The role of online search platforms in scientific diffusion

Kyriakos Drivas

Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, 2025, vol. 76, issue 3, 580-603

Abstract: After the launch of Google Scholar older papers experienced an increase in their citations, a finding consistent with a reduction in search costs and introduction of ranking algorithms. I employ this observation to examine how recombination of science takes place in the era of online search platforms. The findings show that as papers become more discoverable, their knowledge is diffused beyond their own broad field. Results are mixed when examining knowledge diffusion within the same field. The results contribute to the ongoing debate of narrowing of science. While there might a general reduction in recombination of knowledge across distant fields over the last decades, online search platforms are not the culprits.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://doi.org/10.1002/asi.24959

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:jinfst:v:76:y:2025:i:3:p:580-603

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.blackwell ... bs.asp?ref=2330-1635

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology from Association for Information Science & Technology
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Wiley Content Delivery ().