A Bibliometric and Content Analysis of Best Practices in School Psychology

Best Practices in School Psychology is one of the most influential books in school psychology history. Originally published in 1985 by Thomas and Grimes, it was the first book offered by the National Association of School Psychologists. Its six editions have been revised every 5-8 years. Utilizing Publish or Perish as well as cross-referenced tables of contents from Best Practices, a bibliometric analysis of its 589 chapters and 37 appendices was completed. Results yielded 15,812 citations in Google Scholar-most citations (6,448) stem from its fourth edition, published in 2002. One chapter by Good et al. (2002) was cited more than 400 times, and five other chapters were cited more than 300 times. In all, 42 chapters were cited more than 100 times. Content analysis revealed that most chapters primarily addressed domains reflecting data-based decision making and interventions. The 79 most cited chapters generated almost two-thirds of all citations, and at least one-third of the citations to each of the 10 most cited chapters emerged from student projects, such as theses and dissertations. The editors, authors, and reviewers of Best Practices have produced a massive number of chapters across six editions, and although these publications were initially intended to guide practicing school psychologists, they have had a substantial impact on scholarship, including student projects. Impact and Implications We sought to identify what evidence existed to substantiate the impact of one of the most prominent reference books in school psychology, Best Practices in School Psychology. Our analysis revealed that Best Practices has been published across six editions from 1985 to 2014. Its editors, including Alex Thomas, Jeff Grimes, and Patti Harrison, and 630 different authors published 626 chapters and appendices in its pages across this span. Most entries primarily addressed assessment or intervention activities. We identified almost 16,000 instances in which entries from Best Practices were referenced in the professional literature. In particular, the fourth edition of Best Practices, published in 2002, generated the highest number of these citations. Evidence shows that the most cited chapters from Best Practices were frequently referenced within graduate students' scholarly projects (e.g., theses and dissertations). As such, this study demonstrated that Best Practices in School Psychology has had a substantial impact on the field, and it serves as a model for future