Are the Ambitions for Group Dynamics: Theory, Research and Practice Being Fulfilled? A Social Network Analysis of Citations of Journals Publishing Group Research

We examined the centrality of Group Dynamics: Theory, Research and Practice in the communication network of major journals publishing group research. We used document citation analysis, a bibliographic approach based on citation frequency, to determine the degree of relationship among the journals p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Group dynamics 2017-09, Vol.21 (3), p.178-185
Main Authors: Lu, Yun, Keum, Brian TaeHyuk, Chong, Eddie S. K., Yeung, Jeffrey G., Kivlighan, Dennis M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Citations
Communication
Communication research
Communications networks
Experimentation
Group Dynamics
Group research
Personality
Publishing
Scientific Communication
Social dynamics
Social Network Analysis
Social Networks
Social psychology
Theories
Citations: Items that cite this one
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Summary:We examined the centrality of Group Dynamics: Theory, Research and Practice in the communication network of major journals publishing group research. We used document citation analysis, a bibliographic approach based on citation frequency, to determine the degree of relationship among the journals publishing group research. A 23 by 23 cocitation matrix was analyzed using NetDraw and UCINET. The resulting social network analysis showed that Group Dynamics: Theory, Research and Practice: (a) occupied a central place in the journals' communication network; (b) had a betweenness centrality index (indicating a journal's linking role within the social network) that was 3 standard deviations greater than the sample's average betweenness centrality index; and (c) had the same number of communication links as higher- impact journals like the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology and the Journal of Applied Psychology. These results suggest that Group Dynamics: Theory, Research and Practice occupies a "favored position" in the communication network of the journals publishing group research. The communication network would tend to disintegrate if Group Dynamics: Theory, Research and Practice was removed.
ISSN:1089-2699
1930-7802
DOI:10.1037/gdn0000070