Title
A forward diversity index
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.
Year
DOI
Venue
2012
10.1007/s11192-011-0528-1
Scientometrics
Keywords
Field
DocType
Knowledge diffusion,Integration score,Diffusion score,Citation patterns,Self-citations,Subject category behavior
Diversity index,Data mining,Computer science,Citation,Outlier,Typology,Statistics,Scientific method
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
90
2
0138-9130
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
17
0.81
15
Authors
2
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Stephen Carley1906.68
Alan L. Porter239832.61