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Exploratory mapping of theoretical landscapes through word use in abstracts

Author

Listed:
  • Pablo Contreras Kallens

    (Cornell University
    University of California)

  • Rick Dale

    (University of California)

Abstract

We present a case study of how scientometric tools can reveal the structure of scientific theory in a discipline. Specifically, we analyze the patterns of word use in the discipline of cognitive science using latent semantic analysis, a well-known semantic model, in the abstracts of over a thousand academic papers relevant to these theories. Our results show that it is possible to link these theories with specific statistical distributions of words in the abstracts of papers that espouse these theories. We show that theories have different patterns of word use, and that the similarity relationships with each other are intuitive and informative. Moreover, we show that it is possible to predict fairly accurately the theory of a paper by constructing a model of the theories based on their distribution of word use. These results may open new avenues for the application of scientometric tools on theoretical divides.

Suggested Citation

  • Pablo Contreras Kallens & Rick Dale, 2018. "Exploratory mapping of theoretical landscapes through word use in abstracts," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 116(3), pages 1641-1674, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:116:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1007_s11192-018-2811-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-018-2811-x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Werner Marx & Lutz Bornmann, 2010. "How accurately does Thomas Kuhn’s model of paradigm change describe the transition from the static view of the universe to the big bang theory in cosmology?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 84(2), pages 441-464, August.
    2. Scott Deerwester & Susan T. Dumais & George W. Furnas & Thomas K. Landauer & Richard Harshman, 1990. "Indexing by latent semantic analysis," Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 41(6), pages 391-407, September.
    3. Eli M. Blatt, 2009. "Differentiating, describing, and visualizing scientific space: A novel approach to the analysis of published scientific abstracts," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 80(2), pages 385-406, August.
    4. Werner Marx & Lutz Bornmann, 2013. "The emergence of plate tectonics and the Kuhnian model of paradigm shift: a bibliometric case study based on the Anna Karenina principle," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 94(2), pages 595-614, February.
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