Network influences on scholarly communication in developmental dyslexia: A longitudinal follow‐up

Author cocitation analysis was used to explore ongoing changes in the intellectual structure of the hybrid problem area of developmental dyslexia for the period 1994–1998, and to address ambiguities in results raised by an earlier study of these researchers for the years 1976–1993. Results suggest that: (1) discrepancies between the structure of the sociometric (personal) and author cocitation networks reflect real differences, not temporal factors; (2) differences between cocitation patterns and reports in the literature, and corresponding delays in the visibility of emerging perspectives, are likely due to the “inertia” of aggregate cocitation data and/or by shifts by neuroscience‐vision researchers to publication in more prominent journals; (3) a sharp rise in link density for the neuroscience‐vision subgroup indicates increased cohesiveness and growing maturation for this emerging perspective; (4) shifts in subgroup membership, link density, patterns of coauthorship, and multiple factor loadings suggest possible convergence between other subgroups in the network and identify individuals who may play boundary‐spanning roles within the network; and (5) changing patterns of cocitation throughout the network suggest the increasing influence of studies relating to neurobiological mechanisms underlying dyslexia. The possible contributions of such boundary spanners in addressing the substantial information and communication challenges posed by the increased interdisciplinary character of scholarship in general, also are discussed.