Klavans, R; Boyack, KW. 2011. Using Global Mapping to Create More Accurate Document-Level Maps of Research Fields. JASIST. 62 (1): 1-18

[Eugene Garfield]

Klavans, R; Boyack, KW. 2011. Using Global Mapping to Create More Accurate 
Document-Level Maps of Research Fields. JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY 
FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 62 (1): 1-18..

Author Full Name(s): Klavans, Richard; Boyack, Kevin W.
Language: English
Document Type: Article

KeyWords Plus: AUTHOR COCITATION ANALYSIS; INFORMATION-SCIENCE; 
RESEARCH-FRONT; CITATION; LIBRARY

Abstract: We describe two general approaches to creating document-level 
maps of science. To create a local map, one defines and directly maps a 
sample of data, such as all literature published in a set of information science 
journals. To create a global map of a research field, one maps" all of science" 
and then locates a literature sample within that full context. We provide a 
deductive argument that global mapping should create more accurate partitions 
of a research field than does local mapping, followed by practical reasons why 
this may not be so. The field of information science is then mapped at the 
document level using both local and global methods to provide a case 
illustration of the differences between the methods. Textual coherence is used 
to assess the accuracies of both maps. We find that document clusters in the 
global map have significantly higher coherence than do those in the local map, 
and that the global map provides unique insights into the field of information 
science that cannot be discerned from the local map. Specifically, we show 
that information science and computer science have a large interface and that 
computer science is the more progressive discipline at that interface. We also 
show that research communities in temporally linked threads have a much 
higher coherence than do isolated communities, and that this feature can be 
used to predict which threads will persist into a subsequent year. Methods that 
could increase the accuracy of both local and global maps in the future also are 
discussed.

Addresses: [Klavans, Richard] SciTech Strategies Inc, Berwyn, PA 19312 USA; 
[Boyack, Kevin W.] SciTech Strategies Inc, Albuquerque, NM 87122 USA

Reprint Address: Klavans, R, SciTech Strategies Inc, Berwyn, PA 19312 USA.
E-mail Address: rklavans at mapofscience.com; kboyack at mapofscience.com
ISSN: 1532-2882
DOI: 10.1002/asi.21444
fulltext: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/asi.21444/full