A forward diversity index

Stephen Carley () and Alan L. Porter
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Stephen Carley: Georgia Institute of Technology
Alan L. Porter: Georgia Institute of Technology

Scientometrics, 2012, vol. 90, issue 2, No 6, 407-427

Abstract: Abstract We introduce an indicator to measure the diffusion of scientific research. Consistent with Stirling’s 3-factor diversity model, the diffusion score captures not only variety and balance, but also disparity among citing article cohorts. We apply it to benchmark article samples from six 1995 Web of Science subject categories (SCs) to trace trends in knowledge diffusion over time since publication. Findings indicate that, for most SCs, diffusion scores steadily increase with time. Mathematics is an outlier. We employ a typology of citation trends among benchmark SCs and correlate this with diffusion scores. We also find that self-cites do not, in most cases, significantly influence diffusion scores.

Keywords: Knowledge diffusion; Integration score; Diffusion score; Citation patterns; Self-citations; Subject category behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (19)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11192-011-0528-1

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