World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!
American Journal of Criminal Justice
H-index 20

American Journal of Criminal Justice

1066-2316

Published by: Springer

https://www.springer.com/journal/12103

Ranking & Metrics

Discipline name Position Best Scientists Publications D-Index
Law 16 9 16 7
Social Sciences and Humanities 334 21 27 12

Additional Metrics

Number of Best Scientists*: 60
Documents by Best Scientists*: 78
Top 100 Ranked Scientists*: 8
SCIMAGO H-index: 47
SCIMAGO SJR: 0.986
Impact Factor: 2

Overview

Top Research Topics at American Journal of Criminal Justice?

The main points discussed in the journal deals with Criminology, Social psychology, Criminal justice, Law and Public relations. The journal focuses on Criminology but the discussions also offer insight into other areas such as Law enforcement, Suicide prevention and Race (biology). The in-depth study on Race (biology) also explores topics in the intersecting field of Ethnic group.

In American Journal of Criminal Justice, Survey data collection, Perception, Juvenile delinquency, Officer and Sample (statistics) are investigated in conjunction with one another to address concerns in Social psychology research. It investigates Juvenile delinquency research which frequently intersects with Juvenile. Criminal justice, which encompasses Theory of criminal justice and Criminal justice ethics, is the main subject of it.

Supreme court and State (polity) are all aspects of Law research featured in the journal.

  • Criminology (36.63%)
  • Social psychology (27.66%)
  • Criminal justice (19.24%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

  • Collateral Damage: Family Members of Registered Sex Offenders (150 citations)
  • Low Self-Control, Deviant Peer Associations, and Juvenile Cyberdeviance (136 citations)
  • Testing Gottfredson and Hirschi’s “low self-control” stability hypothesis: An exploratory study (123 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at American Journal of Criminal Justice:

The most cited articles generally zeroe in on subjects such as Social psychology, Criminology, Criminal justice, Prison and Law enforcement. Issues in Social psychology were discussed in the most cited publications, taking into consideration concepts from other disciplines like Test (assessment) and Applied psychology. In addition to Criminology research, the journal publications aim to explore topics under Suicide prevention, Homicide, Race (biology) and Law, Misconduct.

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

  • Law
  • World War II
  • Social psychology

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

American Journal of Criminal Justice aims to foster the development of research in Criminology, Criminal justice, Perception, Sexual violence and Social psychology. While the primary focus in American Journal of Criminal Justice is Criminology, it also dissects topics surrounding Race (biology) and Ethnic group and State (polity) as a whole. The studies on Criminal justice discussed can also contribute to research in the domains of Mental health and Recidivism.

American Journal of Criminal Justice tackles studies in Survey data collection and the interrelated subject of Applied psychology to gain insights into Perception. The research on Sexual violence tackled can also make contributions to studies in the areas of Harassment, Sexual assault and Clinical psychology. Issues in Social psychology were discussed, taking into consideration concepts from other disciplines like Social learning and Misconduct.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

  • Exploring the Immediate Effects of COVID-19 Containment Policies on Crime: an Empirical Analysis of the Short-Term Aftermath in Los Angeles. (23 citations)
  • Stop and Risk: Policing, Data, and the Digital Age of Discrimination (4 citations)
  • Social Contagion in Bullying: an Examination of Strains and Types of Bullying Victimization in Peer Networks (3 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

The top authors publishing in American Journal of Criminal Justice (based on the number of publications) are:

  • George E. Higgins (23 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Richard Tewksbury (21 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • Matt DeLisi (20 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition, 2 less than at the previous edition,
  • Eric G. Lambert (19 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition,
  • Wesley G. Jennings (14 papers) absent at the last edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in American Journal of Criminal Justice (based on the number of publications) are:

  • University of Louisville (77 papers) absent at the last edition,
  • University of Central Florida (46 papers) published 3 papers at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
  • Sam Houston State University (35 papers) published 7 papers at the last edition, 2 more than at the previous edition,
  • University of South Florida (34 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
  • University of Cincinnati (33 papers) published 6 papers at the last edition, 5 more than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 4.76% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 37.50% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 7.50% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 20.00% of all publications and 35.00% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

  • Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
  • Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
  • Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
  • Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
  • Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Top Publications

  • Anti-Asian Hate Crime During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring the Reproduction of Inequality

    Angela R. Gover;Shannon B. Harper;Lynn Langton

    (2020)
    836 Citations
  • The Anxiety of Being Asian American: Hate Crimes and Negative Biases During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

    Hannah Tessler;Meera Choi;Grace Kao

    (2020)
    483 Citations
  • Staying Home, Staying Safe? A Short-Term Analysis of COVID-19 on Dallas Domestic Violence.

    Alex R. Piquero;Alex R. Piquero;Jordan R. Riddell;Stephen A. Bishopp;Chelsey Narvey

    (2020)
    367 Citations
  • Criminals Work from Home during Pandemics Too: a Public Health Approach to Respond to Fraud and Crimes against those 50 and above.

    Brian K Payne

    (2020)
    67 Citations
  • Policing a Pandemic: Stay-at-Home Orders and What they Mean for the Police.

    Michael D. White;Henry F. Fradella

    (2020)
    58 Citations
  • Crime, Justice & the COVID-19 Pandemic: Toward a National Research Agenda.

    J. Mitchell Miller;Alfred Blumstein

    (2020)
    57 Citations
  • It's F**ing Chaos: COVID-19's Impact on Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Justice.

    Molly Buchanan;Erin D. Castro;Mackenzie Kushner;Marvin D. Krohn

    (2020)
    53 Citations
  • Open to Interpretation: Confronting the Challenges of Understanding the Current State of Body-Worn Camera Research

    Janne E. Gaub;Michael D. White

    (2020)
    40 Citations
  • A crime script model of Dark web Firearms Purchasing

    (2022)
    36 Citations
  • A Content Analysis of Qualitative Research Published in Top Criminology and Criminal Justice Journals from 2010 to 2019

    Heith Copes;Blake Beaton;David Ayeni;Dean Dabney

    (2020)
    32 Citations

Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

Exploring Psychology in the USA opens doors to diverse online degrees that cater to various interests and career goals. For those drawn to the legal system, a high paying jobs in forensic psychology offer a challenging and rewarding path, blending psychology with criminal justice.

Focusing on younger populations, the masters in child psychology provide specialized knowledge to support the mental health of children and adolescents, an area with increasing demand in schools and healthcare.

For individuals interested in therapeutic careers, obtaining an online master's in counseling is a flexible and accessible option. This degree prepares graduates to guide clients through emotional and psychological challenges in diverse settings.

Lastly, the best preparation for clinical practice often comes from programs highlighted among the best online clinical psychology programs. These offerings combine rigorous curriculum with practical experience to ready students for licensure and rewarding clinical careers.

Best Scientists Contributing to This Journal

Recently Published Articles