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Tracing the origin of a scientific legend by reference publication year spectroscopy (RPYS): the legend of the Darwin finches

Author

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  • Werner Marx

    (Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research)

  • Lutz Bornmann

    (Administrative Headquarters of the Max Planck Society)

Abstract

In a previews paper we introduced the quantitative method named reference publication year spectroscopy (RPYS). With this method one can determine the historical roots of research fields and quantify their impact on current research. RPYS is based on the analysis of the frequency with which references are cited in the publications of a specific research field in terms of the publication years of these cited references. In this study, we illustrate that RPYS can also be used to reveal the origin of scientific legends. We selected “Darwin finches” as an example for illustration. Charles Darwin, the originator of evolutionary theory, was given credit for finches he did not see and for observations and insights about the finches he never made. We have shown that a book published in 1947 is the most-highly cited early reference cited within the relevant literature. This book had already been revealed as the origin of the term “Darwin finches” by Sulloway through careful historical analysis.

Suggested Citation

  • Werner Marx & Lutz Bornmann, 2014. "Tracing the origin of a scientific legend by reference publication year spectroscopy (RPYS): the legend of the Darwin finches," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 99(3), pages 839-844, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:scient:v:99:y:2014:i:3:d:10.1007_s11192-013-1200-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s11192-013-1200-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. James K. Wetterer, 2006. "Quotation error, citation copying, and ant extinctions in Madeira," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 67(3), pages 351-372, June.
    2. Anthony F. J. van Raan, 2000. "On Growth, Ageing, and Fractal Differentiation of Science," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 47(2), pages 347-362, February.
    3. Bornmann, Lutz & Marx, Werner, 2013. "The proposal of a broadening of perspective in evaluative bibliometrics by complementing the times cited with a cited reference analysis," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 7(1), pages 84-88.
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Comins, Jordan A. & Carmack, Stephanie A. & Leydesdorff, Loet, 2018. "Patent citation spectroscopy (PCS): Online retrieval of landmark patents based on an algorithmic approach," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 1223-1231.
    2. Andreas Thor & Lutz Bornmann & Werner Marx & Rüdiger Mutz, 2018. "Identifying single influential publications in a research field: new analysis opportunities of the CRExplorer," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 116(1), pages 591-608, July.
    3. Bakthavachalam Elango & Lutz Bornmann & Govindaraju Kannan, 2016. "Detecting the historical roots of tribology research: a bibliometric analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 107(1), pages 305-313, April.
    4. Werner Marx & Lutz Bornmann, 2016. "Change of perspective: bibliometrics from the point of view of cited references—a literature overview on approaches to the evaluation of cited references in bibliometrics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 109(2), pages 1397-1415, November.
    5. Jianhua Hou, 2017. "Exploration into the evolution and historical roots of citation analysis by referenced publication year spectroscopy," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 110(3), pages 1437-1452, March.
    6. Thor, Andreas & Marx, Werner & Leydesdorff, Loet & Bornmann, Lutz, 2016. "Introducing CitedReferencesExplorer (CRExplorer): A program for reference publication year spectroscopy with cited references standardization," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 10(2), pages 503-515.
    7. Xin Li & Qiang Yao & Xuli Tang & Qian Li & Mengjia Wu, 2020. "How to investigate the historical roots and evolution of research fields in China? A case study on iMetrics using RootCite," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 125(2), pages 1253-1274, November.
    8. Jianhua Hou & Xiucai Yang & Yang Zhang, 2023. "The effect of social media knowledge cascade: an analysis of scientific papers diffusion," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(9), pages 5169-5195, September.
    9. Chembessi Chedrak & Gohoungodji Paulin & Juste Rajaonson, 2023. "“A fine wine, better with age”: Circular economy historical roots and influential publications: A bibliometric analysis using Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy (RPYS)," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 27(6), pages 1593-1612, December.
    10. Werner Marx & Robin Haunschild & Andreas Thor & Lutz Bornmann, 2017. "Which early works are cited most frequently in climate change research literature? A bibliometric approach based on Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 110(1), pages 335-353, January.
    11. McLevey, John & McIlroy-Young, Reid, 2017. "Introducing metaknowledge: Software for computational research in information science, network analysis, and science of science," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 11(1), pages 176-197.
    12. 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.
    13. Werner Marx & Robin Haunschild & Bernie French & Lutz Bornmann, 2017. "Slow reception and under-citedness in climate change research: A case study of Charles David Keeling, discoverer of the risk of global warming," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 112(2), pages 1079-1092, August.

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