The Journal of Law and Society in Context: A Bibliometric Analysis

On this, the occasion of its 50th anniversary, we employ a quantitative analysis of the Journal of Law & Society (JLS) to chart empirically the evolution of UK socio-legal studies. By tracing the influence/s of the JLS upon the development of socio-legal research in the UK, not only do we demonstrate a new mode of exploring knowledge production in the field of socio-legal studies, but we also illustrate how computational methods can augment hermeneutical approaches to mapping socio-legal trends.

Through (a blend of) three different analytical approaches – descriptive analyses of bibliographic metadata, text-linguistic analyses of content (metadata or fulltext), and network analyses of citation graphs – we generate comparative information about the JLS since its 1974 inception. We then employ this data to interrogate the JLS’s own narratives: using predictions, ambitions, and statements of intent made by Editor-in-Chief Phil Thomas published either within or regarding the JLS, we present a map of the journal’s role within, impact upon, and enduring contribution to UK socio-legal studies.