Tracing the origin of a scientific legend by Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy (RPYS): the legend of the Darwin finches

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy (RPYS) can identify the true origins of scientific legends, exemplified by tracing the roots of the 'Darwin finches' concept to a 1947 book.

Contribution

The study applies RPYS to uncover the historical source of the 'Darwin finches' legend, showing its effectiveness in historical scientific analysis.

Findings

1947 book is the most-cited reference related to Darwin finches

RPYS can reveal the true origins of scientific legends

Historical analysis confirmed the book's role in the legend's development

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.