JAAS—20 years of manuscripts, citations, and scientific impact

David W. Koppenaal is a Laboratory Fellow and Associate Director of the Biological Sciences Division at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He has been a member of the JAAS Editorial Board since 2000. Dr Koppenaal first published in JAAS in 1988, and was recently guest editor for a 2004 special issue on Collision and Reaction Cells in Atomic Mass Spectrometry. He is currently also arranging a special issue on Metallomics for 2007 publication. Dr Koppenaal’s research interests include atomic mass spectrometry instrumentation and applications, with special interests in interference reduction using collision/reaction cells, high-resolution MS techniques using ion traps, new generation MS detectors, and radionuclear and metallomic applications of ICP-MS.

This year begins the 21st year of publication of JAAS, and in keeping with the previous two guest editorials, this one also takes a retrospective view of the journal’s history. Our viewpoint here be will through the essence of the journal—its manuscripts—and their impact on the atomic spectrometry field. We make use of citation databases (ISI’s Web of Science) and citation analysis to derive some interesting insights into the past (and perhaps future) impact of the journal.

We start with a few figures of interest for the journal. From February 1986 through December 2005 there have been 206 separate issues of the journal. In that time there have been 3724 manuscripts (primarily full research papers). There have been 17 791 citations to those publications (an average of 4–5 citations per paper). It is interesting to look at some basic citation statistics. Table 1 summarizes the aforementioned facts and additionally the citation distribution for all JAAS manuscripts during the last 20 years. It is seen that there have been about 30 publications with a high level (>100) of citations. Since 2006 makes the 21st year of publishing JAAS, we have compiled a list of the 20 most highly cited articles in the journal’s history, one for each completed year of publication. These have been ranked in order of most cited and are presented in Table 2. It is seen that there is only a single manuscript with greater than 200 citations at this time, namely Bendicho and de Loos Vollebregt’s 1991 manuscript on solid sampling in ETV-AA. A number of other papers have total citations approaching 200, however, and several of these will eclipse this mark with another year or two’s citations. Note that the highly-cited papers here are all older (pre-2000) papers. As in any citation analysis, older papers have an advantage over more recent ones, since new papers have had less time to be read and assimilated into the minds and ways of researchers (note that most of the 171 uncited papers are ‘young’ 2005 papers). The top-cited papers indicate that GFAA, ICP-MS, and laser ablation were ‘hot’ techniques during the past 20 years, that top fundamental papers included atomization mechanisms, ICP-MS interferences, and isotope dilution, and that popular atomic spectroscopy uses involved speciation and geological applications.

Table 1 JAAS publication citation facts 1986–2005

Total JAAS issues	206
Total JAAS manuscripts	3724
Total JAAS manuscript citations	17 791
Manuscript citation distribution:
>200 citations	1 manuscript
101–200 citations	30
51–100 citations	187
26–50 citations	410
6–25 citations	2071
1–5 citations	854
0 citations	171

---

Table 2 Top 20 most cited manuscripts, JAAS, 1986–2005

Rank	Author/Title	Citation	No. of citations
1	Bendicho C, de Loos Vollebregt MTC	1991, 6(5), 353–374	236
	Solid Sampling in Electrothermal Atomic-Absorption Spectrometry Using Commercial Atomizers—A Review
2	Tan SH, Horlick G	1987, 2(8), 745–763	190
	Matrix-Effect Observations in Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry
3	Evans EH, Giglio JJ	1993, 8(1), 1–18	184
	Interferences In Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry—A Review
4	Larsen EH, Pritzl G, Hansen SH	1993, 8(8), 1075–1084	174
	Arsenic Speciation In Seafood Samples With Emphasis On Minor Constituents—An Investigation Using High-performance Liquid Chromatography with Detection By Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry
5	Welz B, Schlemmer G, Mudakavi JR	1992, 7(8), 1257–1271	171
	Palladium Nitrate–Magnesium Nitrate Modifier For Electrothermal Atomic Absorption Spectrometry: Performance for the Determination of 21 Elements
6	Longerich HP, Jackson SE, Günther D	1996, 11(9), 899–904	169
	Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometric Transient Signal Data Acquisition and Analyte Concentration Calculation
7	Govindaraju K, Mevelle G	1987, 2(6), 615–621	157
	Fully Automated Dissolution and Separation Methods for Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry Rock Analysis—Application To The Determination Of Rare-Earth Elements
8	Welz B, Schlemmer G, Mudakavi JR	1988, 3(5), 695–701	153
	Palladium Nitrate–Magnesium Nitrate Modifier For Graphite-Furnace Atomic-Absorption Spectrometry: Determination Of Arsenic, Cadmium, Copper, Manganese, Lead, Antimony, Selenium and Thallium in Water
9	Fang Z, Sperling M, Welz B	1990, 5(7), 639–646	153
	Flow Injection Online Sorbent Extraction Preconcentration For Graphite-Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry
10	Vothbeach LM, Shrader DE	1987, 2(1), 45–50	146
	Investigations Of A Reduced Palladium Chemical Modifier For Graphite-Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry
11	Miller Ihli NJ	1988, 3(1), 73–81	145
	Slurry Sample Preparation For Simultaneous Multi-element Graphite-Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry
12	Beauchemin D, Siu KWM, McLaren JW, et al.	1989, 4(3), 285–289	140
	Determination of Arsenic Species by High-performance Liquid Chromatography-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry
13	Günther D, Frischknecht R, Heinrich CA, et al.	1997, 12(9): 939–944	135
	Capabilities of an Argon Fluoride 193 nm Excimer Laser for Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry Microanalysis of Geological Materials
14	Gregoire DC	1988, 3(2), 309–314	132
	Determination of Platinum, Palladium, Ruthenium and Iridium Geological Materials by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry with Sample Introduction by Electrothermal Vaporization
15	Heitkemper D, Creed J, Caruso J	1989, 4(3), 279–284	132
	Speciation of Arsenic In Urine Using High-performance Liquid Chromatography with Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometric Detection
16	Branch S, Ebdon L, ONeill P	1994, 9(1), 33–37	129
	Determination of Arsenic Species In Fish by Directly Coupled High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry
17	Heumann KG, Gallus SM, Radlinger G, et al.	1998, 13(9), 1001–1008	124
	Precision and Accuracy in Isotope Ratio Measurements by Plasma Source Mass Spectrometry
18	Sperling M, Yin XF, Welz B	1991, 6(4), 295–300	122
	Flow-Injection Online Separation and Preconcentration for Electrothermal Atomic-Absorption Spectrometry. 1. Determination Of Ultratrace Amounts of Cadmium, Copper, Lead and Nickel In Water Samples
19	Douglas DJ, French JB	1988, 3(6), 743–747	118
	Gas Dynamics of the Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry Interface
20	Walder AJ, Freedman PA	1992, 7(3), 571–575	117
	Isotopic Ratio Measurement Using a Double Focusing Magnetic Sector Mass Analyzer with an Inductively Coupled Plasma as an Ion Source

---

Use of citation data alone to assess scientific trends or significance is problematic, however. The vagaries associated with using citations alone include incorrect (and perpetuated) citing and self-citing. A recent study by Redner¹ suggests another method to gauge publication impact. In this work a significantly larger body of published work was examined—namely 110 years of Physics Reviews journals. For comparison, this study looked at over 350 000 publications and 3 000 000 citations! The concept of citation impact was introduced in this study. Citation impact was defined as the product of the number of citations and the mean citation age (MCA), where the citation age is simply the difference between citing year and cited year (i.e., difference in the year a citation occurred and the publication year of the cited paper). Publications with a long mean citation age are obviously more influential (i.e., they get cited longer and presumably are having a larger impact). This type of analysis additionally handicaps more recent papers, however, since they necessarily will have a smaller mean citation age. It is nonetheless interesting to apply this approach to the top 20 most cited JAAS papers, and this re-tabulation is presented in Table 3 as the most impactful JAAS papers, according to their calculated citation impact (# citations × MCA). One effect of this approach is a somewhat greater separation/differentiation among the set of articles (see the listed impact factors). Papers that moved significantly up in the impactful list compared with the cited list include the 1987 Govindaraju/Mellville paper and the 1988 Douglas /French paper, while those that fell on the impactful list include the more recent 1996 Longerich/Jackson/Günther and 1993 Evans/Giglio papers. Many of the other papers remained in the same approximate rank order. The top 3 impact papers are those by Benchido/de Loos Vollebregt (ETV-AA), Tan/Horlick (ICP-MS), and Govindaraju/Mellville (ICP-AES).

Table 3 Top 20 most impactful manuscripts, JAAS, 1986–2005

Rank	Author/Title	Citation	Citation impact
1	Bendicho C, de Loos Vollebregt MTC	1991, 6(5), 353–374	1696
	Solid Sampling in Electrothermal Atomic Absorption Spectrometry Using Commercial Atomizers—A Review
2	Govindaraju K, Mevelle G	1987, 2(6), 615–621	1397
	Fully Automated Dissolution and Separation Methods for Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry Rock Analysis—Application to the Determination of Rare-Earth Elements
3	Tan SH, Horlick G	1987, 2(8), 745–763	1368
	Matrix-Effect Observations in Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry
4	Welz B, Schlemmer G, Mudakavi JR	1988, 3(5), 695–701	1316
	Palladium Nitrate–Magnesium Nitrate Modifier for Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry: Determination of Arsenic, Cadmium, Copper, Manganese, Lead, Antimony, Selenium and Thallium in Water
5	Welz B, Schlemmer G, Mudakavi JR	1992, 7(8), 1257–1271	1248
	Palladium Nitrate–Magnesium Nitrate Modifier for Electrothermal Atomic Absorption Spectrometry: Performance for the Determination of 21 Elements
6	Larsen EH, Pritzl G, Hansen SH	1993, 8(8), 1075–1084	1183
	Arsenic Speciation in Seafood Samples with Emphasis on Minor Constituents—An Investigation Using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Detection by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry
7	Evans EH, Giglio JJ	1993, 8(1), 1–18	1086
	Interferences in Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry—A Review
8	Vothbeach LM, Shrader DE	1987, 2(1), 45–50	1080
	Investigations of a Reduced Palladium Chemical Modifier for Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry
9	Fang Z, Sperling M, Welz B	1990, 5(7), 639–646	1071
	Flow-Injection Online Sorbent Extraction Preconcentration for Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry
10	Miller Ihli NJ	1988, 3(1), 73–81	1044
	Slurry Sample Preparation for Simultaneous Multi-element Graphite Furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrometry
11	Beauchemin D, Siu KWM, McLaren JW, et al.	1989, 4(3), 285–289	1008
	Determination of Arsenic Species by High-performance Liquid Chromatography-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry
12	Longerich HP, Jackson SE, Günther D	1996, 11(9), 899–904	997
	Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometric Transient Signal Data Acquisition and Analyte Concentration Calculation
13	Douglas DJ, French JB	1988, 3(6), 743–747	944
	Gas Dynamics of the Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry Interface
14	Gregoire DC	1988, 3(2), 309–314	884
	Determination of Platinum, Palladium, Ruthenium and Iridium Geological Materials by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry with Sample Introduction by Electrothermal Vaporization
15	Heitkemper D, Creed J, Caruso J	1989, 4(3), 279–284	884
	Speciation of Arsenic in Urine Using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometric Detection
16	Walder AJ, Freedman PA	1992, 7(3), 571–575	831
	Isotopic Ratio Measurement Using a Double Focusing Magnetic-Sector Mass Analyzer with an Inductively Coupled Plasma as an Ion Source
17	Sperling M, Yin XF, Welz B	1991, 6(4), 295–300	732
	Flow-Injection Online Separation and Preconcentration for Electrothermal Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. 1. Determination of Ultratrace Amounts of Cadmium, Copper, Lead and Nickel in Water Samples
18	Branch S, Ebdon L, ONeill P	1994, 9(1), 33–37	684
	Determination of Arsenic Species in Fish by Directly Coupled High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry
19	Günther D, Frischknecht R, Heinrich CA, et al.	1997, 12(9), 939–944	675
	Capabilities of an Argon Fluoride 193 nm Excimer Laser for Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry Microanalysis of Geological Materials
20	Heumann KG, Gallus SM, Radlinger G, et al.	1998, 13(9), 1001–1008	496
	Precision and Accuracy in Isotope Ratio Measurements by Plasma Source Mass Spectrometry

---

It is also interesting to look at these papers relative to techniques utilized (ICP, ICP-MS, GFAA, LA) and paper type (fundamentals, technique, applications). These data are presented in Fig. 1. It is seen that ICP-MS and GFAA are the predominant techniques represented on these lists. It is somewhat surprising that there is only a single ICP-AES paper in this list. With regard to paper type, it is seen that a healthy mix of fundamental, technique and application papers are represented, with speciation papers making a definite mark within the journal. It will be interesting to watch these trends evolve over the next decade or two.

Fig. 1 Top 20 JAAS papers, by technique (A) and paper type (B).

It is also appropriate to recognize the most impactful JAAS authors, as judged by these lists. Bernhard Welz and Detlef Günther have multiple papers on these lists, with 3 papers and 2 papers, respectively.

In a final note on JAAS citations, while there was no JAAS paper on the Smith–Hieftje background correction method (as previously noted²), and thus not represented on these lists, the original paper³ on this subject did receive 6 JAAS citations over the last 20 years (and now another one!).

The top-cited and most-impactful lists of publications are now available on the journal’s web page in celebration of its first 20 years of publication. The journal’s contribution to the field has been significant, and this contribution is in turn to the credit of the scientists who publish in JAAS. Thank you for support and contributions over the last 20 years. You have made JAAS a highly cited and impactful journal!

David W. Koppenaal

Acknowledgements

DWK acknowledges the assistance of Mary Frances Lembo of the Hanford Technical Library with the citation analyses.

References

1. S. Redner, Phys. Today, 2005, 58, 48–54.
2. G. M. Hieftje, J. Anal. At. Spectrom., 2006, 21, 11–12.
3. S. B. Smith, Jr and G. M. Hieftje, Appl. Spectrosc., 1983, 37, 419–424.

---