How the “Most-Cited Articles” Ranking Is Calculated (Comprehensive)

Overview

This ranking identifies the most-cited articles within HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library across all authors, institutions, and disciplines. Citation and usage data are drawn directly from every article indexed in the Law Journal Library, with no restrictions on author affiliation or institutional connection. HeinOnline’s ScholarRank formula is applied at the article level to produce a top 100 list of the most influential articles.

Eligibility

All articles published within HeinOnline’s Law Journal Library qualify for inclusion in this ranking. No institutional or author affiliation requirements apply. The final list presents the top 100 articles based on their cumulative citation and usage metrics.

Metrics Used

This ranking is based on the following three metrics, each drawn from article-level citation and usage data in HeinOnline:

1. Cited by Articles (0 to 5 Years)
   Counts the number of times the article has been cited by other articles in HeinOnline within the past five years. Citation style sources include the Bluebook, Prince’s Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations, and the Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations.
2. Cited by Articles (5+ Years)
   Counts the number of times the article has been cited by other articles in HeinOnline more than five years after publication. Citation style sources include the Bluebook, Prince’s Dictionary of Legal Abbreviations, and the Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations.
3. Cumulative Citations (shown for convienence; not double counted)
   Represents the total number of citations to the article across its entire lifespan. This value is the sum of both citation windows above and is counted once in the ranking formula.
4. Accessed (Past 12 Months)
   Measures relevancy and recency by counting the total number of times the article has been accessed by HeinOnline users in the past twelve months. An article counts as accessed when it is clicked from search results, navigated to directly, or retrieved through the citation navigator.

Calculation Method

Z-scores are calculated for each of the three unique metrics and are then averaged to generate the article’s overall score. The final average score is placed into the standard competition ranking to determine the top 100 articles.

Formula

Z-score Calculation:
Zx = (x – µ) / σ

Average Z-score:
Zµ = (Z1 + Z2 + Z3) / 3

Final ScholarRank:
Zµ, ranked using standard competition rules.

Update and Refresh Schedule

This ranking is refreshed with every monthly HeinOnline content release, at which point all citations are fully recounted. This ensures that the standings remain current as new scholarship is published and cited.

Additional Information and FAQs

For more details and answers to frequently asked questions, visit:
https://help.heinonline.org/kb/scholarly-impact-rankings-faq/