Mapping intellectual structures and dynamics of transport geography research: a scientometric overview from 1982 to 2014

Chengliang Liu () and Qinchang Gui
Additional contact information
Chengliang Liu: East China Normal University
Qinchang Gui: East China Normal University

Scientometrics, 2016, vol. 109, issue 1, No 9, 159-184

Abstract: Abstract To date, less care has been taken to quantitatively visualize the intellectual evolution of transport geography research than to qualitatively review this field. Based on big-data literature from the Thomson Reuters Web of Science as well as scientometric mapping analysis, this important research topic is analyzed by techniques from informetric domains to detect its developmental landscape. After data reduction and clean-up, 4840 articles published from 1982 to 2014 are identified on which two network analyses are conducted: a bibliometric approach (i.e. co-occurrence and co-citation network) and a complex network approach utilizing C. Chen’s CiteSpaceII, O. Persson’s BibExcel and ESRI’s ArcGIS. Results illustrate the following: (1) periods including the rise (1960–1970s), to a stagnation period (1980–1990s), to a boom (since 1990); (2) that the change of research frontiers and hot issues is either social oriented or topic oriented; (3) that its development owes a good deal to cooperative subnetworks (schools) of six academic communities—Urban Planning, Marxist Geography, Mobility Turn, New Economic Geography, Port Geography, and Time Geography; and (4) that its research methods tend to be diversified and integrated, while its research perspective is inclined to be microcosmic and oriented to social hot issues. Finally, 23 documents are identified as playing the pivotal role in its knowledge evolution as an intellectual base.

Keywords: Transport geography; Intellectual structures and dynamics; Scientometric mapping; Complex network (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11192-016-2045-8 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

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:spr:scient:v:109:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1007_s11192-016-2045-8

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/11192

DOI: 10.1007/s11192-016-2045-8

Access Statistics for this article

Scientometrics is currently edited by Wolfgang Glänzel

More articles in Scientometrics from Springer, Akadémiai Kiadó
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().