IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/scient/v116y2018i2d10.1007_s11192-018-2796-5.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Accumulation of knowledge in para-scientific areas: the case of analytic philosophy

Author

Listed:
  • Eugenio Petrovich

    (University of Milan)

Abstract

This study analyzes how the accumulation of knowledge takes place in para-scientific areas, focusing on the case of Analytic Philosophy. The theoretical framework chosen for the analysis is Kuhn’s theory of normal science. The methodology employed is qualitative citation context analysis. A sample of 60 papers published in leading Analytic Philosophy journals between 1950 and 2009 is analyzed, and a specific classificatory scheme is developed to classify citations according to their epistemological function. Compared to previous studies of citation context, this is the first paper that includes the temporal dimension into the analysis of citation context, in order to gain insights into the process of knowledge accumulation. Interestingly, the results show that Analytic Philosophy started accumulating after Second World War, but in a peculiar way. The accumulation was not matched by a corresponding rising consensus. This can be explained by the hypothesis that AP underwent a process of fragmentation in sub-fields during the second half of the century.

Suggested Citation

  • Eugenio Petrovich, 2018. "Accumulation of knowledge in para-scientific areas: the case of analytic philosophy," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 116(2), pages 1123-1151, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:116:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s11192-018-2796-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-018-2796-5
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11192-018-2796-5
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11192-018-2796-5?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Blaise Cronin & Debora Shaw & Kathryn La Barre, 2003. "A cast of thousands: Coauthorship and subauthorship collaboration in the 20th century as manifested in the scholarly journal literature of psychology and philosophy," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 54(9), pages 855-871, July.
    2. Iñaki Ucar & Felipe López-Fernandino & Pablo Rodriguez-Ulibarri & Laura Sesma-Sanchez & Veronica Urrea-Micó & Joaquín Sevilla, 2014. "Growth in the number of references in engineering journal papers during the 1972–2013 period," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 98(3), pages 1855-1864, March.
    3. Henry Kreuzman, 2001. "A co-citation analysis of representative authors in philosophy: Examining the relationship between epistemologists and philosophers of science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 51(3), pages 525-539, July.
    4. Marc Bertin & Iana Atanassova & Cassidy R. Sugimoto & Vincent Lariviere, 2016. "The linguistic patterns and rhetorical structure of citation context: an approach using n-grams," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 109(3), pages 1417-1434, December.
    5. Nees Jan Eck & Ludo Waltman, 2010. "Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program for bibliometric mapping," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 84(2), pages 523-538, August.
    6. Patricia A. Hooten, 1991. "Frequency and functional use of cited documents in information science," Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 42(6), pages 397-404, July.
    7. Per Ahlgren & Peter Pagin & Olle Persson & Maria Svedberg, 2015. "Bibliometric analysis of two subdomains in philosophy: free will and sorites," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 103(1), pages 47-73, April.
    8. Henry Kreuzman, 2001. "A co-citation analysis of representative authors in philosophy: Examining the relationship between epistemologists and philosophers of science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 50(3), pages 525-539, January.
    9. K. Brad Wray, 2014. "Specialization in philosophy: a preliminary study," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 98(3), pages 1763-1769, March.
    10. K. Brad Wray & Lutz Bornmann, 2015. "Philosophy of science viewed through the lense of “Referenced Publication Years Spectroscopy” (RPYS)," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 102(3), pages 1987-1996, March.
    11. Björn Hellqvist, 2010. "Referencing in the humanities and its implications for citation analysis," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 61(2), pages 310-318, February.
    12. Björn Hellqvist, 2010. "Referencing in the humanities and its implications for citation analysis," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 61(2), pages 310-318, February.
    13. Charles Oppenheim & Susan P. Renn, 1978. "Highly cited old papers and the reasons why they continue to be cited," Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 29(5), pages 225-231, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Eugenio Petrovich, 2018. "Reply to Wray," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 117(1), pages 651-654, October.
    2. Eugenio Petrovich & Sander Verhaegh & Gregor Bös & Claudia Cristalli & Fons Dewulf & Ties Gemert & Nina IJdens, 2024. "Bibliometrics beyond citations: introducing mention extraction and analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 129(9), pages 5731-5768, September.
    3. Lutz Bornmann & K. Brad Wray & Robin Haunschild, 2020. "Citation concept analysis (CCA): a new form of citation analysis revealing the usefulness of concepts for other researchers illustrated by exemplary case studies including classic books by Thomas S. K," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 122(2), pages 1051-1074, February.
    4. K. Brad Wray, 2018. "A note on measuring normal science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 117(1), pages 647-650, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Per Ahlgren & Peter Pagin & Olle Persson & Maria Svedberg, 2015. "Bibliometric analysis of two subdomains in philosophy: free will and sorites," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 103(1), pages 47-73, April.
    2. John McLevey & Alexander V. Graham & Reid McIlroy-Young & Pierson Browne & Kathryn S. Plaisance, 2018. "Interdisciplinarity and insularity in the diffusion of knowledge: an analysis of disciplinary boundaries between philosophy of science and the sciences," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 117(1), pages 331-349, October.
    3. Chi-Shiou Lin, 2018. "An analysis of citation functions in the humanities and social sciences research from the perspective of problematic citation analysis assumptions," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 116(2), pages 797-813, August.
    4. Thelwall, Mike & Sud, Pardeep, 2014. "No citation advantage for monograph-based collaborations?," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 276-283.
    5. Giovanni Colavizza, 2017. "The structural role of the core literature in history," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 113(3), pages 1787-1809, December.
    6. Pei-Shan Chi & Stijn Conix, 2022. "Measuring the isolation of research topics in philosophy," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(4), pages 1669-1696, April.
    7. Lutz Bornmann & Robin Haunschild & Sven E. Hug, 2018. "Visualizing the context of citations referencing papers published by Eugene Garfield: a new type of keyword co-occurrence analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 114(2), pages 427-437, February.
    8. Naif Radi Aljohani & Ayman Fayoumi & Saeed-Ul Hassan, 2021. "An in-text citation classification predictive model for a scholarly search system," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(7), pages 5509-5529, July.
    9. Björn Hammarfelt, 2011. "Interdisciplinarity and the intellectual base of literature studies: citation analysis of highly cited monographs," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 86(3), pages 705-725, March.
    10. Lutz Bornmann & K. Brad Wray & Robin Haunschild, 2020. "Citation concept analysis (CCA): a new form of citation analysis revealing the usefulness of concepts for other researchers illustrated by exemplary case studies including classic books by Thomas S. K," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 122(2), pages 1051-1074, February.
    11. Beril T. Arik & Engin Arik, 2017. "“Second Language Writing” Publications in Web of Science: A Bibliometric Analysis," Publications, MDPI, vol. 5(1), pages 1-12, March.
    12. Özgür Özmen Uysal, 2010. "Business Ethics Research with an Accounting Focus: A Bibliometric Analysis from 1988 to 2007," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 93(1), pages 137-160, April.
    13. Anne-Wil Harzing & Satu Alakangas & David Adams, 2014. "hIa: an individual annual h-index to accommodate disciplinary and career length differences," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 99(3), pages 811-821, June.
    14. Shengzhi Huang & Jiajia Qian & Yong Huang & Wei Lu & Yi Bu & Jinqing Yang & Qikai Cheng, 2022. "Disclosing the relationship between citation structure and future impact of a publication," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 73(7), pages 1025-1042, July.
    15. Alberto Baccini & Eugenio Petrovich, 2022. "Normative versus strategic accounts of acknowledgment data: The case of the top-five journals of economics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(1), pages 603-635, January.
    16. Dag W. Aksnes & Liv Langfeldt & Paul Wouters, 2019. "Citations, Citation Indicators, and Research Quality: An Overview of Basic Concepts and Theories," SAGE Open, , vol. 9(1), pages 21582440198, February.
    17. Sandra Miguel & Félix Moya-Anegón & Víctor Herrero-Solana, 2008. "A new approach to institutional domain analysis: Multilevel research fronts structure," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 74(3), pages 331-344, March.
    18. Björn Hammarfelt, 2014. "Using altmetrics for assessing research impact in the humanities," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 101(2), pages 1419-1430, November.
    19. Rafael Repiso & Josu Ahedo & Julio Montero, 2018. "The presence of the encyclicals in Web of Science: a bibliometric approach," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 115(1), pages 487-500, April.
    20. Sehrish Iqbal & Saeed-Ul Hassan & Naif Radi Aljohani & Salem Alelyani & Raheel Nawaz & Lutz Bornmann, 2021. "A decade of in-text citation analysis based on natural language processing and machine learning techniques: an overview of empirical studies," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(8), pages 6551-6599, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:116:y:2018:i:2:d:10.1007_s11192-018-2796-5. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.