Tag Archives: Interdisciplinarity

The Relationship between Forward and Backward Diversity in CORE Datasets

In this paper we seek to better understand the relationship between forward diversity in the Cognitive Science and Educational Research literature, as well as what we call Border fields (i.e. those fields which exist at the intersection of Cognitive Science and Education Research). We find a clear and convincing relationship between forward and backward diversity in the datasets we study. Among all available explanatory variables, Integration scores claim the strongest correlation in terms of their ability to account for forward diversity. When comparing results from this study to benchmark results from a prior study (using the same indicators) the datasets in this study show a tendency to be both more integrative and diffuse.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-019-03163-3

Author(s): Stephen F. Carley, Seokbeom Kwon, Alan L. Porter, Jan L. Youtie
Organization(S): Search Technology, Georgia Institute of Technology
Source: Scientometrics
Year: 2019

2012 DISSERTATION: Impacts of an Interdisciplinary Research Center on Participant Publication and Collaboration Activities

Interdisciplinary research centers are typically presented as a means for exploiting opportunities in science where the complexity of the research problem calls for sustained interaction among multiple disciplines. This study analyzed the effects of an interdisciplinary research center (NIMBioS) on the publication and collaboration behaviors of faculty affiliated with the center. The study also sought to determine what factors contributed to these effects for participants whose publication and collaboration behaviors were changed the most after affiliation.

The study employed a mixed-method case study approach, using quantitative bibliometric data along with qualitative data collected from interviews. Publication data for each participant in the study was collected from Web of Science (WOS) and analyzed by year against several demographic control variables to understand what effect affiliation with NIMBioS had on publication behaviors of participants. In addition to bibliometrics, a selection of study participants who demonstrated the most change in publication and collaboration behaviors since their affiliation with NIMBioS were interviewed to determine (a) what benefits (if any) participants felt they achieved as a result of participating in their working group, and (b) what factors (if any) participants felt may have contributed to the impact of NIMBioS affiliation on their publication and collaboration behavior.

Results of the study indicate that affiliation with a NIMBioS working group has a significant positive effect on participant collaboration activities (i.e. number of co-authors, number of international co-authors, number of cross-institutional co-authors), and a moderate effect on publication activities (i.e. publishing in new fields). Qualitative analysis of interdisciplinarity showed a shift in publication WOS subject categories (SCs) toward mathematical fields. Factors contributing to success cited by interviewees included organized leadership, a positive atmosphere, breaking into sub-groups, and the ability to collaborate with researchers with whom they would not have interacted outside of the group.

Doctoral candidate: Pamela Rene Bishop
University: University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Committee Members: Schuyler W. Huck, Jennifer K. Richards, Bonnie H. Ownley
Degree program: Doctor of Philosophy – Educational Psychology and Research
Year: 2012

Navigating the innovation trajectories of technology by combining specialization score analyses for publications and patents: graphene and nano-enabled drug delivery

In this study, we combine the specialization scores for publications and patents (the latter is a new indicator of cross-disciplinary engagement) to achieve more comprehensive navigation of the innovation trajectory of a technology. The patent specialization score draws upon counterpart research publication indicator concepts to measure patent diversity. Two nano-based technologies—Nano-enabled drug delivery (NEDD) and Graphene—provide contrasting explorations of the behavior of this indicator, alongside research publication indicators. Results show distinctive patterns of the two technologies and for the respective publication and patent indicators. NEDD research, as evidenced by publication and citation patterns, engages highly diverse research fields. In contrast, NEDD development, as reflected in patent International Patent Classifications (IPCs), concentrates on relatively closely associated fields. Graphene presents the opposite picture, with closely linked disciplines contributing to research, but much more diverse fields of application for its patents. We suggest that analyzing the field diversity of research publications and patents together, employing both specialization scores, can offer fruitful insights into innovation trajectories. Such information can contribute to technology and innovation management and policy for such emerging technologies.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11192-015-1826-9

Author(s): Seokbeom Kwon, Alan Porter, Jan Youtie
Organization(s): Georgia Institute of Technology
Source: Scientometrics
Year: 2016

Mining research trends with anomaly detection models: the case of social computing research

We proposed in this study to use anomaly detection models to discover research trends. The application was illustrated by applying a rule-based anomaly detector (WSARE), which was typically used for biosurveillance purpose, in the research trend analysis in social computing research. Based on articles collected from SCI-EXPANDED and CPCI-S databases during 2000 to 2013, we found that the number of social computing studies went up significantly in the past decade, with computer science and engineering among the top important subjects. Followed by China, USA was the largest contributor for studies in this field. According to anomaly detected by the WSARE, social computing research gradually shifted from its traditional fields such as computer science and engineering, to the fields of medical and health, and communication, etc. There was an emerging of various new subjects in recent years, including sentimental analysis, crowdsourcing and e-health. We applied an interdisciplinary network evolution analysis to track changes in interdisciplinary collaboration, and found that most subject categories closely collaborate with subjects of computer science and engineering. Our study revealed that, anomaly detection models had high potentials in mining hidden research trends and may provided useful tools in the study of forecasting in other fields.

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11192-015-1559-9

Author(s): Qing Cheng, Xin Lu, Zhong Liu, Jincai Huang
Organization(s): National University of Defense Technology
Source: Scientometrics
Year: 2015

Comparative study on structure and correlation among author co-occurrence networks in bibliometrics

This paper introduces author-level bibliometric co-occurrence network by discussing its history and contribution to the analysis of scholarly communication and intellectual structure. Continue reading Comparative study on structure and correlation among author co-occurrence networks in bibliometrics