Interdisciplinary Research Maps: A new technique for visualizing research topics

PLoS One. 2020 Nov 24;15(11):e0242283. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0242283. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

This article introduces Interdisciplinary Research Maps as a novel visualization technique to assist with interdisciplinary research analytics and to map common (and distinct) topics across publications from different disciplines. We detail the method for this technique which is based on entity linking and illustrate its application to a sample of articles sourced from the top business/management and environmental sciences journals. Both fields have separately been criticized for a lack of interdisciplinary research to co-create insights for tackling pressing environmental issues such as climate change. Our mapping approach provides a starting point for exploring similarities and differences in research topics across these fields. The mapping technique introduced here has broader applicability to facilitate the creation and exchange of knowledge across fields. We discuss avenues for visualization techniques to bridge the different fields by focusing on identifying common concepts to provide a basis for future analysis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bibliometrics*
  • Commerce
  • Environmental Science
  • Humans
  • Interdisciplinary Research* / statistics & numerical data
  • Periodicals as Topic

Grants and funding

M.L. acknowledges funding from the Australian Research Council, grant DP160103425. URL arc.gov.au. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.