A Citation Analysis of Atmospheric Science Publications by Faculty at Texas A&M University

A citation analysis of publications produced by the Department of Atmospheric Sciences faculty at Texas A&M University (TAMU) was conducted. This study included a detailed analysis of what publications were cited by source, format, and age. TAMU Libraries holdings were then assessed using the works cited within the context of the 80/20 rule. The sources cited were primarily journals (91%), then books (5%), and other formats at lower percentages. The average age was 10.1 and 15.6 years for journals and books, respectively. Eighty percent of the cited journal articles were fulfilled by just 24 journal titles, thus adhering to the 80/20 rule. This is the first citation analysis of Atmospheric Sciences and the results have implications for collection management in this discipline, as well as the sciences in general. The results were compared to those of previous citation studies in the sciences.