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Research profiling: Improving the literature review

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Abstract

We propose enhancing the traditional literature review through “research profiling”. This broad scan of contextual literature can extend the span of science by better linking efforts across research domains. Topical relationships, research trends, and complementary capabilities can be discovered, thereby facilitating research projects. Modern search engine and text mining tools enable research profiling by exploiting the wealth of accessible information in electronic abstract databases such as MEDLINE and Science Citation Index. We illustrate the potential by showing sixteen ways that “research profiling” can augment a traditional literature review on the topic of data mining.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA, 30332-0205, USA

    Alan L. Porter

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  1. Alan L. Porter
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  2. Alisa Kongthon
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  3. Jye-Chyi (JC) Lu
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Porter, A.L., Kongthon, A. & Lu, JC.(. Research profiling: Improving the literature review. Scientometrics 53, 351–370 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014873029258

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