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Diversity and interdisciplinarity: how can one distinguish and recombine disparity, variety, and balance?

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  • Loet Leydesdorff

    (University of Amsterdam)

Abstract

The dilemma which remained unsolved using Rao-Stirling diversity, namely of how variety and balance can be combined into “dual concept diversity” (Stirling in SPRU electronic working paper series no. 28. http://www.sussex.ac.uk/Units/spru/publications/imprint/sewps/sewp28/sewp28.pdf , 1998, p. 48f.) can be clarified by using Nijssen et al.’s (Coenoses 13(1):33–38 1998) argument that the Gini coefficient is a perfect indicator of balance. However, the Gini coefficient is not an indicator of variety; this latter term can be operationalized independently as relative variety. The three components of diversity—variety, balance, and disparity—can thus be clearly distinguished and independently operationalized as measures varying between zero and one. The new diversity indicator ranges with more resolving power in the empirical case.

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  • Loet Leydesdorff, 2018. "Diversity and interdisciplinarity: how can one distinguish and recombine disparity, variety, and balance?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 116(3), pages 2113-2121, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:116:y:2018:i:3:d:10.1007_s11192-018-2810-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-018-2810-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    8. Loet Leydesdorff & Dieter Franz Kogler & Bowen Yan, 2017. "Mapping patent classifications: portfolio and statistical analysis, and the comparison of strengths and weaknesses," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 112(3), pages 1573-1591, September.
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    2. Reinhold Kosfeld & Timo Mitze, 2020. "The role of R&D-intensive clusters for regional competitiveness," MAGKS Papers on Economics 202001, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    3. Ascione, Grazia Sveva, 2023. "Technological diversity to address complex challenges: the contribution of American universities to sdgs," MPRA Paper 119452, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Reinhold Kosfeld & Timo Mitze, 2023. "Research and development intensive clusters and regional competitiveness," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(4), pages 885-911, December.
    5. Xiaojing Cai & Xiaozan Lyu & Ping Zhou, 2023. "The relationship between interdisciplinarity and citation impact—a novel perspective on citation accumulation," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, December.
    6. Fabio Zagonari, 2019. "Scientific Production and Productivity for Characterizing an Author’s Publication History: Simple and Nested Gini’s and Hirsch’s Indexes Combined," Publications, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-30, May.
    7. Meijun Liu & Sijie Yang & Yi Bu & Ning Zhang, 2023. "Female early-career scientists have conducted less interdisciplinary research in the past six decades: evidence from doctoral theses," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-16, December.
    8. Chen, Shiji & Qiu, Junping & Arsenault, Clément & Larivière, Vincent, 2021. "Exploring the interdisciplinarity patterns of highly cited papers," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 15(1).
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    10. Haeussler, Carolin & Sauermann, Henry, 2020. "Division of labor in collaborative knowledge production: The role of team size and interdisciplinarity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(6).
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    13. Rüdiger Mutz, 2022. "Diversity and interdisciplinarity: Should variety, balance and disparity be combined as a product or better as a sum? An information-theoretical and statistical estimation approach," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(12), pages 7397-7414, December.
    14. Gangan Prathap, 2019. "Balance: a thermodynamic perspective," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 119(1), pages 247-255, April.
    15. Shiji Chen & Yanhui Song & Fei Shu & Vincent Larivière, 2022. "Interdisciplinarity and impact: the effects of the citation time window," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(5), pages 2621-2642, May.
    16. Leydesdorff, Loet & Wagner, Caroline S. & Bornmann, Lutz, 2019. "Interdisciplinarity as diversity in citation patterns among journals: Rao-Stirling diversity, relative variety, and the Gini coefficient," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 13(1), pages 255-269.
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