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The Ortega hypothesis and influential articles in American sociology

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Abstract

InThe Revolt of the Masses, JoseOrtega y Gasset suggests that the work of average or mediocre researchers plays a role in the advancement of science. In order to examine the “Ortega hypothesis” in sociology, lifework citations to scholars referred to in 5 of the most highly cited contemporary sociological articles are examined. The findings do not support the hypothesis. That is, few average scholars received citations to their work in these influential articles. This finding is consistent with similar analyses for physics and criminology.

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Notes and References

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  3. J. ORTEGA y Gasset,The Revolt Of the Masses, W. W. Norton & Company, New York, 1957, pp. 110–111.

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  4. J. COLE and S. COLE, op. cit., ref.2, 228.

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  17. See ref. 15Peritz has found that sociological articles of a methodological nature are more frequently cited than are theoretical or empirical articles. Her finding is not inconsistent with the hypothesis proposed above.Peritz' finding is consistent with the suggestion that whether one is examining references in articles or citations to articles, it may be necessary to “control” for different types of articles. See

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  19. TheColes do write of a “tentative conclusion” -ref. 2Social Stratification In Science, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1973, p. 234, whileGreen offers the “possibility that the number of works can be reduced without affecting the rate of advance” (ref. 6, p. 51). For a skeptical view concerning policy implications of citation analyses see M. O ROMANER, The quality of scholarship and the “graying” of the academic profession: A skeptical view,Research In Higher Education, 15 (1981) 231–239.

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  1. Hudson County Community College, 900 Bergen Avenue, 07306, Jersey City, N. J., (USA)

    M. Oromaner

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Oromaner, M. The Ortega hypothesis and influential articles in American sociology. Scientometrics 7, 3–10 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02020136

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