Characteristics of Home Economics Based on the Citation Analysis of Original Papers in “Journal of Home Economics of Japan”

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to clarify the characteristics of Home Economics by the method of citation analysis of the Journal of Home Economics of Japan for about 40 years from Vol. 1, No. 1 (1951) to Vol. 40, No. 12 (1989).
The results are as follows :
(1) The secular change of the number of the cited literature, the form of the cited literature, and the proportion of citation from J. Home Econ. Jpn. to all citations are as same as Okamoto et al.'s results (J. Home Econ. Jpn., 38, 1117 (1987)).
(2) J. Home Econ. Jpn. is the main cited journal.^* The variety of cited literature increases gradually and citations concentrate to some major journals, * that is J. Home Econ. Jpn., J. Agric. Chem. Soc. Jpn., J. Jpn. Soc. Nutr. Food Sci., and so on.
(3) The proportion of foreign literature to all cited literature is low. Home Economics may have a character of independence or isolation internationally.
(4) As to the proportion of journal ^* citation to all citations, Home Economics is equal to arts and near to engineering or technology. Home Economics has a character of applied science.
(5) As to the proportion of citation from J. Home Econ. Jpn. to journal^* citations, Home Economics may have a character of autonomy or self-dependence.
(^*The concept of these “journal” used in this study will be explained in exactly detail in the text.)