Analysis of Journalism and Mass Communication Top Convention Paper Research
Productivity in the U.S.
One of the common rituals in academia is participation in annual conferences or
conventions. These meetings can range from state through regional, national, to
international. While many activities take place at these meetings, the presentation and
discussion of competitively selected papers is one of the major activities in which
participants engage. This study utilizes top convention papers to identify the leading
schools in journalism and mass communication based on a multiplicity of specialties of
this field. First the research emphasizing top convention papers as a measure of research
productivity in communication studies and then journalism and mass communication is
reviewed. Second, the methods used in the present study are described. Third, results
from the study are presented. Finally, a discussion of the results and areas of future
research are emphasized.
Top Convention Paper as Unit of Research Productivity in
Communication Studies
Research productivity as a line of scholarship in communication studies continues
to grow,
1
and has emphasized units of productivity including articles, books, book
chapters, and citations.
2
Surprisingly, little research has focused on the top convention
paper as a unit of productivity. Some of this research
3
has recognized the importance of
top convention papers who note that these papers “might allow judgments of both
[research productivity] quality and quantity” (p. 29). Adding to this rationale for
emphasizing top convention papers as a measure of research productivity, other research
4
posited that an award winning top convention paper is likely to be valued more than a
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Convention