Identifying the 50 most productive researchers in top-tier, broad-scope educational psychology journals (2017–2022): a new perspective with a focus on publication trends and diversity

The present study identified the most productive researchers in educational psychology by analyzing the number of published articles in top-tier and broad-scope educational psychology journals from 2017 to 2022. Building on prior productivity research, we extended the scope of the analysis in three distinct ways: (1) we expanded the sample to include the 50 most productive researchers; (2) we applied three different scoring methods to assess productivity; and (3) we used a broader and more objectively defined set of journals, based on the Web of Science "Psychology, Educational" category. In addition, we conducted an online survey to examine characteristics of highly productive researchers and examined their publications in the target journals with respect to research topics, open science practices, collaboration patterns, and internationalization. Results indicated that three senior researchers (i.e., Richard E. Mayer, Reinhard Pekrun, and Herbert W. Marsh) consistently ranked among the top 5. In addition, early-career researchers accounted for a substantial share of the top 50, ranging from 25% to 40%. However, the diversity of the most productive researchers was limited: the majority identified as White (86%), male (59%), non-first-generation students (60%), and first-generation faculty members (86%), and primarily held European (46%) or North American nationalities (39%). Publication trends showed a predominance of quantitative studies, with articles typically reporting 1.2 studies and an average of 4.2 authors. The most frequently used keywords were motivation, quantitative methods, and multimedia learning, reflecting a broad range of research interests within the field.