicated that agricultural educators tended to publish topics in only six of the 18 topics. Further, the number of times a journal article is cited has increased over the years from 4.2 in 1982 to 11 in 1990, indicating breadth in reading habits of agricultural and extension educators. Journals are important channels for the dissemination of research information and are indispensable to educators who are active in research and development and/or teaching. According to Goldsmith (1984), journals provide an avenue for recognition for many researchers since a published journal article is the first formal presentation to the scientific community of an innovation or discovery. In any discipline, a relatively few "core" journals are likely to contain a substantial number of articles on that discipline while the remaining articles are usually scattered in a large number of journals that are peripheral to the discipline. This pattern of concentration and dispersion of literature was observed and reported by Bradford (1934). A number of studies conducted since then have generated empirical evidence in support of Bradford's theory: marketing (Goldman, 1984); agriculture (Lawani, 1973); home economics (Goldsmith, 1983); environmental sciences (Subramanyam & O'Pecko, 1979); sociology (Broadus, 1952); and, finance (Hamelman &