The Dynamics of Triads in Aggregated Journal-Journal Citation Relations: Specialty Developments at the Above-Journal Level

TL;DR

This paper investigates how journal citation triads form and evolve, revealing patterns of specialty development and integration across scientific fields using citation data and network analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a bottom-up approach to analyze journal triad dynamics without relying on predefined classifications, identifying key patterns of specialty growth and emerging interfaces.

Findings

Large journals facilitate broad interdisciplinary integration.

Integration patterns indicate substantive developments at the specialty level.

Identified 51 local maxima of journal integration using the Islands algorithm.

Abstract

Dyads of journals related by citations can agglomerate into specialties through the mechanism of triadic closure. Using the Journal Citation Reports 2011, 2012, and 2013, we analyze triad formation as indicators of integration (specialty growth) and disintegration (restructuring). The strongest integration is found among the large journals that report on studies in different scientific specialties, such as PLoS ONE, Nature Communications, Nature, and Science. This tendency towards large-scale integration has not yet stabilized. Using the Islands algorithm, we also distinguish 51 local maxima of integration. We zoom into the cited articles that carry the integration for: (i) a new development within high-energy physics and (ii) an emerging interface between the journals Applied Mathematical Modeling and the International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology. In the first case, integration is brought about by a specific communication reaching across specialty boundaries, whereas in the second, the dyad of journals indicates an emerging interface between specialties. These results suggest that integration picks up substantive developments at the specialty level. An advantage of the bottom-up method is that no ex ante classification of journals is assumed in the dynamic analysis.