Studies in the Dynamics of Science : Exploring emergence, classification, and interdisciplinarity

Abstract: The dynamic nature of science is embodied in the growth of knowledge in magnitude and the transformation of knowledge in structure. More specifically, the growth in magnitude is indicated by a sharp increase in the number of scientific publications in recent decades. The transformation of knowledge occurs as the boundaries of scientific disciplines become increasingly less distinct, resulting in a complicated situation wherein disciplines and interdisciplinary research topics coexist and co-evolve. Knowledge production in such a context creates challenges for the measurement of science.This thesisaims to develop more flexible bibliometric methodologies in order to address some of the challenges to measuring science effectively. To be specific, this thesis1) proposes a new approach for identifying emerging research topics; 2) measuresthe interdisciplinarity of research topics; 3) explores the accuracy of the journal classification systems of the Web of Science and Scopus; 4) examines the role of cognitive distance in grant decisions; and 5) investigates the effect of cognitive distance between collaborators on their research output. The data used in this thesisaremainly from the in-house Web of Science and Scopus databases of the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University. Quantitativeanalyses, in particular bibliometric analyses,are the main research methodologies employed in this thesis. Furthermore, this thesis primarily offers methodological contributions, proposing a series of approaches designed to tackle the challenges created by the dynamics of science. While the major contribution of this dissertation lies in the improvement of certain bibliometric approaches, it also enhances the understanding of the current system of science. In particular, the approaches and research findings presented here have implications for various stakeholders, including publishing organizations, bibliographic database producers, research policy makers, and research funding agencies. Indeed, these approaches could be built into a software tool and thereby be made available to researchers beyond the field of bibliometric studies.