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Semantic word shifts in a scientific domain

Author

Listed:
  • Baitong Chen

    (Shanghai University)

  • Ying Ding

    (Indiana University
    Wuhan University
    Tianjin Normal University)

  • Feicheng Ma

    (Wuhan University)

Abstract

Understanding semantic word shifts in scientific domains is essential for facilitating interdisciplinary communication. Using a data set of published papers in the field of information retrieval (IR), this paper studies the semantic shifts of words in IR based on mining per-word topic distribution over time. We propose that semantic word shifts not only occur over time, but also over topics. The shifts are examined from two perspectives, the topic-level and the context-level. According to the over-time word-topic distribution, stable words and unstable words are recognized. The diverging and converging trends in the unstable type reveal characteristics of the topic evolution process. The context-level shifts are further detected by similarities between word vectors. Our work associates semantic word shifts with the evolving of topics, which facilitates a better understanding of semantic word shifts from both topics and contexts.

Suggested Citation

  • Baitong Chen & Ying Ding & Feicheng Ma, 2018. "Semantic word shifts in a scientific domain," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 117(1), pages 211-226, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:117:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s11192-018-2843-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-018-2843-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Yan, Erjia & Ding, Ying & Milojević, Staša & Sugimoto, Cassidy R., 2012. "Topics in dynamic research communities: An exploratory study for the field of information retrieval," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 140-153.
    2. Chen, Baitong & Tsutsui, Satoshi & Ding, Ying & Ma, Feicheng, 2017. "Understanding the topic evolution in a scientific domain: An exploratory study for the field of information retrieval," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 1175-1189.
    3. Jian Xu & Ying Ding & Vincent Malic, 2015. "Author Credit for Transdisciplinary Collaboration," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(9), pages 1-19, September.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Qiang Gao & Xiao Huang & Ke Dong & Zhentao Liang & Jiang Wu, 2022. "Semantic-enhanced topic evolution analysis: a combination of the dynamic topic model and word2vec," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(3), pages 1543-1563, March.
    3. Jie Chen & Jialin Chen & Shu Zhao & Yanping Zhang & Jie Tang, 2020. "Exploiting word embedding for heterogeneous topic model towards patent recommendation," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 125(3), pages 2091-2108, December.
    4. Zhang, Tongyang & Sun, Ran & Fensel, Julia & Yu, Andrew & Bu, Yi & Xu, Jian, 2023. "Understanding the domain development through a word status observation model," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 17(2).
    5. Pin Li & Guoli Yang & Chuanqi Wang, 2019. "Visual topical analysis of library and information science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 121(3), pages 1753-1791, December.
    6. Mao, Jin & Liang, Zhentao & Cao, Yujie & Li, Gang, 2020. "Quantifying cross-disciplinary knowledge flow from the perspective of content: Introducing an approach based on knowledge memes," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 14(4).

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