The literature of occupational therapy: a citation analysis study.

A citation analysis was done on literature cited in 1978, 1980, and 1982 issues of the American Journal of Occupational Therapy. The results confirmed two impressions. The body of literature specific to occupational therapy is very small. But the body of literature potentially relevant to the work of the occupational therapist is very large, covering many disciplines. An unexpected finding was the reliance on older literature. Implications of these three findings are discussed.