Progressive Trends and Impact of the Journal of Career Development: A Citation Analysis

As one of the four premier journals in vocational psychology, the Journal of Career Development (JCD) has published over 830 articles over the past three decades. This study examined the performance of JCD through a citation analysis and provided evaluative data for scholars publishing in the field of vocation psychology. Articles published by JCD between 1986 and 2007 were analyzed. Additional data pertaining JCD’s performance were also collected through the Journal Citation Reports. The analyses revealed a strong and growing impact of articles published by JCD on researchers and professionals. Specifically, results provided (a) the frequency and trends of JCD’s citations overtime, (b) the journals where JCD’s articles were most often cited, (c) the most frequently cited JCD’s articles, (d) JCD’s impact data in applied psychology, and (e) JCD’s citation information among the other three vocational psychology journals. Implications of the results for the journal are discussed