title: Publication Patterns in Death Studies: 40 Years On.
abstract: As a living legacy to the founding editorship of Hannelore Wass, Death Studies has played a leading role in promoting scholarship in the field of thanatology for nearly 4 decades. In this article, the authors analyze publication patterns in the journal in the 25 years since Wass handed off the journal's editorial management to her successor, focusing on changing patterns of authorship, topical focus, and methodological emphasis of articles across this period. The results document the increasing feminization of the field, the impressive internationality of the research networks driving its development, and the substantial empirical foundation for major lines of research concerned with bereavement, death attitudes, and suicide. Placed against the backdrop of early trends in publication during Wass's overview, such findings suggest the maturation of research in this interdisciplinary specialty and validate her long-range anticipation of the field's prospects as this flagship journal moves toward its fifth decade of publication.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of Memphis , Memphis , Tennessee , USA.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Neimeyer
authors.affiliation: b Department of Justice Studies , San Jose State University , San Jose , California , USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vallerga
mesh_terms: D001319:Authorship / Q000266:history; D015706:Bibliometrics; D003643:Death; D004493:Education / Q000266:history; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D010506:Periodicals as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013795:Thanatology / Q000266:history*