The American Archivist, 1971 to 1990: A Demographic Analysis of the Articles

Based on an analysis of selected authorship and subject-based variables, 390 articles published in the American Archivist from 1971 to 1990 were analyzed. All major articles published during the period were included in the analysis, but other components of the journal were excluded. The primary subject area receiving the highest level of coverage was the General Literature category, followed by Use of Archives and Historical Manuscripts, and Repositories (History, Organization, and Activities). Single authorship was the overwhelming pattern, with almost 90 percent of the articles having only one author. Of a total of 433 authors, 124 (28.6%) were women, and 309 (71.4%) were men. From 1971 to 1990, 25.4 percent of the authors lived in the District of Columbia, followed by 8.5 percent in Massachusetts, 8.2 percent in Michigan, and 7.5 percent in New York. Academic archivists accounted for 22 percent of the authors, followed by federal archivists at 16.5 percent.