Are the ambitions for group dynamics: Theory, research and practice being fulfilled? A social network analysis of citations of journals publishing group research

Abstract

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.