Abstract
A graduate seminar to select the 5 most important papers published in the first 50 years of the Journal of Range Management (JRM), 1948-1997, cultivated an appreciation for the development of the discipline of rangeland science and management, and provided some historical perspective to judge the JRM. A review of textbooks, and papers describing early milestones and the use of citation counting were helpful in developing criteria to discriminate the importance of papers. The greatest disagreement among the 9 participants focused on the use of citation counts as a criterion: 2 students used only counts and 3 students refused to use counts. Eighteen papers received at least 1 vote as a top 5 paper, and 2 plant succession-vegetation monitoring papers were clearly the most popular. The exercise revealed that discontent with the JRM is not new. Although the JRM now covers a wider variety of topics, including both reductionist and synthetic works, some students felt that it was less encompassing of multiple values of rangelands and the breadth of rangeland science than recent texts. The students found that the selection of important papers expanded their understanding of the discipline and their resolve to publish in the JRM. Ideally, others will be challenged to perform this review for the benefit of students, the discipline, and the JRM.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 250-254 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Journal of Range Management |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| State | Published - May 2000 |
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Keywords
- Citation counting
- Disciplinary history
- Education
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Animal Science and Zoology
- Ecology
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Viewpoint : Selecting the 5 most important papers in the first 50 years of the journal of range management. / McClaran, Mitchel.
In: Journal of Range Management, Vol. 53, No. 3, 05.2000, p. 250-254.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Viewpoint
T2 - Selecting the 5 most important papers in the first 50 years of the journal of range management
AU - McClaran, Mitchel
PY - 2000/5
Y1 - 2000/5
N2 - A graduate seminar to select the 5 most important papers published in the first 50 years of the Journal of Range Management (JRM), 1948-1997, cultivated an appreciation for the development of the discipline of rangeland science and management, and provided some historical perspective to judge the JRM. A review of textbooks, and papers describing early milestones and the use of citation counting were helpful in developing criteria to discriminate the importance of papers. The greatest disagreement among the 9 participants focused on the use of citation counts as a criterion: 2 students used only counts and 3 students refused to use counts. Eighteen papers received at least 1 vote as a top 5 paper, and 2 plant succession-vegetation monitoring papers were clearly the most popular. The exercise revealed that discontent with the JRM is not new. Although the JRM now covers a wider variety of topics, including both reductionist and synthetic works, some students felt that it was less encompassing of multiple values of rangelands and the breadth of rangeland science than recent texts. The students found that the selection of important papers expanded their understanding of the discipline and their resolve to publish in the JRM. Ideally, others will be challenged to perform this review for the benefit of students, the discipline, and the JRM.
AB - A graduate seminar to select the 5 most important papers published in the first 50 years of the Journal of Range Management (JRM), 1948-1997, cultivated an appreciation for the development of the discipline of rangeland science and management, and provided some historical perspective to judge the JRM. A review of textbooks, and papers describing early milestones and the use of citation counting were helpful in developing criteria to discriminate the importance of papers. The greatest disagreement among the 9 participants focused on the use of citation counts as a criterion: 2 students used only counts and 3 students refused to use counts. Eighteen papers received at least 1 vote as a top 5 paper, and 2 plant succession-vegetation monitoring papers were clearly the most popular. The exercise revealed that discontent with the JRM is not new. Although the JRM now covers a wider variety of topics, including both reductionist and synthetic works, some students felt that it was less encompassing of multiple values of rangelands and the breadth of rangeland science than recent texts. The students found that the selection of important papers expanded their understanding of the discipline and their resolve to publish in the JRM. Ideally, others will be challenged to perform this review for the benefit of students, the discipline, and the JRM.
KW - Citation counting
KW - Disciplinary history
KW - Education
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0033949020&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0033949020&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0033949020
VL - 53
SP - 250
EP - 254
JO - Rangeland Ecology and Management
JF - Rangeland Ecology and Management
SN - 1550-7424
IS - 3
ER -