Skip to main content
Log in

Studying leadership and subdisciplinary structure of scientific disciplines

Cluster analysis of participation in Scientific Meetings

  • Published:
Scientometrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A new method for the analysis of leadership and subdisciplinary structure of a scientific discipline is discussed. The database consists of lists of participants in international scientific meetings. Disciplinary leaders are identified by means of their frequency of participation. The subdisciplinary structure is mapped by means of cluster analysis of meetings with respect to degree of similarily. The method possesses strengths not shared by citation analysis: in addition to scientists frequently cited in the literature for their contribution to cognitive research programs, it also identifies administrative discipline builders. The method may also represent better the cognitive interests of scientists.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes and comments

  1. W. L. Giusti, L. Georghiou, The use of co-nomination analysis in rela-time evaluation of a R&D programme,Scientometrics, 14 (1988) 265–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. A. Schubert, S. Zsindely, T. Braun, Scientometric analysis of attendance at international scientific meetings,Scientometrics, 5 (1983) 177–187;E. Kranakis, L. Leydesdorf, Teletraffic conferences. Studying a field of engineering science,Scientometrics, 15 (1989) 563–591;B. Martens, T. Saretzki, Conferences and courses on biotechnology. Describing scientific communication by exploratory methods,Scientometrics, 27 (1993) 237–260. These studies either do not utilize attendance data, or do it for other purposes than we have done in this pape

    Google Scholar 

  3. For a review of the literature, seeT. Söderqvist, A. M. Silverstein, Participation in scientific meetings. A new prosopographical approach to the disciplinary history of science,Social Studies of Science, (in press, 1994).

  4. Les Congrès internationaux de 1681 á 1899: liste complète Brussels: Union des Associations Internationales, 1960.

  5. R. H. Orr, E. B. Coyl, A. A. Leeds, Trends in oral communication among biomedical scientists. Meeting and travel,Federation Proceedings, 23 (1964) 1146–1154 (data from Fig. 1).

    Google Scholar 

  6. T. Lenoir, The discipline of nature and the nature of disciplines, In:E. Messer-Davidow, D. Silvan, D. Shumway (Eds),Knowledges: Historical and Critical Studies in Disciplinarity, Charolottesville, University of Virginia Press, in press.

  7. A. M. Moulin,Le dernier langage de la médicine: Histoire de l'immunologie de Pasteur au Sida, Paris, Presses Universitaires, 1991;A. M. Silverstein,A History of Immunology, New York, Academic Press, 1989;G. Corbellini,L'evoluzione del pensiero immunologico, Torino, Bollati Boringhieri, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  8. A. M. Silverstein, The dynamics of conceptual change in twentieth century immunology,Cellular Immunology, 132 (1991) 515–531.

    Google Scholar 

  9. For a list of these meetings, seeSöderqvist andSilverstein, Ref. 3. Participation in scientific meetings. A new prosopographical approach to the disciplinary history of science,Social Studies of Science, (in press, 1994).

  10. A. D. Gordon,Classification, London, Chapman and Hall, 1981;L. Kaufman, P. J. Rousseeuw,Finding Groups in Data: An Introduction to Cluster Analysis, New York, John Wiley & Sons, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Gordon, —; Ref. 10. The cluster analysis was performed with a SAS program package licensed to Stanford University.

    Google Scholar 

  12. H. G. Small, A co-citation model of a scientific specialty. A longitudinal study of collagen research,Social Studies of Science, 7 (1977) 139–166.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Lenoir Ref. 6.T. Lenoir, The discipline of nature and the nature of disciplines, In:E. Messer-Davidow, D. Silvan, D. Shumway (Eds),Knowledges: Historical and Critical Studies in Disciplinarity, Charlottesville, University of virginia Press, in press.

  14. T. A. Brooks, Evidence of complex citer motivations,Journal of American Information Science, 37 (1986) 34.

    Google Scholar 

  15. L. Leydesdorff, Various methods for the mapping of science,Scientometrics, 11 (1987) 295–324.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Söderqvist, T., Silverstein, A.M. Studying leadership and subdisciplinary structure of scientific disciplines. Scientometrics 30, 243–258 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02017226

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02017226

Keywords

Navigation