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Mapping the field of psychology: Trends in research topics 1995–2015

Author

Listed:
  • Oliver Wieczorek

    (University of Bamberg
    Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen)

  • Saïd Unger

    (University of Stuttgart)

  • Jan Riebling

    (University of Wuppertal)

  • Lukas Erhard

    (University of Wuppertal)

  • Christian Koß

    (University of Stuttgart)

  • Raphael Heiberger

    (University of Stuttgart)

Abstract

We map the topic structure of psychology utilizing a sample of over 500,000 abstracts of research articles and conference proceedings spanning two decades (1995–2015). To do so, we apply structural topic models to examine three research questions: (i) What are the discipline’s most prevalent research topics? (ii) How did the scientific discourse in psychology change over the last decades, especially since the advent of neurosciences? (iii) And was this change carried by high impact (HI) or less prestigious journals? Our results reveal that topics related to natural sciences are trending, while their ’counterparts’ leaning to humanities are declining in popularity. Those trends are even more pronounced in the leading outlets of the field. Furthermore, our findings indicate a continued interest in methodological topics accompanied by the ascent of neurosciences and related methods and technologies (e.g. fMRI’s). At the same time, other established approaches (e.g. psychoanalysis) become less popular and indicate a relative decline of topics related to the social sciences and the humanities.

Suggested Citation

  • Oliver Wieczorek & Saïd Unger & Jan Riebling & Lukas Erhard & Christian Koß & Raphael Heiberger, 2021. "Mapping the field of psychology: Trends in research topics 1995–2015," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(12), pages 9699-9731, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:126:y:2021:i:12:d:10.1007_s11192-021-04069-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-021-04069-9
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Oliver Wieczorek & Melanie Malzahn, 2024. "Exploring an extinct society through the lens of Habitus-Field theory and the Tocharian text corpus," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Oliver Wieczorek & Olof Hallonsten & Fredrik Åström, 2024. "Is Management and Organizational Studies divided into (micro-)tribes?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 129(7), pages 3871-3995, July.
    3. Kang, Inje & Yang, Jiseong & Lee, Wonjae & Seo, Eun-Yeong & Lee, Duk Hee, 2023. "Delineating development trends of nanotechnology in the semiconductor industry: Focusing on the relationship between science and technology by employing structural topic model," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    4. Manuel Goyanes & Márton Demeter & Zicheng Cheng & Homero Gil Zúñiga, 2022. "Measuring publication diversity among the most productive scholars: how research trajectories differ in communication, psychology, and political science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(6), pages 3661-3682, June.

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