Mapping science through bibliometric triangulation: an experimental approach applied to water research

TY - JOUR

T1 - Mapping science through bibliometric triangulation: an experimental approach applied to water research

AU - Wen, Bei

AU - Horlings, Edwin

AU - van der Zouwen, Marielle

AU - Van den Besselaar, P.A.A.

PY - 2017/3/1

Y1 - 2017/3/1

N2 - The idea of constructing science maps based on bibliographic data has intrigued researchers for decades, and various techniques have been developed to map the structure of research disciplines. Most science mapping studies use a single method. However, as research fields have various properties, a valid map of a field should actually be composed of a set of maps derived from a series of investigations using different methods. That leads to the question what can be learned from a combination – triangulation – of these different science maps. In this paper, we propose a method for triangulation, using the example of water science. We combine three different mapping approaches: journal-journal citation relations (JJCR), shared author keywords (SAK), and title word-cited reference co-occurrence (TWRC). Our results demonstrate that triangulation of JJCR, SAK, and TWRC produces a more comprehensive picture than each method does individually. The outcomes from the three different approaches are associated with each other and can be systematically interpreted, and provide insights into the complex multidisciplinary structure of the field of water research.

AB - The idea of constructing science maps based on bibliographic data has intrigued researchers for decades, and various techniques have been developed to map the structure of research disciplines. Most science mapping studies use a single method. However, as research fields have various properties, a valid map of a field should actually be composed of a set of maps derived from a series of investigations using different methods. That leads to the question what can be learned from a combination – triangulation – of these different science maps. In this paper, we propose a method for triangulation, using the example of water science. We combine three different mapping approaches: journal-journal citation relations (JJCR), shared author keywords (SAK), and title word-cited reference co-occurrence (TWRC). Our results demonstrate that triangulation of JJCR, SAK, and TWRC produces a more comprehensive picture than each method does individually. The outcomes from the three different approaches are associated with each other and can be systematically interpreted, and provide insights into the complex multidisciplinary structure of the field of water research.

KW - hybrid mapping

KW - methodological triangulation

KW - science map

KW - water research

KW - scientometrics

U2 - 10.1002/asi.23696

DO - 10.1002/asi.23696

M3 - Article

SN - 1532-2882

VL - 3

SP - 724

JO - Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology

JF - Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology

IS - 68

ER -