Vargas-Quesada, B; de Moya-Anegon, F; Chinchilla-Rodriguez, Z; Gonzalez-Molina, A. 2010. Showing the essential science structure of a scientific domain and its evolution. INFORMATION VISUALIZATION 9 (4): 288-300

[Eugene Garfield]

Vargas-Quesada, B; de Moya-Anegon, F; Chinchilla-Rodriguez, Z; Gonzalez-
Molina, A. 2010. Showing the essential science structure of a scientific domain 
and its evolution. INFORMATION VISUALIZATION 9 (4): 288-300..

Author Full Name(s): Vargas-Quesada, Benjamin; de Moya-Anegon, Felix; 
Chinchilla-Rodriguez, Zaida; Gonzalez-Molina, Antonio

Language: English
Document Type: Article
Author Keywords: information visualization; ISI categories cocitation; scientific 
domains; network visualization; network evolution; pathfinder network

KeyWords Plus: AUTHOR COCITATION ANALYSIS; ITEM SUBJECT 
CLASSIFICATION; INFORMATION-SCIENCE; PATHFINDER NETWORKS; DIGITAL 
LIBRARIES; CITATION ANALYSIS; INTELLECTUAL STRUCTURE; KNOWLEDGE 
DOMAINS; MAPPING SCIENCE; WORD ANALYSIS

Abstract: Category cocitation and its representation through social networks is 
proving to be a very adequate technique for the visualization and analysis of 
great scientific domains. Its combination with pathfinder networks using pruning 
values r=infinity and q=n-1 makes manifest the essence of research in the 
domain represented, or what we might call the 'most salient structure'. The 
possible loss of structural information, caused by aggressive pruning in 
peripheral areas of the networks, is overcome by creating heliocentric maps for 
each category. The depictions obtained with this procedure become tools of 
great usefulness in view of their capacity to reveal the evolution of a given 
scientific domain over time, to show differences and similarities between 
different domains, and to suggest possible new lines for development. This 
article presents the scientogram of the United States for the year 2002, 
identifying its essential structure. We also show the scientograms of China for 
the years 1990 and 2002, in order to study its particular national evolution. 
Finally, we try to detect patterns and tendencies in the three scientograms 
that would allow one to predict or flag the evolution of a scientific domain. 
Information Visualization (2010) 9, 288-300. doi:10.1057/ivs.2009.33; published 
online 24 December 2009

Addresses: [Vargas-Quesada, Benjamin] Univ Granada, Commun & Informat Sci 
Fac, Colegio Maximo Cartuja, E-18071 Granada, Spain; [Vargas-Quesada, 
Benjamin; Gonzalez-Molina, Antonio] CSIC, Unidad Asociada Grp SCImago, 
Granada 18071, Spain; [de Moya-Anegon, Felix; Chinchilla-Rodriguez, Zaida] 
CSIC CCHS IPP, Madrid 28037, Spain

Reprint Address: Vargas-Quesada, B, Univ Granada, Commun & Informat Sci 
Fac, Colegio Maximo Cartuja, E-18071 Granada, Spain.

E-mail Address: benjamin at ugr.es
ISSN: 1473-8716
DOI: 10.1057/ivs.2009.33
fulltext: http://www.palgrave-
journals.com/ivs/journal/v9/n4/full/ivs200933a.html