Mapping the temporal evolution of scientific community structures

Abstract

We present results from tracking the temporal evolution of community structures within a research specialty. This extends our previous work in which we generated static community maps that combine co‐author networks and direct citation networks derived from 20‐years of publications in the research specialty. Here, we explore how the temporal evolution of these maps can be used to provide insights into the historical evolution of a field as well as extract more accurate snapshots of the community structures at a given point in time. Such time resolved mappings are an important component in our mixed method approach that integrates network analysis with ethnographic field studies to investigate field‐specific communication and collaboration behaviors in scientific communities (Velden & Lagoze 2013). Evaluating these maps in qualitative interviews with field experts will be the next step in our research.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111255/1/meet14505101143.pd