An integrated method for interdisciplinary topic identification and prediction: a case study on information science and library science

Given that many frontiers and hotspots of science and technology are emerging from interdisciplines, the accurate identification and forecasting of interdisciplinary topics has become increasingly significant. Existing methods of interdisciplinary topic identification have their respective application fields, and each identification result can help researchers acquire partial characteristics of interdisciplinary topics. This paper offers an integrated method for identifying and predicting interdisciplinary topics from scientific literature. It integrates various methods, including co-occurrence networks analysis, high-TI terms analysis and burst detection, and offers an overall perspective into interdisciplinary topic identification. The results of the different methods are mutually confirmed and complemented, further overviewing the characteristics of the interdisciplinary field and highlighting the importance or potential of interdisciplinary topics. In this study, Information Science and Library Science is selected as a case study. The research has clearly shown that more accurate and comprehensive results can be achieved for interdisciplinary topic identification and prediction by employing this integrated method. Further, the integration of different methods has promising potential for application in knowledge discovery and scientific measurement in the future.     

Mapping the interdisciplinarity in information behavior research: a quantitative study using diversity measure and co-occurrence analysis

Scientometrics - Information behavior research is an interdisciplinary field in essence due to the investigation of interdisciplinary in previous work. To track the changes in interdisciplinarity...     

Constructive Alignment of Interdisciplinary Graduate Curriculum in Engineering and Science: An Analysis of Successful IGERT Proposals

Background Interdisciplinary approaches are critical to solving the most pressing technological challenges. Despite the proliferation of graduate programs to fill this need, there is little archival literature identifying learning outcomes, learning experiences, or benchmarks for evaluating interdisciplinary graduate student learning. Purpose (Hypothesis ) The purpose of this study is to understand how engineering and science academics conceptualize interdisciplinary graduate education in order to identify common practices and recommend improvements. Questions generated by an instructional design framework guided the analysis: what desired outcomes, evidence, and learning experiences are currently associated with interdisciplinary graduate education? To what extent are these components constructively aligned with each other? Design /Method Content analysis was performed on 130 funded proposals from the U.S. National Science Foundation's Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program. Results Four desired student learning outcomes were identified: contributions to the technical area, broad perspective, teamwork, and interdisciplinary communication skills. Student requirements (educational plans) addressed these outcomes to some extent, but assessment/evidence sections generally targeted program level goals—as opposed to student learning. This lack of constructive alignment between components is a major weakness of graduate curriculum. Conclusions Current practices are promising. Further clarification of interdisciplinary learning outcomes, coupled with closer alignment of outcomes, evidence, and learning experiences will continue to improve interdisciplinary graduate education in engineering and science. Specific recommendations for engineering and science faculty members are: define clear learning objectives, enlist assessment/evaluation expertise, and constructively align all aspects of the curriculum.     

Antecedents and near-term consequences for interdisciplinary dissertators

Given the complexity of questions studied by academicians, institutions are increasingly encouraging interdisciplinary research to tackle these problems; however, neither the individual-level pathways leading to the pursuit of interdisciplinary research nor the resulting market outcomes have been closely examined. In this study, we focus attention on the individuals who complete interdisciplinary dissertations to ask “who are they and how do they fare after earning the PhD?” Since interdisciplinary research is known to be relatively risky among academics, we examine demographic variables that are known to be associated in other contexts with risk-taking before considering whether interdisciplinarians’ outcomes are different upon graduating. First among our three main findings, students whose fathers earned a college degree demonstrated a 1.3% higher probability of pursuing interdisciplinary research. Second, the probability that non-citizens pursue interdisciplinary dissertation work is 4.6% higher when compared with US citizens. Third, individuals who complete an interdisciplinary dissertation tend to earn approximately 2% less in the year after graduation; however, mediation analyses show that the decision to become a postdoctoral researcher accounts for the apparent salary penalty. Our findings shed light on the antecedents and near-term consequences for individuals who complete interdisciplinary dissertations and contribute to broader policy debates concerning supports for academic career paths.     

A network analysis of interdisciplinary research relationships: the Korean government’s R&D grant program

This study examines network topologies of interdisciplinary research relationships in science and technology (S&T) and investigates the relational linkages between the interdisciplinary relations and the quality of research performance. A network analysis was performed to evaluate the General Research Grant (GRG) program, an interdisciplinary research funding program of the Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF); the dataset covered the 2002–2004 period. The analytical results reveal the hidden network structure of interdisciplinary research relationships and demonstrate that the quality of research performance might be enhanced not only by interdependent pressures placed on various research fields but also by accumulated research capabilities that are relatively difficult to access and reproduce by other research fields.     

The Development of a Shared Interdisciplinary Intelligent Mechatronics Laboratory

This paper describes experience in developing an interdisciplinary mechatronics laboratory and success in using the lab to support academic instruction. It emphasizes the strategies and procedures that were important in creating an interdisciplinary laboratory in a traditional discipline-oriented academic institution. The strategies address objectives, acquisition and allocation of funding, and exploiting the existing infrastructure. Procedures such as the formation of a managing body and support for staff are also an important aspect of successful interdisciplinary laboratory development. The specific use of the lab is illustrated by two case studies, and its various benefits are discussed.     

Role of interdisciplinarity in computer sciences: quantification,impact and life trajectory

The tremendous advances in computer science in the last few decades have provided the platform to address and solve complex problems using interdisciplinary research. In this paper, we investigate how the extent of interdisciplinarity in computer science domain (which is further divided into 24 research fields) has changed over the last 50 years. To this end, we collect a massive bibliographic dataset with rich metadata information. We start with quantifying interdisciplinarity of a field in terms of the diversity of topics and citations. We then analyze the effect of interdisciplinary research on the scientific impact of individual fields and observe that highly disciplinary and highly interdisciplinary papers in general have a low scientific impact; remarkably those that are able to strike a balance between the two extremes eventually land up having the highest impact. Further, we study the reciprocity among fields through citation interactions and notice that links from one field to related and citation-intensive fields (fields producing large number of citations) are reciprocated heavily. A systematic analysis of the citation interactions reveals the life trajectory of a research field, which generally undergoes three phases—a growing phase, a matured phase and an interdisciplinary phase. The combination of metrics and empirical observations presented here provides general benchmarks for future studies of interdisciplinary research activities in other domains of science.     

Interdisciplinary Centers: A Natural and Necessary Force for Creativity and Change in Engineering Research and Education

Because problem-solving is the distinguishing feature of engineering education and innovation, interdisciplinary approaches are essential since technologically-related problems do not align themselves neatly in accordance with traditional academic disciplines or professional societies. The challenge is to sustain the evolution of institutional and academic structures to keep pace with rapid advances in technology and social concerns. The tension is between quality control as administered by traditional institutional structure and emerging societal needs and technological opportunities like the environment. Interdisciplinary centers with budget autonomy, in conjunction with re-aligned engineering “departments and professional designations”, can be important vehicles for change. The ultimate measure of success of these proposed structures is that change will be institutionalized, and engineering education will constantly evolve to meet society's emerging needs. Reading through the directories of most major universities (admittedly, no substitute for serious academic research), I am struck by the burgeoning list of acronyms representing administrative units of interdisciplinary centers. As an example, at Cornell there are over 50 interdisciplinary programs and centers. They have become nearly as numerous as the traditional academic departments.     

Interdisciplinary product lines to support the engineering in the machine manufacturing domain

Current market dynamics force today’s companies to manufacture smaller lot sizes up to individual products. As a consequence, companies need to react to such changes; it is hence inevitable to ensure a correct, reliable and flexible engineering process, which allows for managing the highly variant-rich machines. This article investigates the applicability of interdisciplinary product lines for the engineering in the machine manufacturing domain. Therein, four core aspects are addressed: first, the current practice of companies regarding the management of variants is analysed. Second, the requirements to be fulfilled by an interdisciplinary variant management approach are analysed. Third, an interdisciplinary product line approach is presented that aims at overcoming the challenges. Fourth, the benefits and limitations of the approach are discussed and research gaps that need to be addressed in future works are identified.     

Citation delay in interdisciplinary knowledge exchange

As part of a larger project to investigate knowledge flows between fields of science, westudied the differences in speed of knowledge transfer within and across disciplines. The agedistribution of references in three selections of articles was analysed, including almost 800.000references in journal publications of the United Kingdom in 1992, 700.000 references inpublications of Germany in 1992, and more than 11 million references in the world total ofpublications in 1998.The rate of citing documented knowledge from other disciplines appears to differ sharplyamong disciplines. For most of the disciplines the same ratio's are found in the three data sets.Exceptions show interesting differences in the interdisciplinary nature of a field in a country. Wefind a general tendency of a citation delay in case of knowledge transfer between different fieldsof science: citations to work of the own discipline show less of a time lag than citations to work ina foreign discipline. Between disciplines typical differences in the speed of incorporatingknowledge from other disciplines are observed, which appear to be relatively independent of timeand place: for each discipline the same pattern is found in the three data sets. The disciplinespecific characteristics found in the speed of interdisciplinary knowledge transfer may be point ofdeparture for further investigations. Results may contribute to explanations of differences incitation rates of interdisciplinary research.     

Interdisziplinarität im Entwurf

This article traces the history of interdisciplinarity as a contemporary form of thought and of producing knowledge in the Federal Republic of Germany from 1955 to 1975. It establishes that concepts of interdisciplinary research and teaching circulated in diverse fields of knowledge and modes of articulation, and evaluates the transformations that interdisciplinarity underwent along the way. After detailing the process by which the adjective “interdisciplinary” first came into usage in scientific publications in the late 1950s, this article discusses how interdisciplinary research and teaching began to feature in debates about university reforms and the founding of new universities in the 1960s. The article then draws on the examples of Bochum, Konstanz, and Bielefeld to illustrate how debates about disciplinary specialization and interdisciplinary connections unfolded in visual modes of expression such as diagrams or sketches. In a last step, the article examines how visual and textual reflections connected interdisciplinarity to the architecture of envisioned universities, and hence related this time-specific form of thought and knowledge production to the material environments of future research and teaching.     

Comparative indicators of interdisciplinarity in modern science

A set of scientometric indicators of interdisciplinary links between advancing fields of biomedicine is suggested. Twenty jounals listed in theJCR of theSCI for 1988 are analyzed. An index of interdisciplinarity for a given journal is calculated as the sum of ratios between the numbers of journals from all other disciplines (except for general-scientific and miscellaneous journals) and from the same discipline cited by that journal or citing it, and of ratios between the numbers of citations to and by these journals. Some interdisciplinary patterns of 20 andrology journal articles are scientometrically assessed, too. The combined usage of this method with co-classification and co-citation methodology can optimize interdisciplinarity evaluation and promotion.     

Interdisciplinarity and knowledge inflow/outflow structure among science and engineering research in Korea

Interdisciplinary research has been encouraged through the policies of many governmental and institutional funding agencies in Korea. This paper measured the degrees of interdisciplinarity in individual and collaborative researches and analyzes the factors affecting it. This paper also examined flow of knowledge among different disciplines in science and engineering research using a database obtained from research proposals submitted to Korea Science and Engineering Foundation (KOSEF). The analysis indicated that 54.6% of collaborative research proposals were interdisciplinary, while 35.8% of individual research proposals were interdisciplinary. The analysis of knowledge inflow/outflow structure showed that Natural science served as a link between Life science and Engineering. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Searching for converging research using field to field citations

We define converging research as the emergence of an interdisciplinary research area from fields that did not show interdisciplinary connections before. This paper presents a process to search for converging research using journal subject categories as a proxy for fields and citations to measure interdisciplinary connections, as well as an application of this search. The search consists of two phases: a quantitative phase in which pairs of citing and cited fields are located that show a significant change in number of citations, followed by a qualitative phase in which thematic focus is sought in publications associated with located pairs. Applying this search on publications from the Web of Science published between 1995 and 2005, 38 candidate converging pairs were located, 27 of which showed thematic focus, and 20 also showed a similar focus in the other, reciprocal pair.     

Indicators of disciplinary differentiation: Interdisciplinary linkages and adoption rate of biological innovations

Two indicators regarded to reflect the status of disciplinary differentiation were assessed through citation analysis. Adoption of scientific innovations (publications utilizing new scientific information) and interdisciplinary linkages (percentage of total publications of single disciplines which are cross-referenced by other disciplines) were investigated in selected biological professions. Findings indicated: 1) a significant delay in the use of innovations and a significant difference in the emphasis of interdisciplinary linkages in several professions and disciplines; 2) faster adoption of innovations and greater interdisciplinary linkages in areas with broader disciplinary contents; 3) an inter-personal communication pattern; and 4) slower adoption in applied than in basic fields.     

交叉学科设计学与对应调整方案的要点解读

如何理解设计学科专业的对应调整，尤其是对交叉学科“设计学”对应调整意图的解读，从学科专业建设与发展角度来说十分必要。就实施政策来看，其着眼点就在于建设新的学科体系，凸显设计专业博士学位点的实践性功能，并促进设计学尽快融入交叉学科。对此，整个对应调整工作的重心，必然是平衡且凸显学科专业与社会发展紧密联系的优势，拓展应用领域、补齐教学短板、完善学科体系，这是设计学科专业体系在发展中层层革故鼎新、去芜存菁的思考方向。依此来看，交叉学科“设计学”的设置，就有着极大的调整与自主作为的空间，其学科交叉发展策略应当是比较清楚的，诸如，“设计学”交叉学科 +“设计”艺术的开启，显示出新版学科专业目录下的设计学，从艺术学门类调整到交叉学科大类，这明显是将传统意义上的设计学进行了剥离，从而推向适应未来高科技和社会服务发展时代需求，设计学将在国家规划战略中发挥出举足轻重的作用。     

On the degree of interdisciplinarity of research programs: A quantitative assessment

It is widely maintained that the study of policy alternatives, particularly if they are associated with introducing new tehcnologies that may engender vast social and environmental repercussions, ought to be interdisciplinary. There is, however, much confusion in the literature as to what exactly is meant by the term interdisciplinary. In the present paper, we quantitatively assess the extent of interdisciplinarity of studies and of research programs. First, we propose several working definitions of the concept of interdisciplinarity. Second, we consider the construction of indicators that quantify these definitions. Third, as an example, we examine whether or not a given policy oriented research program is truly interdisciplinary.     

Maps of science as interdisciplinary discourse: co-citation contexts and the role of analogy

Interdisciplinarity can be manifest in many forms: through collaboration or communication between scientists working in different fields or through the work of individual scientists who employ concepts or methods across disciplines. This latter form of interdisciplinarity is addressed here with the goal of understanding how ideas in different fields come together to create new opportunities for discovery. Maps of science are used to suggest possible interdisciplinary links which are then analyzed by co-citation context analysis. Interdisciplinary links are identified by juxtaposing a clustering and mapping of documents against a journal-based categorization of the same document clusters. Links between clusters are characterized as interdisciplinary based on the dissonance of their category assignments. To verify and probe more deeply into the meaning of interdisciplinary links, co-citation contexts for selected links from five separate cases are analyzed in terms of prominent cue words. This analysis reveals that interdisciplinary connections are often based on authors’ perceptions of analogous problems across scientific domains. Cue words drawn from the citation contexts also suggest that these connections are viewed as important and ripe with both opportunity and risk.     

Shaping the interdisciplinary knowledge network of China: a network analysis based on citation data from 1981 to 2010

This study builds the interdisciplinary knowledge network of China, which is used to catch the knowledge exchange structure of disciplines, and investigates the evolution process from 1981 to 2010. A network analysis was performed to examine the special structure and we compare state of the networks in different periods to determine how the network has got such properties. The dataset are get from the reference relationship in literature on important Chinese academic journals from 1980 to 2010. The analytical results reveal the hidden network structure of interdisciplinary knowledge flows in China and demonstrate that the network is highly connected and has a homogeneous link structure and heterogeneous weight distribution. Through comparing of the network in three periods, that is 1981–1990, 1991–2000 and 2001–2010, we find that the special evolution process, which is limited by the number of nodes, play an important influence on interdisciplinary knowledge flows.