A new study has found that researchers at the USC School of Social Work authored some of the profession's most cited journal articles of the past decade.

Five publications penned by researchers at the school ranked in the top 100 articles cited between 2000 and 2009, according to findings published in the British Journal of Social Work.

"I knew the article was cited very often, but I didn't realize it was that influential," said Michàlle Mor Barak, a professor at the USC School of Social Work.

Coauthored with then-doctoral students Jan Nissly and Amy Levin, Mor Barak's analysis of the causes of burnout and turnover among social workers involved in child welfare and other human services ranked fourth on the list in terms of citations per year.

"Over the years, we've overlooked the importance of taking care of the social workers, who are providing services to disadvantaged populations," Mor Barak said. "To me, it was an encouraging sign that an article that examines the causes for the high turnover in our profession and focuses on how social workers deal with burnout and case overload received that much attention. We cannot provide good services to our clients if we don't take care of ourselves."

Published in 2001 in Social Service Review, the article had been cited 158 instances at the time of the recent study, averaging nearly 18 citations per year.

Other highly cited publications included an article on parent training programs in child welfare authored in part by assistant professor Michael Hurlburt that ranked 17th, and an article on mental health services in black churches written in part by associate professor Karen Lincoln that hit 25th on the list.

Haluk Soydan, director of the school's Hamovitch Center for Science in the Human Services, and associate professor Devon Brooks each penned articles that ranked 66th and 87th, respectively.

The study examined 79 social work journals published during the past decade and determined the 100 most cited articles in terms of citations per year.

The authors noted that evidence-based practice and translational research were significant topics of discussion in many of the articles, suggesting the link between research and practice is a growing issue for the social work profession.

The USC School of Social Work has placed an increasing emphasis on translational and evidence-based research in recent years, and researchers at the school have been closely involved with several online clearinghouses that highlight effective, proven social work interventions.

The full list, as well as the study, titled "Influential Publications in Social Work Discourse: The 100 Most Highly Cited Articles in Disciplinary Journals: 2000-09," is available online at the British Journal of Social Work website.