Publication and citation analysis of articles published in the European Journal for Sport and Society, 2004–2020

This editorial reports the results of a publication and citation analysis of articles which were published in the European Journal for Sport and Society (EJSS) since its inception in 2004. It looks at all articles published in the journal between 2004 and 2020 and assigns citations at the beginning of 2022. The empirical analysis seeks to identify the characteristics of published articles and the drivers of the number of citations. The present analysis adds to the body of research conducting bibliometric analyses of articles in academic journals. Within sport sociology, previous research by Seippel (2018) reviewing publications has focussed on the Sociology of Sport Journal (SSJ), the International Review for Sociology of Sport (IRSS), and the Journal of Sport and Social Issues (JSSI). The EJSS has not yet been included in bibliometric analyses. However, such an analysis is important as learning about the types of publications in EJSS and resulting citations help to understand our discipline. Specifically, understanding the publishing behaviour of the European sport sociological community is critical for self-reflections and for designing evidence-based advice for future publication efforts. Moreover, such an analysis can be informative for the Editor and the Associate Editors of the journal as understanding the characteristics of publication and the drivers of citations can guide editorial decision-making.