An approach to interdisciplinarity through bibliometric indicators

Interdisciplinarity has become of increasing interest in science in the past few years. Thispaper is a case study in the area of Chemistry, in which a series of different bibliometric indicatorsfor measuring interdisciplinarity are presented. The following indicators are analysed: a) ISI multiclassificationof journals in categories, b) patterns of citations and references outside category andc) multi-assignation of documents in Chemical Abstracts sections. Convergence between thedifferent indicators is studied. Depending on the size of the unit analysed (area, category orjournal) the most appropriate indicators are determined.     

Diversity and network coherence as indicators of interdisciplinarity: case studies in bionanoscience

The multidimensional character and inherent conflict with categorisation of interdisciplinarity makes its mapping and evaluation a challenging task. We propose a conceptual framework that aims to capture interdisciplinarity in the wider sense of knowledge integration, by exploring the concepts of diversity and coherence. Disciplinary diversity indicators are developed to describe the heterogeneity of a bibliometric set viewed from predefined categories, i.e. using a top-down approach that locates the set on the global map of science. Network coherence indicators are constructed to measure the intensity of similarity relations within a bibliometric set, i.e. using a bottom-up approach, which reveals the structural consistency of the publications network. We carry out case studies on individual articles in bionanoscience to illustrate how these two perspectives identify different aspects of interdisciplinarity: disciplinary diversity indicates the large-scale breadth of the knowledge base of a publication; network coherence reflects the novelty of its knowledge integration. We suggest that the combination of these two approaches may be useful for comparative studies of emergent scientific and technological fields, where new and controversial categorisations are accompanied by equally contested claims of novelty and interdisciplinarity.     

Looking across communicative genres: a call for inclusive indicators of interdisciplinarity

Disciplines vary in the types of communicative genres they use to disseminate knowledge and citing patterns used within these genres. However, citation analyses have predominately relied on the references and citations of one type of communicative genre. It is argued that this is particularly problematic for studies of interdisciplinarity, where analyses bias the disciplines that communicate using the genre under investigation. This may lead to inaccurate or incomplete results in terms of fully understanding the interrelationships between disciplines. This study analyzes a set of 15,870 references from 97 LIS dissertations, in order to demonstrate the difference in discipline and author rankings, based on the genre under investigation. This work encourages future work that takes into account multiple citing and cited works, especially where indicators of interdisciplinarity are used for the allocation of resources or ranking of scholars.     

Validating indicators of interdisciplinarity: linking bibliometric measures to studies of engineering research labs

This article examines the extent to which specific features of interdisciplinary research are accurately reflected in selected bibliometric measures of scholarly publications over time. To test the validity of these measures, we compare knowledge of research processes and impact based on ethnographic studies of a well-established researcher’s laboratory, together with personal interview data, against bibliometric indicators of cognitive integration, diffusion, and impact represented in the entire portfolio of papers produced by this researcher over time.     

Science indicators and science policy

The relation of science indicators to science policy raises several questions. First is the definition of the system, whether just academic science or the entire system of technical innovation from research through manufacturing and marketing or government policy and operations. Second is society's expectations whose realization depends more on political social factors than on science itself. Third is how the output of research can be compared with the imputs into it if there is no norm other than comparative international performance.     

The prediction of science indicators using information theory

The study discusses the application of various forms of time series analysis to national performance data for EEC countries and the US. First, it is shown that at the aggregated level, a straightforward relation exists between output and input, which varies with time. Various analytical techniques to account for the time factor are discussed. By using information theory, a simple formula can be derived which gives the best prediction for the following year's data. Subsequently, this model is extended to multi-variate forecasting of distributions. Additionally, it can be shown by using this method that in terms of percentage of world share of publications the hypothesis that the EEC develops as a single publication system has to be rejected. However, when co-authorship relations among EEC member countries are used as an indicator, the predominance of a system is suggested.     

On the supplementary functions of science and technology indicators

Starting from a simple phase model for scientific and technological progress the supplementary functions of various science and technology indicators are discussed. In particular, patent and literature indicators in the field of telecommunicationsR&D in West Germany are presented and compared. In addition, a few selected technometric,R&D expenditure, and trade data are included for the sake of completeness. This network of science and technology indicators is employed to analyse the institutional set up and the trends in telecommunicationsR&D on the macro-level (national level) as well as for singleR&D actors (institutional or micro-level). Further, the role of academic and other publicR&D in West Germany, including the regional distribution of activities and the specialization with respect to telecommunication subfields, are assessed. It is concluded that the various science and technology indicators — at least in the case of West German telecommunications —supplement each other. Synergisms between indicators do exist and should be explored better in future work. The case of telecommunications is ideal for such an exploratory assessment as it includes basic and applied research as well as strong industrial development activities.     

Comments on “international indicators of science and technology”

Science Indicators-1976 has been prepared with a great deal of skill and is a valuable document. The fact that it reflects the unsatisfactory state of basic knowledge of the ways in which science and technology affect, and are affected by, various economic, social, and political variables of interest to policy makers is no fault of its authors. Nonetheless, in handling some topics, the report might have gone further in indicating the limitations of the measures used. Also, several topics omitted from the report might be considered for inclusion in subsequent editions.     

Textual and nontextual characteristics of scientific papers: Neglected science indicators

The citation rates of scientific papers, long used by numerous sociologists of science to measure the influence of individual scientists and the diffusion of knowledge, are shown to be partly affected by the various structural characteristics of these papers. Based on an analysis of 221 scientific papers in three cocitation clusters, between 15 and 35 percent of the variation in citation rates is found to be a function of those papers' textual and nontextual characteristics. The citation rates of papers in the Burkitts-Lymphoma and Heavy Quark Potential clusters are shown to be heavily dependent on abstract characteristics such as readability and number of uncommon words. The citation rates of DNA cluster papers are observed to be significantly affected by both the number of references and figures found in teh body of those papers. Of particular note is the fact that while the readability of abstracts is shown to decrease the citation rates of Burkitts-Lymphoma papers, the opposite is true of Heavy Quark Potential papers.Dedicated to the memory of Michael J. MoravcsikAn earlier version of this paper was presented at the 1988 Meetings of the American Sociological Association, Atlanta, GA (USA).     

Advances in science and technology of modern energetic materials: an overview

Energetic materials such as explosives, propellants and pyrotechnics are widely used for both civilian and military explosives applications. The present review focuses briefly on the synthesis aspects and some of the physico-chemical properties of energetic materials of the class: (a) aminopyridine-N-oxides, (b) energetic azides, (c) high nitrogen content energetic materials, (d) imidazoles, (e) insensitive energetic materials, (f) oxidizers, (g) nitramines, (h) nitrate esters and (i) thermally stable explosives. A brief comment is also made on the emerging nitration concepts. This paper also reviews work done on primary explosives of current and futuristic interest based on energetic co-ordination compounds. Lead-free co-ordination compounds are the candidates of tomorrow's choice in view of their additional advantage of being eco-friendly. Another desirable attribute of lead free class of energetic compounds is the presence of almost equivalent quantity of fuel and oxidizer moieties. These compounds may find wide spectrum of futuristic applications in the area of energetic materials. The over all aim of the high energy materials research community is to develop the more powerful energetic materials/explosive formulations/propellant formulations in comparison to currently known benchmark materials/compositions. Therefore, an attempt is also made to highlight the important contributions made by the various researchers in the frontier areas energetic ballistic modifiers, energetic binders and energetic plasticizers.     

Applicability of the Bradford distribution to international science and technology indicators

This is to assess the applicability of the Bradford distribution to an international science-technology indicators problem. The Bradford distribution which has been empirically known to be valid for the number of scientific articles on a given research topic across journals is applied to the number of scientific articles in a given research field across nations. The Bradford distribution is herein found to provide information of the degree of scientific-technological inequitability between advanced and latecomer nations and, more characteristically, a method for classification of nations into core, middle and peripheral classes with respect to their S&T selfreliance. This may suggest the usefulness of the Bradford distribution for anylsis of international science-technology indicators. Some theoretical discussions on mathematical properties of the Bradford distribution are given.     

Summing up approaches to the study of science and technology indicators

Attempts to reduce the multiplicity and variety of the range of indicators presently used to measure science and technology to lean patterns have so far proved unsuccessful. The reason for this is the ongoing lack of an all-comprehensive theory to rationalise every aspect of intricate and as yet obscure processes such as scientific discovery and technological innovation. We ought to expect from a theory of scientific and technological progress satisfactory not only in abstract terms but also as an empirical analysis is a composition of two aspects — static and dynamic — in a few homogeneous variables.     

Constructing vision-driven indicators to enhance the interaction between science and society

Scientometrics - In this fast-paced modern world, science, technology, and innovation (STI) are key drivers that impact all areas of life at individual and organisational levels, deepening the...     

Tracing the knowledge transfer from science to technology as reflected in patent indicators

The use of references of patent search reports as transfer indications needs a good theoretical understanding of the underlying examination procedures. On this background, different patent indicators based on sample patents and on respective references can be established and combined to a network which gives an interesting insight into the complex process of knowledge transfer from science to technology.     

Lessons from my dinners with the giants of modern image science

The author traces some critical moments in the history of Image Science in the last half century from first-hand or once-removed experience. The Image Science used in the field of medical imaging today had its origins in the analysis of photon detection developed for modern television, conventional photography, and the human visual system. Almost all "model observers" used in image assessment today converge to the model originally used by Albert Rose in his analysis of those classic photo-detectors. A more general statistical analysis of the various "defects" of conventional and unconventional photon-imaging technologies was provided by Shaw. A number of investigators in medical imaging elaborated the work of these pioneers into a synthesis with the general theory of signal detectability and extended this work to the various forms of CT, energy-spectral-dependent imaging, and the further complication of anatomical-background-noise limited imaging. The author calls for further extensions of this work to the problem of under-sampled and thus artefact-limited imaging that will be important issues for high-speed CT and MRI.