Using scientometrics to mapping Latin American research networks in emerging fields: the field networking index

Current scientometrics and indices are a way to map and evaluate key research topics and researchers’ performance, which facilitate networking and innovations. However, several studies have raised concerns regarding the impact of scientometrics on the development of emerging and interdisciplinary fields. Algorithms and scientometrics help develop and understand scientific networks, but they would become roadblocks for the participation of early career researchers or scientists working in geographic or epistemological peripheries, like Latin American countries and emerging fields like Science and Religion. Scientometrics would accelerate collaborations or increase the risk of epistemic bubbles where relevant ideas and results are left out. This study presents an analysis of the role of scientometrics in developing scientific networks within the context of interdisciplinary social research and their limitations for social research evaluation. Focused on the Latin American scientific networks in an emerging field, we propose and test an alternative framework and methodology: the Field Networking Index (FNI). The FNI considers the semantic relationships of published work within an interdisciplinary domain of knowledge and the scholars’ citations and co-authorships, facilitating the identification and mapping of the field’s most relevant research topics and agents. It allows the classification of authors and network hubs based on the importance of their contribution to the study of the field’s critical issues. This study’s contribution will help develop scientific metrics for funders, policymakers, researchers and universities (especially those interested in emerging fields) to identify, map, and evaluate researchers working in an interdisciplinary field, their interests and theoretical contribution to it.