Study Finds Nelson Among Top 1% of Most Productive Advertising Researchers Globally

Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising associate professor Michelle R. Nelson is among the top 1% most productive advertising scholars globally, according to a study appearing in the current issue of the International Journal of Advertising. Institute of Communications Research (ICR) alumnus Leonard Reid (Ph.D., 1978) also appears on the list.   

The authors of the study reviewed each of the 1,443 articles published over the last 15 years in the three highest-impact advertising research journals—Journal of Advertising, International Journal of Advertising, and Journal of Advertising Research. They identified 2,246 researchers who had authored or co-authored at least one article between 2000 and 2014.

Nelson and Reid were among the 23 most productive scholars globally and among the top 10 most productive scholars in the U.S. Nelson’s seminal article about the recall of brands in computer and video games was also the 15th most highly cited article published during the same time period.  

Nelson received a Ph.D. in communication from the ICR in 1997, and she credited her time as a student as an important factor in her success.

“My goal has always been to contribute to a better understanding of the effects and content of advertising rather than to target one journal or another,” Nelson said. “But the fact that I have been able to have an impact on the field reflects the training I received when I was an ICR student and the investment that mentors like Cele Otnes and Sharon Shavitt have made in my career.”

Nelson previously taught at Emerson College and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, before joining the Department of Advertising as a faculty member in 2006. Reid is an emeritus professor at the University of Georgia.