Is low interdisciplinarity of references an unexpected characteristic of Nobel Prize winning research?

Xian Li, Ronald Rousseau, Liming Liang, Fangjie Xi, Yushuang Lü, Yifan Yuan and Xiaojun Hu ()
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Xian Li: Zhejiang University School of Medicine
Ronald Rousseau: Facultair Onderzoekscentrum ECOOM, KU Leuven
Liming Liang: Henan Normal University
Fangjie Xi: Zhejiang University School of Medicine
Yushuang Lü: Zhejiang University School of Medicine
Yifan Yuan: Zhejiang University School of Medicine
Xiaojun Hu: Zhejiang University School of Medicine

Scientometrics, 2022, vol. 127, issue 4, No 20, 2105-2122

Abstract: Abstract In this contribution, we conduct a multi-angular analysis of the interdisciplinarity of Nobel Prize winning research compared to non-Nobel Prize winning articles, based on a large data set. Here interdisciplinarity is measured by the diversity of references, using two true diversity indicators. Articles mentioned by the Nobel Prize committee in Physiology or Medicine (in short: NP articles) awarded during the period from 1900 to 2016 are the focus of our research. These articles are compared with those in a dataset of articles that do not include a Nobel Prize winner among their authors. Moreover, these non-NPs articles were not only published in the same year and in the same research field as the NP ones but were also dealing with the same research topic (such articles are referred to as non-NP articles). The results suggest that the topic-related knowledge included in Nobel Prize winning work is higher than that in non-NPs, hence with lower interdisciplinarity than the latter. Our findings provide useful clues to better understand the characteristics of transformative research, here represented by key publications by Nobel Prize laureates in Physiology or Medicine, and their pattern of knowledge integration.

Keywords: Transformative research; Nobel Prize winning articles; Diversity of references; Matching groups; Unexpected characteristics; Science of science (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11192-022-04290-0

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