Visualizing Critical Trails of Scientific Knowledge Chaomei Chen, Drexel University Panel on Mapping Panel on Mapping Science Science Society for Social Studies of Science Annual Meeting in Pasadena, 20-22 October, Society for Social Studies of Science Annual Meeting in Pasadena, 20-22 October, 2005 2005
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Visualizing Critical Trails of Scientific Knowledge Chaomei Chen, Drexel University Panel on Mapping Science Society for Social Studies of Science Annual.
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Visualizing Critical Trails of Scientific KnowledgeChaomei Chen, Drexel University
Panel on Mapping SciencePanel on Mapping ScienceSociety for Social Studies of Science Annual Meeting in Pasadena, 20-22 October, 2005 Society for Social Studies of Science Annual Meeting in Pasadena, 20-22 October, 2005
Questions• How does scientific knowledge evolve?• If there is a such thing as a paradigm, where can
we find its fingerprints, footprints, or both?• Can we X-ray or video type the evolution of
scientific knowledge and find the most critical pathways?
• Can we make science maps so that one could see where intellectual sharp turns were made, conceptual gulfs were bridged, and lessons learned were diffused?
• Examples• Conceptual revolutions: string theory; accelerating universe• Scientific debates: mass extinctions; global warming• Response to external events: terrorist attacks• Scientific evidence: NSAID or Vioxx
Social Networks:
Weak ties and Structural Holes
“Creativity is the friction of the attention space at the moments when the structural blocks are grinding against one another the
hardest”
• The philosophers of greatest repute tended to be rivals representing conflicting schools of thought for their generation.
Collins 1998, p. 76
Social Network of Coauthorship
1 2
3
AB
C
Structural Hole Measures
Betweenness Centrality
Core/Periphery Class Density matrix 1 2 ----- ----- 1 0.280 0.007 2 0.007 0.002
Weak Components
Structural and Temporal Patterns• Are maps valid representations of scientific fields or of science as a
whole, and what are the viable approaches to validation? – Terrorism (1990-2004), domain experts at pivotal points– String theory (1990-2004), domain experts at pivotal points
• What social and intellectual realities do they capture, or fail to capture? – IST co-authorship (1990-2005)
• Can scientific controversies be represented by maps and what do they look like? – Global warming debates– Mass extinctions debates– Vioxx, evidence
• Can maps inform us about the history of a field? – Terrorism, Mass extinctions
• Do they reflect a “collective mind” of science, or are they merely artifactual aggregates of particularistic behavior?
• Finally, what is the audience for such maps: the scientific elite or the masses?
An animation of botox research http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~cc345/video/citation_land_local.avi
• Structural and Temporal Analysis– Intellectual turning points– Emerging themes
before … after!
Why Scientists Cite? • Normative View
– Citations are made because of the intellectual values of cited works.
– They should not be affected by social and cultural characteristics such as race, gender, or academic rank.
Why Scientists Cite?
• Social Constructivist View– Scientific knowledge is socially constructed
and motivated by political and rhetorical reasons.
– Scientists use citations primarily as tools of persuasion.
– Citations serve as a vehicle to enlist the support of eminent authors and win over readers.
Why Scientists Cite?
• Which way is it?– Stewart, J. A. Drifting Continents and Colliding Paradigms:
Perspectives on the Geoscience Revolution. Indiana University Press, 1990.
– Baldi, S. Normative versus social constructivist processes in the allocation of citations: A network-analytic model. American Sociological Review, 63 (6). 829-846.
– White, H.D., Wellman, B. and Nazer, N. Does citation reflect social structure? Longitudinal evidence from the 'Gobenet' interdisciplinary research group. Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 55 (2). 111-126.
• Scientists tend to cite papers because of their intellectual values!
What Scientists Cite?
• Foundational papers
• Recent papers
foundational recent
What Scientists Cite?
• Foundational papers
• Recent papers
Hargens, L.L. Using the Literature: Reference Networks, Reference Contexts, and the Social Structure of Scholarship. American Sociological Review, 65 (6). 846-865.
foundational recent
physics, biomedicinesociology, psychology
Paradigm Shift• Normative
– Citations reflect intellectual values.
• Recentness– Citations register new concepts and new
• Graph-Theoretical Analysis and Clustering– Centrality– Citation Half-Life
PubMedPubMed
Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
CiteSeerCiteSeer
Web of ScienceWeb of Science
ACM DLACM DL
Topic search
“terrorism”
Designcitingauthor
citingauthor
co-authorship
cocitationcited author
or paper
cited author
or paper
extractedkeyword
extractedkeyword
topic-reference topic-reference
centralitycentrality
annual annual citationscitations
surgesurge
MSTMSTPathfinderPathfinder
Expected Patterns• Thematic grouping
• Intellectual turning points
• Thematic change over time
• Abrupt changes associated with triggers
Validated by Experts
• String Theory– Physicists
• Terrorism– Physiatrists – Medicine– Political Science
• Mass Extinction– Ocean Paleontologist
ACA
DCA
Co-Authorship
JCA
Co-Term
(Burst)
1994-2004
N=469, E=1,798
27 Biological Warfare
17 Violence
14 BioterrorismN=93
N=45
11 Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/*epidemiology
9 Terrorism/*psychology
8 Disasters
N=31
11 Explosions
7 Violence
4 Blast Injuries/*mortality
Evolving over time
MeSHMeSH
Summary1. Scientific literature reflects the underlying
changes in scientific paradigms.
2. Deeper processing is necessary to sharpen the big picture of intellectual changes.
3. Given the structural and temporal scale, complexity, and dynamics of a knowledge domain, there is still a long way to go to turn a challenging and fascinating ambition to pragmatic and everyday tools and applications.
The CiteSpace HomepageThe CiteSpace Homepagehttp://cluster.cis.drexel.edu/~cchen/citespace