Nanotechnology as a Field of Science: Its Delineation in terms of Journals and Patents

TL;DR

This study analyzes nanotechnology's scientific and patent literature to identify core journals and assess the field's focus and development over time, highlighting increased codification and the limitations of patents for delineation.

Contribution

It delineates a core set of nanotechnology journals and evaluates the field's structure and growth using citation and patent analysis.

Findings

The core set of nanotechnology journals has grown from 2003 to 2004.

Nanotechnology field shows increased focus and codification in citation practices.

Patents mainly cite general science literature, limiting their use for journal delineation.

Abstract

The Journal Citation Reports of the Science Citation Index 2004 were used to delineate a core set of nanotechnology journals and a nanotechnology-relevant set. In comparison with 2003, the core set has grown and the relevant set has decreased. This suggests a higher degree of codification in the field of nanotechnology: the field has become more focused in terms of citation practices. Using the citing patterns among journals at the aggregate level, a core group of ten nanotechnology journals in the vector space can be delineated on the criterion of betweenness centrality. National contributions to this core group of journals are evaluated for the years 2003, 2004, and 2005. Additionally, the specific class of nanotechnology patents in the database of the U.S. Patent and Trade Office (USPTO) is analyzed to determine if non-patent literature references can be used as a source for the delineation of the knowledge base in terms of scientific journals. The references are primarily to general science journals and letters, and therefore not specific enough for the purpose of delineating a journal set.