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Policy Journal Trends and Tensions: JPAM and PSJ
Author(s) -
Adams William C.,
Infeld Donna Lind,
Minnichelli Laura F.,
Ruddell Michael W.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
policy studies journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.773
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1541-0072
pISSN - 0190-292X
DOI - 10.1111/psj.12051
Subject(s) - publication , politics , political science , library science , public policy , public administration , public relations , law , computer science
Academic journals may especially influence the development of an emerging field; early editors of public policy journals were explicit about that goal. Two leading journals—the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management and the Policy Studies Journal —were compared for changes between the early 1980s and 2007–2010. Over time, both journals published far fewer research articles by practitioners, and the non‐university share of both editorial boards also declined. The journals continued to focus largely on the U nited S tates. Both showed a dramatic increase in the proportion of co‐authored articles. Over time, JPAM became far more likely to publish studies by economists and far less likely to publish political scientists while PSJ increasingly published political scientists. JPAM authors now primarily reference economics journals. PSJ authors often cite political science, public administration, and other public policy journals. Both journals moved away from broad policy essays, with JPAM heavily trending to multivariate (essentially econometric) secondary analyses of large data sets and PSJ including a broader range of methodologies. Contrary to early predictions of a progressively more interdisciplinary field, the opposite trend—stronger alignments with specific disciplines—reflects public policy's ongoing challenge in transcending long‐standing academic legacies and boundaries.