Bibliometric Network Analysis in Systematic Landscape Studies: Defining Concentrations of Ideas Within the Landscape

• In Event: Maximize Capacities of Systematic Reviews: New Tools and Approaches That Can Help

Abstract

Landscape reviews are an attempt to analyze the broad sweep of an academic discipline. Such a review requires both a large, inclusive sample and a way to capture the rich characteristics of that discipline. Neither statistical meta-analysis nor narrative review are well-suited to this task. We propose using bibliometric network analysis, a tool for identifying and understanding citation patterns within a discipline, to conduct large-scale landscape reviews. A general outline for the approach is presented along with a more detailed method for finding meaning within network clusters that emerge in the citation maps. Both are illustrated with a case from a sub-discipline of science education.

Authors

• Michael Giamellaro, Oregon State University

• Joseph Taylor, University of Colorado - Colorado Springs

• Kassandra L'Heureux, Université de Sherbrooke

• Marie-Claude Beaudry, Université de Sherbrooke

• Cory A. Buxton, Oregon State University

• Jean-Philippe Ayotte-Beaudet, Université de Sherbrooke