Chen, C., Zhang, J., Vogeley, M. S. (2009) Visual analysis of scientific discoveries and knowledge diffusion. Proceedings of the 12^th International Conference on Scientometrics and Informetrics (ISSI 2009). July 14-17, 2009. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

<Preprint>

Visual Analysis of Scientific Discoveries and Knowledge Diffusion

Chaomei Chen¹, Jian Zhang², Michael S. Vogeley³

¹ chaomei.chen@cis.drexel.edu

College of Information Science and Technology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104-2875 (USA)

² jz85@drexel.edu

College of Information Science and Technology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104-2875 (USA)

³ msv23@drexel.edu

Department of Physics, College of Arts and Sciences, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA 19104-2875 (USA)

Abstract

We introduce a new visual analytic approach to the study of scientific discoveries and knowledge diffusion. Our approach enhances contemporary co-citation network analysis by enabling analysts to identify co-citation clusters of cited references intuitively, synthesize thematic contexts in which these clusters are cited, and trace how research focus evolves over time. The new approach integrates and streamlines a few previously isolated techniques such as spectral clustering and feature selection algorithms. The integrative procedure is expected to empower and strengthen analytical and sense making capabilities of scientists, learners, and researchers to understand the dynamics of the evolution of scientific domains in a wide range of scientific fields, science studies, and science policy evaluation and planning. We demonstrate the potential of our approach through a visual analysis of the evolution of astronomical research associated with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) using bibliographic data between 1994 and 2008. Implications on methodological issues are also addressed.